A Florida woman accused of suffocating her boyfriend inside a locked suitcase raised eyebrows Wednesday when she requested professional hair and makeup for her upcoming murder trial.
A judge was initially going to allow Sarah Boone, 46, to have makeup applied by her legal team once she was already in the courtroom, CourtTV reported.
The motion was denied, however, when the Orange County Sheriff’s Office explained that they had security concerns about the cosmetics, which are considered contraband in jail, the outlet said.
Boone was in court Wednesday for pre-trial proceedings ahead of jury selection, which is scheduled to start on Monday.
She is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the 2020 suffocation death of her boyfriend, Jorge Torres, 42, at their Winter Park apartment.
Boone claimed that Torres was killed during an alcohol-fueled game of hide-and-seek, while investigators claim that videos from her phone showed that she trapped him inside a suitcase while he begged to be let out.
Boone can supposedly be heard laughing in one video as Torres calls out her name and says he can’t breathe.
“Yeah that’s what you do when you choke me,” Boone said in one of the videos.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Boone’s new defense attorney argued to have two hours of interview footage between his client and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office thrown out, FOX35 reported.
In the interview shortly after her arrest, Boone repeatedly told investigators that Torres’ death was an accident – which was also the legal argument put forward by Boone’s first eight attorneys, the outlet said.
But Boone’s ninth lawyer, James Owens, said a few weeks ago that he plans to pursue a battered partner defense, which does not line up with her comments in the interview.
Boone took the stand herself during the hearing on Wednesday, as the lawyers on both sides jockeyed over whether the footage should be admitted at trial.
“I was very confused, I was very hazy,” Boone said of the interview.
Boone took the stand herself during the hearing on Wednesday, as the lawyers on both sides jockeyed over whether the footage should be admitted at trial.
“I was in shock. I was traumatized by the situation.”
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The Orange County detective in the video can be heard reading Boone her Miranda rights off a card, but Owens zeroed in on the fact that they did not include the extra line “Having these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to us now?,” FOX35 said.
The question is not part of the official Miranda rights, but was part of the script required by Sheriff’s Office policy.