Who is Sarah Boone? Woman faces murder trial for boyfriend’s suitcase death

A Florida woman accused of murdering her boyfriend by holding him captive in a suitcase must now represent herself after seeking eight attorneys, a judge ruled Friday.

Sarah Boone, 46, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the 2020 death of 42-year-old Jorge Torres Jr. He was found dead in a Winter Park home.

Boone allegedly suggested that Torres get into a suitcase. Once inside, she taunted him and accused him of cheating on her. She allegedly refused to let him out, and when she opened the suitcase the next morning, he was dead.

Eight of Boone’s lawyers resigned before the trial began; several of them said she was difficult to work with.

“It has become clear to the court that the defendant will not be represented by anyone,” Orange County District Court Judge Michael S. Kraynick wrote in a court order.

Boone’s first attorney was appointed by the court. She replaced him with Mauricio Padilla in March 2020. Padilla resigned in 2022 due to “irreconcilable differences” and a “hostile” relationship.

Since Padilla, Boone has not been able to retain an attorney for any length of time. Kraynick claimed that Boone frequently changes attorneys to delay her trial.

“As of June 26, 2024, this case has been pending for 4 years, 3 months, and 5 days from the date of filing of information on March 23, 2020,” Kraynick wrote. “Actions speak louder than words. Although the defendants’ words seemingly reveal a desire to go to trial, their actions and inability to cooperate with court-appointed counsel, as set forth herein, are repeated time and time again.”

The judge said part of that delay was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted criminal trials, but allowing the defendant to have her “eighth court-appointed attorney (her ninth attorney overall) would only serve to delay the case and encourage the defendant to continue to try to prevent a substantive resolution of the case.”

Some of Boone’s previous attorneys cited conflicts of interest as the reason for their resignations, but her relationship with the three most recent attorneys was more contentious.

Frank J. Bankowitz, the sixth attorney, filed a motion to resign in December 2022 due to “irreconcilable differences.”

At a hearing on that motion, he said Boone tried to call him five to 10 times a day and he had a hard time reconciling her demands with those of his other clients.

The motion was denied, but Bankowitz filed another motion in August of that year.

“The defendant will not be satisfied with any counsel unless that counsel has no case load and can devote his time exclusively to Ms. Boone’s case,” Bankowitz wrote in the motion.

At a hearing in September 2022, Bankowitz said Boone called him a “loser” and a “buffoon.” His request to resign was granted and he was replaced by Winston Hobson.

Hobson resigned in February of this year. He also cited “irreconcilable differences,” including disagreements over legal strategy. He claimed Boone was unreasonable and difficult to work with.

Patricia A. Cashman was assigned as Boone’s last attorney. She is “widely known for her ability and willingness to handle and serve difficult clients,” the court order states.

Boone attacked Cashman in recent letters sent to the court, accusing Cashman of not telling her the truth, not answering questions and putting words in her mouth.

“I want to make it clear that I left my attorney at our last meeting because of her unwarranted, uninformative, unprofessional and rude behavior,” Boone wrote.

Cashman submitted his resignation on June 11 due to “irreconcilable differences.”

A conference on trial management is scheduled for September 29, and the trial is scheduled to begin on October 7.

Who is Sarah Boone?

Both Boone and Torres had previously been arrested for mutual assault in Orange County.

Boone was charged with assault by strangulation in July 2018, court records show. The two had been dating and living together for about a year and a half at the time.

Boone told officers she was at a bar with Torres when another man asked her for a cigarette. She said Torres became upset because she was talking to another man and left the bar. An argument later broke out at their shared home.

Boone said Torres kicked her in the eye, while Torres said Boone put both hands around his neck and applied pressure until he could barely breathe. He also claimed he kicked Boone to make her stop.

Torres was charged with assault three times in 2019, including an incident in which Boone said Torres hit her in the ear and the side of her head.

Boone is in custody at the Orange County Jail awaiting trial.

While in prison, she has sent several handwritten letters to the court, many of which express dissatisfaction with the proceedings and her lawyers. In the most recent letter, published by the court, she speaks out against representing herself at her trial.

“And ‘representing myself’ is NOT an option as both judges have now threatened me for being candid and intelligent in my observations of the ongoing abuse I am experiencing and have experienced,” Boone wrote.

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