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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, EP31 "Revealing Text Messages"
Prosecutors turned the jury's attention to text messages. This was their rebuttal case trying to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Sarah Boone intentionally killed Jorge Torres, her boyfriend, by keeping him trapped in a suitcase for hours. The disparaging texts revealed to jurors included contact with other friends and relatives. The State's aim with the texts was to show jurors how both of them were at fault with how bad their relationship had grew into.
S1, EP32 "Closing Arguments"
Closing arguments began on the sixth day of trial. The State delivered their final remarks by detailing their case against Sarah Boone accusing her of intentionally killing Jorge Torres by keeping him stuck in a suitcase for 11 hours. Prosecutor Dave Cacciatore stuck to the legal stipulation of second-degree homicide. He argued that the prosecution does not need to prove intention in Boone's actions which led up to her boyfriend, Jorge Torres' death.
S1, EP33 "Trapped"
Closing arguments by the State continued. Prosecutor Dave Cacciatore argued that she had no justification of ending Jorge Torres life using a small suitcase despite the mental health issues she was dealing with. Next, was Sarah Boone's defense to give their closing arguments to jurors. They wanted to button up their case that the defendant was simply a battered woman who defended herself from her abusive boyfriend that day he died in a suitcase.
S1, EP34 "Surviving Domestic Violence"
Defense attorney James Owens claimed Sarah Boone's mind at the time of Jorge Torres' death was that of a psychologically abused victim and not a person who wanted to kill a person. Fear and trauma was what led her to zip up the suitcase with her abuser stuck inside and why she refused to open the suitcase back up. Owens contended that years of trauma and abuse at the hands of her boyfriend led her to fighting back in zipping him up in a suitcase and leaving him in there for hours until he died.
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, 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, 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, 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.
