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By Jenna Sundel
News Reporter
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The Florida woman accused of murdering her boyfriend by trapping him in a suitcase, appeared in court on Thursday for an unusual hearing after the judge ruled she must represent herself in the case.
Sarah Boone is charged with second-degree murder in the February 2020 death of Jorge Torres Jr. She allegedly convinced Torres to get inside a suitcase at a home in Winter Park, Florida. She zipped it closed and then refused to let him out. When she opened the suitcase the next morning, Torres was dead.
The two had been dating for several years.
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Boone has been through eight lawyers since her arrest in 2020, with several resigning due to "irreconcilable differences."
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Orange County Circuit Judge Michael S. Kraynick ruled Boone has forfeited her right to legal counsel in a June 28 ruling. He alleged that Boone is trying to delay her trial.
"It has become apparent to the Court that Defendant will not permit herself to be represented by anyone," Kraynick said in his ruling.
At Thursday's hearing, Boone said she was unaware of the hearing and "thoroughly confused" as she represented herself.
"If I'm pro se and my own attorney, shouldn't I be included in all of this, so I know what's going on and not a surprise hearing like it is again for the second time?" Boone said.
Kraynick said her actions contributed to this situation.
"Ma'am, again, this is why there were benefits to being represented by counsel," he said. "The court has already identified in its 16-page order the reasons for why you no longer have those benefits. It makes things exceptionally more difficult, as I explained to you in communicating with the court and communicating with the State Attorney's Office."
Boone claimed she has not received some of the discovery materials yet.
"I don't know if this is something that I need to pursue continuously still for me to be able to receive my hard copies because no one tells me anything," Boone said.
Kraynick said he could not answer that because it could require him to give legal advice, which he is "prohibited" from doing.
Boone's trial is expected to begin on October 7.
Kraynick said the trial "will not be continued for any reason, except by extraordinarily good cause and such extraordinarily good cause shall not include retention of counsel by the Defendant."
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