Attorneys for accused killer Sarah Boone revealed a key defense tactic they plan to put into play when opening statements begin, as jury selection spilled into its fourth day Thursday.
Boone, 46, is on trial for the second-degree murder of boyfriend Jorge Torres Jr., 42, during an alleged game of hide-and-seek at her Winter Park, Florida apartment in 2020, authorities said, according to the Associated Press and WOFL-TV.
Boone alleged to detectives that the couple spent the night drinking and agreed it would be funny if Torres climbed into the luggage. She allegedly recorded herself teasing him when he begged her to unzip the suitcase because he claimed he couldn't breathe. He was found dead the next morning, according to investigators.
This week, the defense said they plan to present the "battered spouse syndrome" argument in an attempt to convince the jury that Boone was justified in keeping Torres confined in the luggage because he had a history of being violent toward her, WESH-TV reported.
In conversations with the judge, prosecutors have reportedly already pushed back on the tactic, stating there was insufficient evidence to support the defense's claim that an "overt act" by the victim threatened Boone's life.
"The overt act, I have to tell you, is his hand coming out of the suitcase," defense attorney Tony Henderson told the station. "That means he's about to get out of the suitcase. Based on history and everything else, she doesn't have to wait to see what's going to happen when he gets out of the suitcase. It's clear what's going to happen when he gets out of the suitcase."
The trial is expected to last three weeks.
If convicted, Boone faces up to life in prison.
