From: jcs
On February 24, 2020, 42-year-old Sarah Boone called 911, reporting her boyfriend, 42-year-old George Torres Jr., was dead [00:00:15]. She explained to the operator that they were playing hide-and-seek the previous night, and she put him in a suitcase [00:00:28]. Sarah claimed she fell asleep and woke up to find him dead in the suitcase [00:00:35]. She told the operator she had already attempted CPR [00:00:55].
Discovery of Evidence
George Torres Jr. ultimately died of suffocation [00:01:58]. Sarah’s initial explanation was that it was a “totally unintentional and unforeseen accident” [00:02:03]. However, she was unaware that she had recorded two videos on her phone the night before [00:02:08].
- The first video, taken at 11:12 PM, shows Sarah laughing at George while he is zipped inside the suitcase [00:02:10]. George is not laughing; he is asking to be let out and repeatedly states he cannot breathe [00:02:18].
- The second video, recorded 11 minutes later, shows the same situation, but the suitcase was flipped over and in a different area of the apartment [00:02:21].
- Sarah appeared “unmistakably and heavily intoxicated” in these videos, which may explain why she did not delete them [00:02:30].
Initial Police Interaction
Upon arrival, Sarah reiterated her story, stating they were drinking a bottle of wine, doing a puzzle, and then decided to play hide-and-seek, with George getting into the suitcase [00:03:26]. She claimed she thought it would be funny to zip him up and “make him squirm a little bit” before she fell asleep [00:05:25]. She said they were both laughing about it [00:05:39].
Sarah’s ex-husband, Brian, who she called over, was present [00:03:39]. He informed police that George was on parole due to domestic violence against Sarah [00:04:54]. He also stated that George had been arrested multiple times for domestic violence against Sarah, and she had bailed him out every time [00:05:01]. Brian would take custody of their child [00:06:13].
Interrogation
The following day, Sarah Boone arrived at the Sheriff’s Office at 3:51 PM with a handwritten page of questions [00:08:12]. The investigators immediately read her rights, stating they needed to discuss George’s autopsy findings [00:08:39].
Autopsy Findings
The doctor reported injuries to George’s left shoulder, a cut near his lip, and that his mouth was swollen [00:09:03]. Forensics confirmed these injuries were sustained the night he died and were not present before he entered the apartment [00:09:21]. Additional injuries included a contusion on his neck and bruising on the left side of his forehead, head, and skull [00:09:39].
Sarah attributed these injuries to George falling off her son’s bike or running into walls [00:09:27]. She adamantly denied touching him or having any idea how he sustained the injuries [00:11:02].
The 12-Hour Gap
Investigators noted a 12-hour gap between the time stamp on her videos and the moment police arrived, suggesting ample time to stage the scene [00:10:21]. Sarah claimed they had a “good day” drinking wine, doing puzzles, and listening to music, with “nobody got out of sorts” [00:10:02].
Shifting Narratives
Sarah initially stated that she doesn’t normally drink and only does so because of George [00:13:01]. She also discussed George’s anger management classes and his supposed progress, stating he would apologize for past actions [00:13:49]. She professed her love for him [00:14:12].
When asked about the timeline, Sarah recalled the game starting around 4 PM and her going to sleep around midnight [00:15:17]. She confirmed she had never zipped him in a suitcase before [00:16:17].
Revelation of the Videos
The interrogator then asked Sarah if she remembered making any videos or taking photos on her phone on Sunday [00:17:17]. Sarah only recalled taking a picture of a dog [00:17:34].
The investigator then showed Sarah the first video from her phone [00:17:38]. Sarah immediately denied remembering it [00:18:12]. The video captured George saying “I can’t breathe” while Sarah was heard saying “For everything you’ve done to me, you stupid, stupid.” [00:19:09] Sarah expressed distress, stating she didn’t want to watch it [00:18:47].
When confronted with George’s pleas and the suitcase being flipped, Sarah claimed she “flipped it” but her plan was “not to go upstairs and go to sleep” and that it wasn’t intentional [00:20:08]. She insisted she didn’t think George was panicking [00:21:52].
The interrogators highlighted George’s repeated cries of “Sarah, I can’t breathe” while Sarah was laughing and making derogatory comments [00:22:04]. Sarah claimed her intention was not to leave him in there [00:21:27]. When asked why she didn’t let him out, she offered various deflections, including:
- “I didn’t know it was going to end like that” [00:25:59]
- “I’ll give you five minutes or so in there” [00:26:09]
- “I’m blaming it on the wine” [00:28:46]
- “It’s the boy calling wolf” [00:27:18]
- “He and I having a great day fooling around and being stupid” [00:28:04]
She also stated the “F--- you” comment was “not malicious” and that “that’s how we are with each other” [00:21:16]. Despite the evidence, Sarah maintained her actions were unintentional and that she was “sick about it” [00:24:24].
Arrest and Legal Proceedings
After the interrogation, Sarah was taken to the Orange County Jail at 5:44 PM [00:36:05]. She was charged with second-degree murder and held without bond [00:36:07]. This occurred in late February 2020 [00:36:13].
At the time of the recording, Sarah had been in county jail and was working with her seventh attorney [00:36:21]. Six previous attorneys had filed motions to withdraw, citing “irreconcilable differences” [00:36:27]. Her trial date was set for April 10th of that year [00:36:24].