7.Sarah Boone — Direct (Part 3)
255 lines(At the bench.)
THE COURT: Yes?
MR. OWENS: Can we take a break?
THE COURT: Just from a timing perspective, where are we at in your direct examination?
MR. OWENS: You know, I want to say about 20 more minutes.
THE COURT: Okay.
MR. OWENS: Thirty more minutes.
THE COURT: How long do you anticipate your cross-examination being, Mr. Jay?
THE COURT: I can -- do you want to take our afternoon break and I inquire if they're on board with staying later this evening as well?
THE COURT: Right.
THE COURT: I'd rather do it now.
THE COURT: Okay. Excellent.
MR. HENDERSON: Sir?
THE COURT: Yes, sir.
MR. HENDERSON: We have two officers out there on standby. Can we tell them --
THE COURT: Based on just your -- I mean, it's 4:00 now. You said you have 20, 30 minutes left. He has an hour, hour and a half for cross. That takes us to 6:00.
MR. HENDERSON: Yeah. So I just want to let them know.
THE COURT: If you want to release them and tell them to be back here tomorrow morning, that's your call, but I would be surprised if we get to them this afternoon.
Okay. All right.
(In open court.)
THE COURT: All right. Members of the jury, it's 4:03. By a show of hands, would you like to take an afternoon break at this point in time?
Okay. Court sees no hands.
We may have to work also a little bit past 5:00, maybe going between 5:45 and 6:00 this evening. I know juror third from the right, you may have to make a phone call as to that. Does anyone have any concerns about working a little bit later today until 6:00? If you have those concerns, please raise your hand at this time.
All right. The Court sees no hands.
Ma'am, are you in a position to step out to see if you can get assistance with childcare or is that not an option for today?
JUROR: I'm actually all set for today. She's already picking them up.
THE COURT: You are? Okay. All right. Excellent. Very good.
Thank you very much. I appreciate you-all.
With that, Mr. Owens, you may continue.
MR. OWENS: Judge?
THE COURT: Yes, sir.
MR. OWENS: JI think one of the jurors raised their hand.
THE COURT: Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, juror fifth from the right?
JUROR: Are we going to get a break before the 5:45 mark? Because if not, then, yes, I would like a break now.
THE COURT: Then tell you what, let's go ahead and take it at this time. We'll give you-all a 15-minute recess. It's 4:04.
Hang on, hang on. Don't leave yet. I've got to tell you a couple things.
It's 4:04. I'll see you back here at 4:20. Same instruction as before, please don't conduct any independent investigation or research as to person, places, things, or charge involved, and don't have any discussions amongst yourselves or anyone else. We'll see you in a couple minutes. Thank you very much.
COURT STAFF: Jury exiting.
(Jury exits.)
THE COURT: You-all can be seated. Thank you.
If Ms. Boone needs to use the facilities, we might as well take advantage of that at this time.
All right. Court will be in recess until 4:20. Thank you.
(Brief recess from 4:05 p.m. to 4:22 p.m.)
THE COURT: All right. We're back on the record. Case No. 2020-CF-2603, State of Florida vs. Sarah Boone.
State?
MR. CACCIATORE: Dave Cacciatore on behalf of the State.
THE COURT: Defense?
MR. OWENS: James Owens for Ms. Boone.
MR. HENDERSON: Tony Henderson for Sarah Boone.
THE COURT: All right. Ms. Boone, let's go ahead and bring you back up to the witness stand, please.
MR. OWENS: Judge, we're going to try to go to 6:00 today?
THE COURT: Yes, sir, that's the plan.
MR. OWENS: How much time do you need for cross?
THE COURT: All right. We're ready to bring back in our jury?
MR. OWENS: Yes.
THE COURT: All right. Let's do it.
MR. HENDERSON: Oh, Judge? Oh, she's up there. I'm sorry.
COURT STAFF: Jury entering.
(Jury entered.)
THE COURT: State, do you recognize our jury?
THE COURT: Defense, do you recognize our jury?
MR. OWENS: I do.
THE COURT: All right. You-all can be seated. Thank you.
Again, members of the jury, if you could -- oh.
(Bench conference with deputy off the record.)
THE COURT: Can the parties approach for a moment?
(At the bench.)
THE COURT: Just a request from the jurors as relayed to me by the deputy. If the pictures are going to be shown, if they could be tilted so they're not landscape and vertical because they're tilting their head in a weird way to see them.
MR. OWENS: My bad.
THE COURT: No worries. Just for the future. Just wanted to let you-all know. Okay. Thank you.
MR. OWENS: Can I show them the demonstrative aids?
THE COURT: Oh. I'll leave that to your discretion.
MR. OWENS: Okay.
THE COURT: All right. Thank you.
(In open court.)
THE COURT: All right. Members of the jury, again, if you could just raise your hands to confirm that you've complied with the Court's instructions during the last break.
Record will reflect all hands have been raised.
All right. With that, Mr. Owens, you may continue your inquiry, sir.
MR. OWENS: Just based on the Court's statements, Identification A, I'd like to -- this is one of the photographs that we introduced.
BY MR. OWENS:
MR. OWENS: Is this the injury to your ear?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And then this is your living room? This is Identification C, the blow-up.
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Identification D, TV?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Identification E, is that your arm?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Identification F, is that your knife wound?
SARAH BOONE: Stab, yes.
MR. OWENS: Identification G, is this the curtain rod?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Identification H, this is the eye.
Identification I, this is your face shot?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: The eyebrow.
Identification B, and this is the back patio with the dogs?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Okay. I'm going to bounce a little bit, Ms. Boone. I'm going to go back to the night. Earlier in the evening when -- I think you-all may have been out on the back patio and you had suggested to Jorge that he call the children, but then, I think -- did he call his brother or his brother called Jorge, do you remember?
SARAH BOONE: Jorge called his brother.
MR. OWENS: Okay. And you made a statement about, Tell him -- tell him something. Explain that to the jury.
SARAH BOONE: I told him to tell his brother about you choking me the other day. This is a separate choking incident. We had been drinking and I had -- I wanted Jorge to tell him, but he didn't tell him, so I said it in the background so he would be aware.
MR. OWENS: What did you tell him?
SARAH BOONE: Tell him why you choked me or that you choked me.
MR. OWENS: Okay. Now, you heard the testimony of the two neighbors, the boys that lived next to you?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And you heard that they were -- they were actually questioned. I think the audio -- they were audio interviewed. You heard from Detective Koepsell. I think it was two or three -- a couple days later on the 25th of February -- or 27th of February?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And you heard their testimony earlier this week --
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: -- where they hear kind of a thumping sound starting at the top of the steps, ending at the bottom?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Have they got the night wrong?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: So explain to the jury that.
SARAH BOONE: So it was the night before. Again, I was sleeping, and in the middle of the night with the door barricaded, he came in and ripped me out of the bed. And first got me with one hand and then both -- got both hands and pulled me completely off of the bed. And then, like a caveman, had my hair like this and was going down the stairwell, taking me with him to come downstairs so I could sit and drink with him.
MR. OWENS: Do you believe that's the noise that the two neighbor boys heard?
SARAH BOONE: I absolutely do.
MR. OWENS: And it was just the night before?
SARAH BOONE: Correct.
MR. OWENS: Now, some of the time when this abuse occurred, you called the police?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And other times, the police were not called?
SARAH BOONE: Correct.
MR. OWENS: I want to refer to you the first time -- I believe you mentioned the 911 call. I believe that was July 25th of 2018?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And that was the incident in which Jorge had kicked you in the eye?
SARAH BOONE: Stomped me, yes.
MR. OWENS: Stomped you in the eye. And you had grabbed his neck?
SARAH BOONE: Yes. I was able to get my arms out from him pinning me down with his knees and grab his neck.
MR. OWENS: So law enforcement came and investigated?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And both of you were arrested?
SARAH BOONE: Correct.
MR. OWENS: Do you recall asking the officer when you were arrested, Why am I being arrested?
SARAH BOONE: Many times, yes.
MR. OWENS: Do you recall asking the officer, Why am I being arrested?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And do you recall making any other statements to law enforcement as to why you did what you did to Jorge?
SARAH BOONE: That was the first time ever that I actually officially fought back.
MR. OWENS: Did you tell the officer that you were fighting back?
SARAH BOONE: Yes, because I was complete shock that I was getting arrested because of it.
MR. OWENS: Now, on the -- the two-minute video, the suitcase video, you mentioned to him -- I think you said something, I can't breathe -- he said, I can't breathe, and you said, That's how I feel when you're choking me. Were you referring to an isolated incident of the night before or two nights before or whenever or were you referring to in general?
SARAH BOONE: In general, the more than two or three, four times that he had done it.
MR. OWENS: Okay. And then the part about cheating, he didn't physically cheat on you?
SARAH BOONE: No, he did not.
MR. OWENS: And just -- I don't want to go into a lot of detail, but what are you referring to there?
SARAH BOONE: Jorge was, I believe, addicted to pornography, and a lot of that would be found on my phone from him supposedly wanting to call about job interviews. And as a solution, I sat him down and I explained to him, to me, that's you visualizing yourself with someone else or at least having a pleasurable moment with someone else or watching other people and, to me, I told him that I considered that cheating on me.
MR. OWENS: Okay. And so he -- he would download that on your phone?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Why did you stay with him?
SARAH BOONE: As --
MR. OWENS: You've got to tell the jury.
SARAH BOONE: As anyone who has ever been in love or when you love someone or -- primarily someone or something, you go above and beyond and you tolerate and you endure and you persevere and you try to make that person as spectacular as you possibly can, no matter the sacrifice that you may have to go through to serve someone else in a positive light so they can be better people for themselves and to just make them a happier person. And love -- love is very strong and love is very deep and love, I believe, is not fully understood ina lot of ways for how different people react to it. And I very much deeply and passionately loved Jorge. I love him to this day.
MR. OWENS: Did you not want to be alone?
SARAH BOONE: Beginning through my divorce, it was very nice to have him around and he was -- he was a man-man to me and I felt protected and he was very nice. And as lame as it sounds, he used to compliment me, and it makes -- it made my day, so yes.
MR. OWENS: During that period of time when you first started seeing Jorge, would it be fair to say that you had low self-esteem?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Now, we talked about this previous arrest where you told the officer you were fighting back and you got arrested, and I want to talk about your conversations with law enforcement, but first I want to ask you. Why did you go to the police station that day when you were interrogated there? We saw the two-hour video. Tell the jury.
SARAH BOONE: The day of the incident, the detective, Koepsell, gave me her business card with her personal cell phone number on it and said, if I happened to remember anything or anything that I would like to add to the day, for me to not hesitate to give her a call. So throughout the rest of the evening, I just -- something was off. I -- I didn't feel comfortable with what she told me and how she told it to me.
MR. OWENS: How long were you at the scene?
SARAH BOONE: Gosh, all day. From the moment that they were there to the moment that the coroner's van drove off.
MR. OWENS: All right. When -- when it ended, did you stay in your home?
SARAH BOONE: No. I raced inside and collected some pajamas and a toothbrush and I went over to where my son was at my ex-husband's house.
MR. OWENS: Did you take the dogs?
SARAH BOONE: I didn't even feed them. It was so fast.
MR. OWENS: All right. And then once you got over to your ex-husband's, what happened as it relates to Detective Koepsell?
SARAH BOONE: Something just wasn't sitting right with me and I -- I had a suspicion that she just wasn't being honest with me, so I took it upon myself --
THE COURT: Sustained.
BY MR. OWENS:
MR. OWENS: So you called her. Tell us about that.
SARAH BOONE: I called her and I told her that I felt that she was being dishonest with me. She originally had told me that due to her being pregnant, it would just be a lot easier for her to have me come down to the station to pick up my phone.
The original plan was for she and Detective Lowen to return the phone to my apartment, but she said that it would be a lot easier for me to just come down and pick it up, because I remember when I was pregnant -- that's what she said, You remember when you were pregnant. So I said, I feel that you're tricking me and I feel that you're being very sneaky about something and I don't believe that you're being honest with me. And I said, Regardless, I'm still going to come.
THE COURT: Sustained.
BY MR. OWENS:
MR. OWENS: So you agreed to come, but you understood it was to get your phone?
SARAH BOONE: Correct.
MR. OWENS: All right. You came that afternoon to the station?
SARAH BOONE: I did.
MR. OWENS: And the original agreement was they were to come to you?
SARAH BOONE: Correct.
MR. OWENS: All right. When you got to the station, what happened?
SARAH BOONE: I thought I was just going to be picking up my phone. I had -- I mean, my car was there. I had everything in my car. It was just a regular, I'm just going to go in, maybe sign something, and pick up my phone. And there's people that are over here at the windows and I thought that I was supposed to go over there to get my phone, and Detective Lowen came down and said that my phone was upstairs, so if I would just follow him upstairs, that's where my phone was. And then I was taken into a -- I guess it was an interrogation room and they told me to sit down and that -- then, I guess, the interview or interrogation began, and I just simply thought I was getting my phone.
MR. OWENS: Sarah, tell the jury --
THE COURT: Yes.
(At the bench.)
THE COURT: He's right, so please.
(In open court.)
THE COURT: You may proceed.
BY MR. OWENS:
MR. OWENS: Ms. Boone -- Ms. Boone, tell the jury why you lied to the police.
SARAH BOONE: I lied to the police -- basically, everyone -- because I was extremely fearful of being arrested. I made the first attempt of me calling 911 by telling them what happened, and I thought that they were going to help me, but instead I was arrested for calling 911.
MR. OWENS: So you made the decision to lie?
SARAH BOONE: I did.
MR. OWENS: Did you stay with that lie?
SARAH BOONE: I did.
MR. OWENS: Are you telling the truth today?
SARAH BOONE: I am.
MR. OWENS: Now, let me take you back to the -- to this incident. Is it fair to say that when Jorge Torres is sober, he commits no violence against you?
SARAH BOONE: No.
MR. OWENS: Is that fair to say?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Is it fair to say that every time that he's intoxicated -- or every time that you're hit by him or harmed by him, it's when he's intoxicated?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: As a result, when he's drinking, does it change your outlook?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: Could you explain that to the jury?
SARAH BOONE: I'm always fearful, paranoia.
MR. OWENS: Why? Why?
SARAH BOONE: Because I try to protect and defend myself for fear that something happens at the last ultimate second.
MR. OWENS: But you're always that way, fearful. Is it because of these prior incidences?
SARAH BOONE: Absolutely.
MR. OWENS: Do you try to placate him?
SARAH BOONE: All the time.
MR. OWENS: What do you -- what do you mean?
SARAH BOONE: I -- with the puzzles and the painting and feeding the ducks across the way at the pond, listening to music, trying to go for a walk on the trail, anything that I possibly can. I told you I was running out of things to entertain him with.
MR. OWENS: Why do you think Jorge -- what bothers him?
THE COURT: Sustained.
BY MR. OWENS:
MR. OWENS: Does he -- does he tell you?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
THE COURT: Sustained.
BY MR. OWENS:
MR. OWENS: As a result of how he behaves towards you in that intoxicated state, how were you feeling the night of this event?
THE COURT: Overruled.
SARAH BOONE: Extremely nervous. Anxiety galore. Just I can never relax.
BY MR. OWENS:
MR. OWENS: When he's drinking?
SARAH BOONE: Yes.
MR. OWENS: And the state of intoxication that he was at at the time of this event, is that the state that scares you the most?
SARAH BOONE: It's the tone, yes. There's a lot of alarms and red flags that go on throughout the day or night to whenever it is that we are drinking --
THE COURT: Sustained.
BY MR. OWENS:
MR. OWENS: Tell us about -- tell us about that, how that heightens -- does that heighten your sense of safety?
SARAH BOONE: At all times.
MR. OWENS: But especially when he's drinking?
SARAH BOONE: Oh, yes. All the time.
MR. OWENS: And then his mood?
SARAH BOONE: Yes. It depends on what mood he's in that day.
MR. OWENS: Well, do you have, like, a sixth sense of how he's doing?
SARAH BOONE: Yes. I knew Jorge very well --
THE COURT: Sustained.
BY MR. OWENS:
MR. OWENS: Can you tell us what you mean by that sixth sense or knew him very well?
SARAH BOONE: I guess you could say that I was trained by fear with him. Just it's -- it wasn't fun anymore when we would drink and we would hang out on the back porch. It wasn't fun anymore because I knew inevitably that something was going to happen to me one way or another.
MR. OWENS: One moment.
BY MR. OWENS:
MR. OWENS: Ms. Boone, you know, those bruises that we saw of him, they look pretty deep. Tell the jury what you were thinking.
SARAH BOONE: From the bat, you're referencing?
MR. OWENS: Yes.
SARAH BOONE: I didn't want to die that night. I -- I can't describe it to you. It's -- it's terrifying love toa certain degree where -- my plan was to show him the next day and just I -- I wanted him to be better and treat me nicer and be the person that he was when I originally met him, and I knew that was in him still. I knew that it could be found and I just couldn't figure out what it was that I was doing wrong in order for it to not be back to where that was.
And I was tired of living in fear and just sick all the time of figuring out how I can entertain him so I don't die and continue a relationship with my son and try to live a normal life. That wasn't a normal life for me. And just I -- I -- bottom line is I didn't want to die. I would have -- I would have died or I would have been disfigured or maimed or -- if it weren't me with a bat, it would have been him, if he were to have gotten out.
MR. OWENS: Thank you. That's all I have.
THE COURT: Any cross-examination?