ORLANDO, Fla. (Court TV) — In what feels like a scene out of the movie ‘Groundhog Day,’ Sarah Boone has once again found herself without an attorney and has written a letter to the judge asking for help.
Boone is charged with second-degree murder in the death of her boyfriend, Jorge Torres, who died after he was zipped inside of a suitcase. Boone told police that she put him in the luggage as part of a game of hide-and-seek that went wrong.
Sarah Boone, who is charged in the death of her boyfriend, who was found dead inside a suitcase, appeared in court for a pre-trial hearing on March 31, 2023. (Court TV)
Winston Hobson, the seventh in a string of attorneys who have represented Boone, filed a motion to withdraw on Thursday, citing “irreconcilable differences including, but not limited to, ethical considerations.” Hobson was appointed to represent Boone after her sixth attorney, Frank Bankowitz, withdrew from her case in August, telling the judge that he could not represent a client who called him a “dud” and “buffoon.”
The judge who will hear Hobson’s motion to withdraw is new to the case. Judge Michael Kraynick has taken over the case from Judge Wayne Wooten. Boone had previously written a number of letters from jail to Judge Wooten, bemoaning the length of time she had been held, the delays in her trial and her perceived lack of access to her attorneys.
MORE: Sarah Boone’s Letters From Jail
While Hobson said in his motion to withdraw that he had met with Boone in person at the jail and via video, Boone’s first letter to Judge Kraynick claims she has only spoken to Hobson on one occasion for a total of three hours and has never received any phone calls.
Boone made no secret of her disdain for Judge Wooten in her letter, blaming him for the delays in her case along with her attorneys.
“Finally! A new judge! It’s strange how the Lord works as I was in the process of trying to disqualify Wooten after being my judge 4 YEARS and me still incarcerated with nothing to show, other than seven (7) different attorneys (NOT BY CHOICE), news clips of me walking in and out of the courtroom, and everything relative to my case permitted to be slathered on the global internet and in which I have not seen myself. … I felt he was the ticket holder to my overly hyped, illicitly distributed, misconstrued ‘criminal’ case, and great reason I am still here, again, ongoing 4 YEARS and 7 attorneys later.”
In her letter, Boone asks to be included in all future hearings. “Either way, I’m still here, waiting patiently and very excited to get this highly anticipated ‘show’ on the road. Thank you in advance Judge Kraynick. Welcome.”
The next hearing in Boone’s case is scheduled for May 3, ahead of an anticipated May 13 trial. The judge will likely schedule a hearing sooner to address the motion to withdraw.
