ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Sarah Boone, who had lost eight attorneys and appeared to have waived her right to a court-appointed defense before her murder trial, has recently hired new legal counsel, according to paperwork filed Friday.
Boone, 46, was arrested in 2020 after her 42-year-old lover, Jorge Torres Jr., died in February. Boone, who is charged with second-degree murder, is accused of leaving Torres to die by asphyxiation in a zipped suitcase for up to 11 hours while calling out for her.
In June of this year, Boone’s so-called forfeiture to a court-appointed attorney was described as a “judicial response that adapts the course of the legal proceedings to the defendant’s choice to engage in misconduct that undermines the legitimate exercise of the right to counsel,” with the judge clarifying that Boone’s attorneys were largely forced to withdraw due to her behavior toward them.
“Irreconcilable differences” — as well as alleged instances of “antagonism, hostility” and attacks on her attorneys’ professionalism — were highlighted among the reasons why some of the withdrew motions were approved, while several others more generally referenced “a conflict.”
Boone applied for a continuance on Friday, requesting that the trial date be moved from October 7. She also hired new legal counsel, James Owens of James Owens Attorney at Law, who court records say met with Boone four times at the Orange County jail between August 20 and 27.
Earlier, on Tuesday, a motion was filed to dismiss the case entirely because the 6th Amendment — specifically Boone’s right to a speedy trial — had been violated, noting, “Unafective (sic) substandard state provided attorneys should have made this request long ago proving this as fact.”
The move to dismiss was denied on Wednesday. According to the scans attached to the first petition, the request was sent directly to Orange County Clerk of Courts Tiffany Moore Russell from a law practice in Bakersfield, California. Thus, the court denied the request since it was filed by a non-party.
Boone’s three-week jury trial is set to begin on October 7.