Sarah Boone's murder trial continues

ORLANDO, Fla. — The jury will reconvene Thursday for the murder trial of Sarah Boone, a Florida woman accused of killing her boyfriend after he died in a zip-lock suitcase during an apparently drunken game of hide-and-seek.

Sarah Boone, 47, is charged with second-degree murder. She is accused of choking her boyfriend – Jorge Torres Jr., 42 – in 2020.

A day after Boone took the stand in her own defense, her lawyers called for others to testify.

Pearl Walker, a former neighbor, said Thursday that she sometimes noticed marks on Boone's neck or arm.

Walker said she would see Boone when she was walking her dogs and have conversations with her, and Boone would talk about abuse.

Boone claimed she was afraid of how Torres would act when he got out of the suitcase, so she didn't let him out.

[TIMELINE: Where things stand for Sarah Boone, Florida woman accused in suitcase death]

Dr. Julie Harper, a licensed psychologist for 22 years, was also called to the stand.

Harper said she wrote her dissertation on couple relationships and reviewed Boone's records before interviewing her.

“Do you think Sarah Boone has some narcissistic traits?” Harper was asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

On Tuesday, Boone testified that Torres got into the suitcase herself and tried to flatten herself so she couldn't tell he was inside.

“He was about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed about 100 pounds,” Boone said. “I just kind of closed it. We thought it was funny. We joked that it was small enough to fit in the suitcase.”

She said she unzipped the suitcase at some point.

“He just thought it was funny,” she said. “From then on I moved it on the wheels a few times and at that point it was still fun. We joked and laughed about it.”

She said she moved the suitcase back and forth and it ended up zipper side down.

“That's when I decided to record a video to see the joke in it so that he understands that I feel safe now and can talk to you in the way I normally can,” she said, admitting that she was drunk.

“Could you tell the jury what you felt, what your emotions were, and explain to the jury that you said it before he was in that confined space,” Boone's attorney said.

“I want you to know that most of the time I am always scared and scared,” Boon replied. “I just wanted him to understand that that was the point of the video.”

The state continued its case Tuesday, a day after jurors were shown a video of Boone being interrogated by authorities.

“He's begging you to let him out, and at first you laugh, and then you say, 'No,'” a detective said in the video.

“That wasn’t intentional,” Boone replied. “I will put my hand on the Bible. It wasn’t intentional.”

The prosecution's opening statement was made by Assistant District Attorney William Jay, who said, “She did this with the malicious intent of punishing him, and then she fell asleep and left him to take his last breaths alone on this earth.”

He also talked about Boone's 911 call the next day.

“What you won’t hear are tears. (…) You won't hear any suffering,” said Jay.

Prosecutors said Boone had no regard for Torres' life, but her lawyers claimed she was a victim of battered spouse syndrome and boxed Torres in because of past abuse.

The state said Boone never mentioned self-defense when he was first questioned by authorities.

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