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Suitcase Murder Trial
Alcoholism. That's how Sarah Boone's defense began their opening statements. Her lead attorney James Owens told jurors about the alcohol addiction she and her Jorge Torres dealt with and how it often mixed in with domestic violence. Owens argued that the suitcase Torres was zipped in was a physical restraint to block a potential attack in Boone's attempt at self-defense. Domestic violence was a running theme in the relationship between the defendant and the victim.
S1, EP27 "Symptoms Of A Battered Woman"
The State's forensic psychiatrist continued answering probing questions under cross-examination. Boone's defense team was challenging her mental health report that dismissed the idea that her diagnosis of battered women's syndrome was what led her to kill her boyfriend in self-defense. Next, prosecutors delivered police bodycam footage that brought in some nuance to the troubled relationship between the defendant and the victim over the years.
S1, EP28 "The Police Bodycam Footage"
Police bodycam video dominated the State's rebuttal case. During the defendant's unstable relationship with Jorge Torres, police arrived several times over domestic abuse allegations. Sometimes they both would be arrested and booked. These domestic calls involving Sarah Boone and Jorge Torres was the theme in the prosecution's rebuttal. For the first time, Torres' perspective was captured on camera.
S1, EP29 "Drama Played Out On Camera"
The drama in the relationship of Sarah Boone and Jorge Torres made its way to the jury in the form of police bodycam video. In the months and years before Torres died trapped in a suitcase he and Boone fought enough times for police to make several calls to their home. The 911 calls and bodycam footage showed a different perspective in the torn relationship between the two. Jurors would decide later- was Boone really trapped in the relationship due to years of being abused by her boyfriend?
S1, EP30 "Hearing From Jorge Torres"
Jurors got a glimpse of Jorge Torres in the months before he was killed in a suitcase. One of the police bodycam videos showed him being arrested for violating a no-contact order he had against the defendant. Next, more incidents between Sarah Boone and Jorge Torres was shown to jurors. They included 911 calls, police bodycam footage and even cell phone video, Boone recorded to document what was going on at home.
S1, EP26 "State's Rebuttal Case"
Mental health was a big topic in this trial. Sarah Boone's legal team relied heavily on the diagnosis she received in a full psychological evaluation conducted on her-weeks after she was arrested for the second-degree murder of her boyfriend. Next, on the stand was the State's forensic psychiatrist who evaluated the defendant in jail. Dr. Tonia Werner agreed with the defense expert's diagnosis that Boone did, indeed, suffer from battered woman's syndrome in her relationship with Jorge Torres.
S1, EP25 "Explaining The Mental Health Diagnosis"
Cross-examination continued on Dr. Julie Harper, a forensic psychologist, who evaluated Sarah Boone. Her diagnosis concluded that she was a victim of intimate partner violence in her unstable relationship with Jorge Torres. Dr. Harper told jurors that the defendant dealt with a mental health disorders exacerbated by her abusive boyfriend, Jorge Torres. Dr. Harper was the last witness before the Defense rested their case to jurors.
S1, EP24 "Intimate Partner Violence"
Forensic psychologist Dr. Julie Harper diagnosed Sarah Boone with PTSD, citing trauma from intimate partner violence. She went on to say that Boone's anxiety and low self-esteem kept her from moving on from her allegedly abusive boyfriend. The jury listened to the effects of intimate partner violence. Boone's defense alleged she was a battered woman who acted out in self-defense when she zipped up her boyfriend, Jorge Torres, in a suitcase and left him to die overnight.
S1, EP23 "Dr. Julie Harper"
A seasoned forensic psychologist explained to jurors how she evaluates the mental health of a person. Dr. Julie Harper testified that she met with the defendant nine times after she was accused of killing her boyfriend, Jorge Torres. She diagnosed Sarah Boone with low self-esteem, depression, alcoholism, narcissism, and PTSD after the full psychological evaluation.
