FL - Sarah Boone, 42, charged with murdering boyfriend Jorge Torres, 42, by leaving him locked in suitcase, Winter Park, Feb 2020 #2

[Really?]

she’s going to take the stand."………….woooohooooooo

 

[CHEL]

she’s going to take the stand."………….woooohooooooo

Of course she is.

 

[Megnut]

Have my audio on blast --

Defense opening:

Codependent
Life revolved around alcohol
Domestic violence
JT abused SB and she suffered
"You'll understand her decision to use reasonable force."
"Keep an open mind, two sides, weigh the evidence, come to a conclusion."
"When his BAL gets to a certain level, he gets sad, moody, there are times there'd be forcible sex."
"Sarah was concerned... that he'd be violent... so she placated him with games, trying to keep him in a good mood, they keep drinking."
She's intoxicated, she didn't know if he means it when he says he can't breathe, maybe he's just saying it so she'll let him out.
He's a captive audience, she lets him have it.

Owens says the key to the case is the 11 minutes between the two videos.

Owens tells the jury SB will testify, and the evidence will show she was justified in self-defense.

Owens references JT's bruises, days Sarah will explain that.

Brings up the bat, JT swinging at the TV, to intimidate SB.

SB loved JT, hated the abuse. She wanted to leave him but couldn't. He kept coming back, she even changed the locks.

SB's mental health, she's not perfect...

Describes her finding JT in the morning, tries to do CPR. She freaks out, has no family, relies on her ex. "She's smart but she's not worldly."

Continuing...

 

[Megnut]

Owens: SB is freaking out, she feels that she's somehow responsible.

Agreed.

Can we go straight to verdict?

JMO

 

[Megnut]

Owens moved forward to her interviews. "She's not a lawyer, she didn't understand self-defense so she lied..."

He'd calling the suitcase self-defense. Unconventional. Not a gun but self-defense.

(IMO Owens is giving his closing statement.)

Owens is instructing the jury on presumption of innocent, Sarah doesn't need to provide a defense, there's two sides.

Were confident you'll find reasonable doubt and find her not guilty. It's the right thing to do

 

[Megnut]

State's first witness, Juan Torres, JT"s brother.

(I wish I'd figured out my workaround for the microphone sooner -- missed nearly all of the State's opening statement.)

Testified about his last phone call with his brother. Defense questioned him on cross for quite a while. I don't know why.

Jmo

 

[Megnut]

The State is introducing the video clips at the store where SB and JT bought wine through their witness, now excused. Has not however played the clips.

 

[arielilane]

Trial is moving right along...
Who is there to support SB? She is turning around a lot, smiling at someone?
Or is it her imagination?
jmo

 

[arielilane]

Completed testimony: Juan Torres, brother of Jorge Torres
He (Juan) is subject to be recalled if necessary

 

[Megnut]

911 operator took the stand briefly.

Now a neighbor. Testifying to hearing a really loud noise, then just some shuffling. Could hear arguing, not clear enough to really hear, beyond back and forth 'I hate you', moved into another room so as not to hear them.

It was a loud rumbling noise, coming closer to his room.

On cross, he never saw police there (just heard about it from neighbors).

Was aware that SB and JT drank and drank to excess.

(Owens was going to bring out his statement to police, State objected for improper impeachment. Judge overruled. But Owens backed off and dropped it.)

Says he heard arguing throughout the afternoon, got really loud around 10:30pm.

 

[Megnut]

Trial is moving right along...
Who is there to support SB? She is turning around a lot, smiling at someone?
Or is it her imagination?
jmo

Just a couple guesses: a penpal? a journalist, perhaps the one she was in dialogue with? All moo.

 

[CHEL]

What do we think the loud sound was that the neighbors heard?

 

[sasha17]

Owens is still arguing for exhibits. Wants his props.

I fear this trial will take two forevers.

Jmo

My favorite part is when the judge pointed out that one of his posters is outdated and includes old text that the Supreme Court has updated and changed. Owens seems baffled.

Did I understand correctly that Owens sent 190 individual jpeg files rather than a pdf which you can scroll through? TIA

Yes! He said he was going to print it out for the state but couldn't get to "the Federal Express" because of road construction. Dude, I'm sure there are other places in Orlando where you can get something printed.

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

What do we think the loud sound was that the neighbors heard?

My guess, the suitcase with its occupant encased inside heading or tumbling down the steps? There was an upstairs right…. where IIUC the evening ‘events’ started and culminated with the suitcase containing its soon to demise occupant JT downstairs I believe. MOO

 

[Megnut]

Another neighbor, basically corroborating the very loud sound, and also seeing SB asleep on her patio the next morning.

Meanwhile, Sarah is making a career of lifting up and putting down page after page after page of her handwritten notes. Busy, busy, busy.

 

[Megnut]

Lunch recess until 2pm.

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

Busywork Boone

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

Owens' long pauses in his speech are far too long and disingenuous... just like the whole story.

 

[Megnut]

MOO

Is the defense going to argue that SB was experiencing retrograde BSS and, instead of shooting JT with a gun to kill him, she used a suitcase? Even though her story has always been that it wasn't intentionally, she thought he could get out?

Has there, in the history of ever, ever been a case of self-defense involving positional asphyxia?

So the Defense is supplying intent now?

She intended for him to die, by slow suffocation, because even she didn't know she was suffering BSS but his fingers triggered her fear of repeat violence?

(She recorded 2 minutes of JT. He didn't sound angry or violent. He was pleading.)

IMO JT is dead because SB left him trapped where his breathing was compromised and she was aware of it.

He's not dead because she was acting in self-defense.

She wanted to teach him a lesson.

Now the justice system can teach her one.

JMO

 

[sasha17]

I'm a little behind in the recording so I'm listening to opening statements now, and one thing I found interesting that I know we've discussed here is the amount of alcohol Sarah claims she and Jorge drank on the night of the incident. Sarah said they drank one bottle of wine plus part of a leftover bottle from the day before.

The bottles recovered from her house (with matching receipts from Publix) were magnum bottles, 1.5 liters each. There is a receipt from the day before the incident, Saturday, for one of these bottles of wine. Then on Sunday, the day of the incident, there is a receipt for a purchase of the same bottle of wine at 12:17pm. And there is a third receipt for another bottle of the wine at 5:30pm. Two bottles of the three bottles were recovered at the house and are in evidence.

Each 1.5 liter bottle has about 50 ounces in it. A "glass" of wine is 5 ounces, so each bottle contains about 10 glasses of wine.

The state also read a quote from an interview Sarah gave on scene to a detective where she says she used to drink liquor but they switched to wine because they couldn't afford liquor anymore.