Sarah went wild writing pages and pages of notes during the trial. Plus several dozen post-it notes she placed on top of Owen's binders (this happened primarily while Mr. Jay read her text messages out loud - she appeared the most fractious). What's your most outrageous guess what she wrote??
By all that is holy - what is Sarah's problem with the stupid pre-trial statement in her family case? The woman can write hundreds of pages about how she's never wrong, but she can't handle a pre-trial statement?
(Picture for fun)
(Here we go with Part Three of our online book club...)
Q So you and Jorge were just going to enjoy the day together?
A Correct, yes.
Q Is it fair to say you-all don't have a lot of money?
A Yes.
Q And so you-all were going to do something there in the home? You-all weren't going out for dinner or --
A Yes. We primarily -- I would consider us homebodies as opposed to going out and partying and doing this and that.
Q Okay. And how long do you think you-all were out that afternoon, outside?
A A few hours.
Q All right. Could you tell the jury what you-all did during that time?
A We have a dartboard that's out there and we just had drinks and were just really enjoying each other's company and talking about, you know, things upcoming. You know, we both were looking for a job and just kind of, I guess, encouraging and supporting and planning and...
Q Well, now, you said he had a job. Was he looking for a job, a second job?
A No. The job that he had was very unstable, and at that --
Q So he was looking for something new?
A Yes. At that time, yes.
Q Okay. And so during that two to three hours, would it be fair to say that you-all drank the bottle?
A Yes.
Q Okay. So would it be fair to say that you-all are feeling the effects of the alcohol?
A Yes.
Q Okay. At some point, who made the decision to come in?
A I did.
Q Okay. Why? Why did you-all -- why did you want to come in?
A I felt that Jorge needed a change of scenery.
Q Okay. So you-all came in, and then did you-all do anything else before he left again? Were you-all doing anything? I know you-all -- you-all did some arts and crafts. What did you-all do? At some point he went to get another bottle at Publix?
A Yes. After -- I believe it was after we had -- it was right before, I believe, that we had gone inside, because he called his daughters. I was trying to encourage him to call his family.
Q Okay. Now, where are his daughters?
A His two daughters are located in Pennsylvania.
Q And what are their names?
A Anna and Destiny.
Q And how old are they?
A I believe that Anna is in her 30s and Destiny maybe in her early 20s.
Q All right. Does he have any more children?
A Yes. He has a son.
Q And where is this son?
A He is in Pennsylvania also.
Q Okay. So part of that afternoon is you-all came in to call relatives, call family?
A No. I had him call outside, just trying to, I guess, boost the mood. And the first daughter didn't answer and I don't remember the reason he didn't speak to the second one. I believe if he did, it was just for a moment.
Q All right. Now, whose phone were you-all using?
A My phone.
Q And is that common for you-all to use -- for you-all to share that phone?
A It was, because Jorge said that he didn't have a phone, so -- it would either be lost or given to him by his mother, so I didn't know he had a cell phone, so we would use my phone.
Q So it was primarily your phone?
A Yes.
Q Okay. And you took a lot of photographs that were on that phone?
A Yes.
Q Videotapes?
A Yes.
Q Text messages?
A Yes.
Q Phone calls?
A Yes. He and I both on the phone calls.
Q So he would use it as well?
A Yes.
Q And that phone, is that the one that was -- that was seized in this case?
A Yes.
Q All right. So you-all called his daughters, and then during that phone call period, did you also call his brother?
A Yes.
Q Okay. And who -- which brother was that?
A John.
Q How many -- how many brothers and sisters does
A Jorge have?
A I'm gonna list them, if that's okay?
Q Okay.
A It's John, Farrell, Isaac, Moe, and his sister.
Q Okay. And do they all live here in Florida?
A Yes.
Q Are they close-by?
A As far as I know, yes.
Q What about his parents?
A Yes.
Q Do they live here as well?
A Yes.
Q Okay. But his ex-wives and his children live up in -- A Pennsylvania. -- Philadelphia?
A Yes.
Q Okay. So you called -- called the girls. Then you called -- or Jorge called his brother?
A Yes.
Q Was that conversation that long?
A No, it was not.
Q Okay. And then after that phone call, what did you-all -- were you-all inside by this time?
A Yes. At this -- at this point, I believed that it was a good time to get a change of scenery, so I thought Jorge would be better off inside. And, frankly, I didn't want to be outside any longer either.
Q Okay. So just to get an idea, about this time is when he went to get the second bottle or did you-all stay inside for a while before he left?
A No. From what I recall, it was -- I thought the day was over and it was going to be, get ready for the evening, for the day, maybe what do you want for dinner, you know, do you have an extra load of laundry that you need to throw in kind of thing, and that was my understanding. And he --
Q This was about 5:00-ish or something?
A I don't remember the time.
Q Okay. At some point during that time period, did Jorge go to Publix again?
A Yes. I thought he was going to be walking to the convenience store, but apparently when he returned, he had gone across the street with my car and my debit card to buy another bottle of wine.
Q What was your understanding of where he was going?
A To the convenience store, walking.
Q For what?
A Cigarettes.
Q Okay. And you've learned -- you learned, obviously, that he came back and you learned that he had used your vehicle?
A Yes.
Q And he had used your debit card?
A Yes.
Q And he had brought back a bottle of wine from Publix?
A Correct.
Q And you saw the -- the Publix video of that?
A Yes.
Q Okay. So he comes back with the other bottle of wine, and did he want you to drink with him?
(wouldn’t copy over…)
his grandmother bought him. It's a very big art wooden box and it's got pastels, pencils, paint, any kind of whatever. And he and I were very much into art, and with these -- with this resource, it got him very interested in being more creative.
Q How long have you been into art?
A Ever since I can remember as a child.
Q Do you like to draw?
A I like to do anything artistic.
Q Okay. And I know -- you know, we saw some of the pictures of your apartment, but it looks like there was pictures and artwork up. Is that all of your work and Jorge's work?
A The majority of it, yes, are belongings from my home. And then also some of Jorge's, yes, on the wall.
Q All right. Was he pretty good at art as well?
A Yes.
Q All right. So you both enjoy doing that?
A Very much.
Q So you-all got out ***art set. What did you-all do with that?
A We were just, I guess, doodling, you know, whatever -- I would always tell him that everything that you make is a masterpiece, so just let loose and just let it go, and we would just paint and --
Q And drink?
A Paint and drink, yes, and listen to music sometimes and -- yes.
Q Okay. Now, would the dogs -- did you-all get the dogs involved?
A Oh, yes. My dogs follow me everywhere, yes.
Q Was there some dancing going on with the dogs?
A Yes. After we had completed the puzzle and I guess were painted out, I thought that it might be a good point for us to maybe listen to some music. And the music that Jorge listens to is a little -- it's very fractious to me and it was definitely not going to lighten the mood, so we ended up finding some channel on the radio, and he was feeling it. And then we ended up -- my one dog gets very active and was dancing with us and we were just having a good time listening to music.
Q Okay. And I guess it's getting pretty late in the evening?
A Yes.
Q Anything else I've missed?
A I don't believe so.
Is there a more cringe, repulsive phrase that comes out of Sarah's mouth? This one gets my vote.
(Here goes Part 2 for anyone wanting to hop on board with our online book club. Leave your thoughts below.)
Q All right. So eventually the divorce was settled. Did you get your own place?
A Yes.
Q All right. Is it fair to say that after you -- first, you lived in your parents home, correct?
A Yes, until I was married.
Q And then you moved directly in with Brian?
A Yes.
Q And then you-all lived in the marital home, correct?
A Yes.
Q And then you got this apartment?
A Yes.
Q So that was the first time in your life that you actually had your own place?
A Yes.
Q And what was the address?
A 4748 Frantz Court, Apartment No. 3.
Q And what city is that in?
A It's in Winter Park.
Q How far is that from here?
A Twenty minutes.
Q Okay. So you got that apartment, and initially were you by yourself?
A No.
Q All right. Tell the jury.
A In the almost year, about ten months of separation from Brian, my ex-husband, that is the time when I met Jorge. And my ex-husband was trying to buy me out or force me out of our marital home and I needed to find somewhere to live, and --
Q So did you and Jorge agree to rent the apartment?
A Yes. One of the -- I needed extra income. We could not afford it --
Q Okay.
A -- just on my own.
Q You were receiving some income from the marriage settlement, were you not?
A Yes.
Q So you did have consistent monthly income coming in from the marriage settlement?
A For the most part, yes.
Q But you needed -- you needed more to live?
A Yes, to pay the bills and for rent.
Q So did you and Jorge have some agreement?
A We did.
Q All right. What was the agreement?
A The agreement was that if I decided for he and I to live with one another, because it would be under my name, that he would help with the monthly bills and -- on a regular basis where it wouldn't be something that I would have to argue with him about, it would just be an automatic. Make sure that everything is paid first, and then from there, hopefully have some fun with it.
Q Okay. And so I understand, from that point on would it be fair to say that you-all saw each other on and off for about the next three and a half years?
A No. We were -- I -- I would consider us a couple. At some point he asked me to marry him.
Q Okay. But you-all -- you-all did have times where he left and went to live with his parents
A Yes.
Q Is that fair?
A Yes.
Q And there were times where there was an understanding that you-all were going to break up?
A Multiple times.
Q Okay. All right. So, again, on again, off again?
A Yes. This was actually before we had our apartment. That was, I guess, our dating phase.
Q Okay. So you-all were together for three and a half years; is that fair?
A Uh-huh, yes.
Q And you-all had actually agreed to marry?
A He had asked me, yes, a couple of times to marry him and one time I agreed to, yes.
Q Okay. Now, I want to get directly to the date of this event so that the jury can hear your testimony, all right? So tell us -- I believe the date is February the 23rd of 2020. Explain to the jury that whole day from the time you-all got up, the whole thing.
MR. JAY: Objection. Calls for a narrative.
THE COURT: Approach.
(At the bench.)
THE COURT: Response?
MR. JAY: I'm just making sure. Is there a reason for the narrative?
MR. OWENS: I mean, I can -- I can break it up. I can break it up.
THE COURT: Then go ahead and break it up if there's not any --
MR. OWENS: If there's anything wrong with me saying, Can you tell me what happened that day, and let her tell it. I mean, he was wanting a narrative to begin with. I'm giving her the opportunity.
MR. JAY: Here's the issue. I was just making sure that we weren't in that stage of the ethical issue of having to give the narrative, but if we're not, then I'm just hopeful that, like a prosecutor would have to do, that he would have to come up with a few creative ways of saying what happened next so that I can --you know, so it's not a narrative, we can break it up and object.
MR. OWENS: You've seen me guide her. She tried to go off a couple of times and I tried to get her back.
THE COURT: I'm not going to allow a full-blown narrative. If you want to start morning, afternoon, and break it up into chunks of time, I'll allow that.
All right. Appreciate it.
THE COURT: Objection is overruled for now.
BY MR. OWENS:
Q Now, Ms. Boone, let's just -- instead of one long speech, let me break you up over the course of the day. So do you remember the date of February 23rd, 2020?
A Yes.
Q Do you remember getting up?
A Yes.
Q All right. Just tell the jury about that morning, what you-all did that morning, what you and Jorge -- you and Jorge spent the night together at the apartment?
A Yes. At that point, he was living there.
Q Yes. So you-all slept in the bed together upstairs February -- so you got -- you had gotten up --you-all had gotten up that morning, February 23rd of 2020?
A Yes.
Q All right. Tell the jury what happened when you-all got up.
A He was already downstairs, and I went downstairs and he wanted to start the day off by drinking because it was a day off from his job, and I talked him into cleaning and tidying up the house for a sense of accomplishment. So that is what we did for however long that it took.
Q And you and Jorge had one bedroom?
A Yes.
Q And who had the other?
A ****.
Q All right. Is that exclusively his bedroom?
A Yes.
Q All right. So how long would it have taken you-all that morning to clean?
A I don't really remember what time we woke up, but maybe a good two, maybe three hours.
Q Okay. And would it be fair to say that you and Jorge both smoked cigarettes?
A Yes.
Q And would it be fair to say that you and Jorge both drink alcohol?
A Yes.
Q All right. So at some point you-all finished your chores, right?
A Yes.
Q And then you-all were going to enjoy the day?
A Yes.
Q All right. What was the plan?
A It was just kind of, you know, we've got the day to ourselves, let's just kind of relax and go with the flow.
Q All right. Were you-all -- did you-all make a decision that you-all were going to start drinking?
A Yes. He -- we had a half of a bottle that was already in the refrigerator and I did not want to go out afterwards. I, again, had **** coming the next day, so we went over to Publix to purchase another bottle of wine so we could not have to go out later on that evening.
Q Now, you were here in court when the State – the State played the video of you two in the Publix purchasing the bottle of wine?
A Yes.
Q Is that what you're referring to here with the jury right now?
A Yes.
Q Okay. And that was around noon-ish?
A I believe so, yes.
Q Okay. Had you-all started drinking the leftover bottle --
A No.
Q -- before going to the Publix?
A No.
Q Okay. So you-all bought a bottle of wine?
A Yes.
Q All right. And how did you-all get to Publix?
A My car.
Q How far is Publix from your apartment?
A Five minutes.
Q How would you get there from your apartment?
A What do you mean?
Q Did you have to go across any major highways or is it right there?
A You just come out of our apartment complex and you do a little U-turn and then you come up and it's right in that complex.
Q Okay. But it's easier to drive than to walk?
A Yes.
Q Okay. Now, I know at some times you-all would -- you-all would simply need cigarettes and it was in walking distance. Can you tell the jury about that?
A Yes. There was a Lotto Zone convenience store with -- in the same, I guess, parking lot of our townhome our complex, and it was just a straight shot from our apartment to a back gate and you could get right into the convenience store from right there.
Q Okay. But you-all went over to get that bottle of wine around noon-ish, and how did you-all -- you took your car?
A Yes.
Q Did Jorge have a vehicle?
A He did not.
Q And how did you pay for the wine?
A With my debit card.
Q And then you-all came back and started drinking?
A Yes.
Q Okay. Tell us what you did when you got back from the Publix.
A Just went on the back porch where we usually spend our time, because we're able to smoke cigarettes outside as opposed to inside, and --
Q Is cigarette smoking not allowed indoors?
A It is not.
Q Okay. Do you have pets?
A Yes, I do.
Q Or did you have pets?
A I did, yes.
Q Okay. Were they with you-all there that day?
A Yes. My dogs were with me all the time when I was there.
Q How many dogs do you have?
A I have two.
Q And just, what are their names?
A Penny and Tess.
Q And what is the breed?
A They are red Boston Terriers.
Q And are they both disabled?
A Yes. Penny is blind and Tess is deaf.
Q All right. So when you-all went out to smoke on the back porch -- And drink, I assume, as well, correct?
A Uh-huh, yes.
Q -- did you-all take the dogs out?
A Oh, yes.
Q All right. Is there a place for them to do their business out there?
A Yes. I extended our back porch for them to have a little bit of area as opposed to going from a large backyard from my marital home to our little townhome, and they would come out there and do their business and I could sometimes -- I would open the gate and then walk them in the back part of our apartment.
(Welcome to my version of online book club for Sarah Boone! No pressure to join in, but I thought it would be fun to dissect the transcript of Sarah's testimony on the stand. We can do this in several chunks I'll post over the next month (and futuristically). Feel free to share your favorite parts/least-favorite parts. Wish we could do this in person - this is as close as I could get.)
PART 1
A I was born in Atlanta.
Q And how long did you stay in Atlanta before you moved here to Florida?
A I was 3 years old; 3 or 4.
Q Okay. And from that time, you-all moved – you and your family, your mother and father, moved to Orlando?
A And my grandparents.
Q Okay. You-all moved down from Atlanta down to Orlando?
A Yes, and my two brothers.
Q Okay. And did you -- were you raised here, essentially, from that time on?
A Yes.
Q And you've resided here in Orange County, Florida that entire time?
A Yes.
Q Okay. And where did -- did you go to high school here locally?
A I did.
Q Where did you go to high school?
A Edgewater.
Q Okay. And tell the jury, how old were you when you graduated?
A I was 18 years old.
Q Now, I know you lost your mother and father --
MR. JAY: Objection. Relevance.
THE COURT: Overruled.
MR. OWENS:
Q I know you lost your mother and father in your 5 teens and your 20s; is that true?
A I lost my grandfather when I was a sophomore in high school and I lost my father when I was a senior. And then my mother passed away a few years after that, and then my grandmother passed away after my mother died.
Q All right. So you were in your 20s when all that was going on?
A Yes.
Q Okay. And then at some point in your 20s, you met Brian Boone?
A I did, yes.
Q All right. And did -- how long did you-all date before you married?
A A good handful of years. My -- I helped my family with paying mortgage and bills for the house since my father had passed away and my grandfather, so --
Q So you worked outside the home?
A I did.
Q Okay. Can you tell the jury when -- you said you and Brian Boone dated for a while. Do you remember when you-all married?
A I do.
Q Could you tell the jury when you-all were married?
A The year?
Q Yeah.
A Um...
Q Do you remember the date?
A It happened to be, yes, that after my mother passed away, that he had waited to ask me to marry him because he knew it would be --
MR. JAY: Objection. Non-responsive.
THE COURT: Sustained.
BY MR. OWENS:
Q Just answer the question, if you can, Ms. Boone.
Are you a little bit nervous?
A A little bit.
Q Okay. Well, just -- just tell the jury if you remember the date that you and Brian Boone married.
A August 21st, 2004.
Q Okay. And had you-all lived with each other for a little -- a short time before that?
A A short time.
Q Yes. Okay. After you married, how long was it before you-all had any children?
A Gosh. Six years.
Q Okay. And you-all had one son?
A Yes.
Q What's his name?
A ***.
Q And how old is *** now?
A *** will be 14 years old on the 28th.
Q 28th of this month?
A Yes.
Q Okay. So you and Brian were married and you-all lived in Orange County?
(nods)
Q How long were you-all married?
A For 13 years.
Q All right. And you-all divorced?
A Yes.
Q And as part of the divorce, were you-all to share custody of your son?
A Yes.
Q And so you-all had split days. Would that be fair to say?
A Yes.
Q Okay. At some time after you and Brian split up, did you meet Jorge Torres?
A Yes.
Q All right. Could you tell the jury how you met Jorge Torres?
A I met Jorge when I decided to buck up, I guess, and was tired of trying to patch things up with my ex-husband. And I decided to go one day for a walk across the street and go have a beer by myself and sit and people watch just to get out of my house and a change of scenery and --
Q All right. Now, is this your apartment?
A No. This is the marital home.
Q Okay. Where is that marital home?
A Winter Park.
Q You're no longer living in that marital home?
A No.
Q Who lives in the marital home?
A No one. It has been sold.
Q Okay. So this -- you met Jorge Torres before you got the apartment?
A Yes.
Q Okay. And you met him at a bar across the street from the marital home?
A Yes. We had a mutual friend there.
Q Were you introduced?
A Yes.
Q All right. How did you and Jorge get along when you-all first met?
A Very well. It was -- it was strange how quickly we hit things off and had so much in common, and I never thought that he would be interested in someone like me and I just couldn't believe that he was actually interested in me and said a lot of nice things. And one hour ended up being four hours from when we had first met, and that we would always have something to talk about.
Q Why couldn't you believe that he would be interested in you?
A He was very handsome. He was very funny. He was smart and I would show up in workout clothes and disheveled hair and I guess I kind of felt broken from being in the process of a divorce that he knew about, but then one of the things that we could relate also was the fact that he was here in Florida because he had just been divorced from his second wife. So that was another topic that he and I could compare notes on.
Since the beginning, I always thought Jorge and Sarah consumed 2.5 bottles of wine on Sunday Funday. I thought they had half a bottle left, but they both went to Publix together and bought another one. And then Jorge left again that night to buy a second one (by himself) - making it THREE bottles total (even though the first one was only half full).
Now I'm wondering if I've been wrong all along. Did Jorge buy the bottle alone the night before and that became the half full bottle the next day?
Plus the detectives mentioned in the interrogation finding two bottles, not three.
Help me out here.
This afternoon, I re-watched Darrell's interrogation video and something finally clicked for me. I think I've discovered something - and if I'm the last person to figure this out, let me know.
DB spent most of that interrogation separating himself from his mom's car. He wasn't driving, there were no keys found in his pockets, he met Erika at a park (not the car), etc. I've always been stunned why DB would spend so much energy during the trial trying to discredit Erika's testimony when it was such a small slice of the overall charges.
I think I get it now. Erika was the primary witness who tied DB to that car. She could testify he was in the car and the primary driver. My bet is DB thought if he could disrupt her credibility as a witness (drinking, mother-custody relationships) then he could discredit her testimony that they were actually in the car. Sure, Kory Runkle and Erika's roommate also witnessed it, but Erika was central. If he could get her to withdraw her story (or debunk her credibility), her friends would follow suit.
It's not a strong defense - DB had nothing. There's also the strong possibility that DB doesn't have the mental ability to put all that logic together. But as someone who has stretched for years trying to figure out anything rational in that inflated brain of his, this seemed to fit (if only barely).
Thoughts?
Disclaimer - I think Mr. Jay and Mr. Cacciatore did a great job. The case speaks for itself.
Many of us think Sarah's cross on the stand could have been a bit stronger. There's a lot more lies they could have exposed, more abusive behavior patterns. More testimony from Brian, perhaps a few words from the property manager. There was a lot of dirt barely concealed under the surface.
Why didn't they go down that path with more witnesses after Sarah's testimony? Why didn't they cross her more at length? Thoughts?
After the family case concluded in August (before JJ's ruling), I get the feeling Sarah wasn't confident in her performance, and in typical fashion, she blamed everyone else. We know the fall out with TTR happened shortly after. I imagine Sarah went near nuclear on Peter, particularly with the case law he supplied - the ones JJ couldn't find or Brian's team argued didn't apply whatsoever.
I often wonder about her follow up conversation with Peter and how much anger she threw at him and/or her FM. Whatever happened, it was enough for Peter to finally cut the strings.
Or do I have this wrong? Did Sarah walk away feeling unshakeable in her family court case performance?
We've discussed Sarah's wheelhouse of words in every way, shape and form, but what about the phrases where she deliberately tries to sound well-read and impressive but falls flat on her face?
I am very much looking forward to this new saga of Uncle Al with our Sarah Boone. Will it result in a new lawyer? More motions for the appellate court? Will this man lose all his money? Can we expect a "tell all" book at the end? Either way, I'm nearly 100% confident this association will end in a disaster of biblical proportions (Sarah's version anyway) - as we've seen with every other person who comes into contact with with this toxic, chaotic woman.
Can I get anyone some popcorn?
Question. What is the fall out we can expect from the citizen complaint in regards to the jail phone calls themselves? I can't imagine any correctional facility being okay with a private organization financially benefiting off recorded calls. YT creator Dan D suggested the facility might just release all unredacted calls to the public, but that seems like a huge amount of unnecessary work when they could simply shut down the original source. Thoughts?
Wasn't sure the accessibility to microwaves and fridges. So I kept to salami, cheese, sourdough crackers (i make my own) and grapes.
Ive got some starter discard i hate to waste. Can I put it covered in the fridge for a few days until im ready to make pancakes or cracker? Thank you.
Anyone got a tried and true sourdough cracker recipe? My starter and I are getting along really well these days and I have extra. Thank you!