Dysfunctional relationships can weigh you down, but one woman has given a twisted literal meaning to the metaphor of casting off unwanted baggage.
Sarah Boone, 42, was arrested Tuesday after she allegedly closed her boyfriend in a suitcase and left him to suffocate while mocking his suffering on video.
Boone told detectives she and her partner, Jorge Torres Jr., were playing a game of hide-and-seek while drinking alcohol on Monday at her home in Winter Park, near Orlando.
She said they both agreed it would be funny if Torres, also 42, climbed into a suitcase, local news station WKMG reports.
Boone admits zipping Torres inside but says she then passed out.
She claims she only realized he was still in the case when she woke up later on, after which she dialled 911.
Responding deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office found Torres’s body by a blue suitcase near the front door. He had a small laceration on his lip and bruising around his eye.
Officers also discovered two videos on Boone’s phone which suggest the death was more than a tragic accident.
In one video the suitcase is face down with Torres inside desperately pushing to get out and screaming that he can’t breathe.
Boone laughs and replies, “Yeah that’s what you do when you choke me.” “That’s on you. Oh, that’s what I feel like when you cheat on me,” she adds.
Another video shows Torres yelling Boone’s name with the suitcase in a different position.
Police have charged Boone with second-degree murder based on the video evidence and her “inconsistent statements.”
 | Winter Park, Florida |
|---|---|
| Location: | 5 miles northeast of Orlando |
| Population: | 31,059 |
| Median Household Income: | $71,749 |
| Quirky Fact: | 21st US president Chester A. Arthur (served 1881-85) reportedly called Winter Park “the prettiest place I have seen in Florida.” |