Trapped in a Suitcase - The Murder of Jorge Torres Jr.

Sarah Boone calls authorities to report that her boyfriend, Jorge Torres Jr. is dead in their home in Winter Park, Florida. The couple had been drinking the night before and thought it would be “funny” if Mr. Torres crawled inside a suitcase and Ms.Boone zipped him inside. She then goes upstairs and passes out in her bed. When she woke up the next morning she finds Torres still in the suitcase and unresponsive. After police uncovered video from Boone’s phone with Torres yelling Boones name and attempting to escape, they charge her with second-degree murder.

In this episode of Body Bags, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan and Jackie Howard discuss what happens to your body when it’s deprived of oxygen, positional vs. compression asphyxiation, how much of a role the couple’s alcohol consumption played into the case, injuries sustained by Mr. Torres, and much more. 

Show Notes:

0:00 - Intro

1:40 - Background and overview of case

3:25 - Cause of death

5:40 - Positional asphyxiation

8:00 - What volume of oxygen does your brain require?

10:30 - What does lack of oxygen do to your body?

15:45 - How is it exactly that lack of oxygen makes you die?

18:05 - Fear of running out of oxygen

20:25 - Other items found in the suitcase

23:25 - Compression asphyxia vs. Positional asphyxia

26:35 - How compressed does your chest have to be for asphyxiation to occur?

28:45 - How much of a role did alcohol play in this case?

30:55 - Discovering a body in a suitcase

31:35 - Injuries Mr. Torres sustained

35:40 - Could Torres have gotten out of the suitcase?

37:55 - History of domestic violence

39:14 - Wrap up

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