ORLANDO, Fla. (Court TV) — While Sarah Boone waits to be sentenced for murder, her lawyer is trying to get her a new trial by saying the judge made mistakes and the prosecutor did something wrong.
During her hearing at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Fla., on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, Sarah Boone talks about Jorge Torres Jr.’s hand coming out of the suitcase. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel) POOL
Boone was found guilty of second-degree murder for killing her boyfriend Jorge Torres Jr., who was found after a night of drinking in their apartment, zipped up in a bag.
During her trial, Boone said she had acted in self-defense and that she has battered spouse syndrome. However, the lawyers stressed that she had left the victim to suffocate and hit the suitcase with a baseball bat.
Boone had a strong defense team at his trial, lead by James Owens. Boone’s case did not go to trial for four years, even though Torres died in February 2020. This was partly because the defense team kept changing.
Eight lawyers fought for Boone before Judge Michael Kraynick said she lost her right to a lawyer and had to defend herself. Owens said in the request for a new trial that the decision went against Boone’s right to a lawyer under the Sixth Amendment.
Owens wrote that Boone’s actions did not meet the standard of misconduct needed to uphold the decision. She also said that Judge Kraynick did not warn her that if she continued to show “misbehavior,” she would lose her right to an attorney.
Owens said in the move that Judge Kraynick would not let him file a notice of appearance 45 days before the trial was supposed to start, but he still refused to give him any extensions.
Judge Kraynick said that Boone was only “herself to blame” for what happened when he made his decision. He pointed out that Owens knew the Court’s dates before she hired her as an attorney.
Owens’ move also said that the prosecutor had done something wrong. It said that the State had not told the defense that their rebuttal expert, Dr. Tonia Werner, had a new opinion, and it also said that prosecutor William Jay gave a “second closing argument” instead of a rebuttal argument.
Owens also said that Judge Kraynick made a mistake when he did not grant a mistrial because of a “emotional outburst” from the Torres family during closing statements. This was because the jury was not given any corrective instructions.