ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA: Mark NeJame, a Florida defense lawyer from NeJame Law, recently told The US Sun that attorneys for Sarah Boone, the Florida woman who is on trial for allegedly leaving her boyfriend to die in a suitcase, can argue 'the Battered Spouse Syndrome' defense.
The syndrome is reportedly a psychological condition that can develop when an individual experiences abuse at the hands of their romantic or intimate partner, as per Medical News Today.
According to The US Sun, the condition has reportedly been used by victims of domestic violence who believed their only way of escaping the life-threatening abuse was to kill their partner.
NeJame told the publication that Boone's lawyers can also use the Battered Spouse Syndrome in her defense if they want to try for the woman's complete acquittal.
A look into the meaning of Battered Spouse Syndrome
As per WebMD, the syndrome is a subcategory of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and can be defined as a form of psychological trauma resulting from the mental, physical and sexual abuse, usually at the hands of an intimate partner.
The term "Battered Spouse Syndrome" is another related phrase for "Battered Woman Syndrome," a term coined by psychologist Lenore Walker, in her 1979 book, 'The Battered Woman.'
"Battered Woman’s Syndrome is the psychological effects of living with intimate partner violence," Walker described.
She also mentioned that Battered Woman's Syndrome is not a mental illness but the result of a condition that happens when an individual lives day in and day out with trauma.
What did Sarah Boone do?
Boone was charged with second-degree murder over allegation of killing her boyfriend Jorge Torres Jr after she allegedly zipped him inside a suitcase during a drunken hide and seek and did not let him out for several hours on February 2020.
According to an arrest affidavit from the Orange County Sheriff's Office, Boone allegedly saw Torres sticking out two of his fingers from the bag and believed he would be able to let himself out whenever he wanted, CNN reported.
The woman eventually went upstairs and thought Torres would come out of the suitcase and join her before she fell asleep. However, she found him unresponsive inside the bag the next morning.
Investigators later came across a video in Boone's phone that showed Torres pleading for help. The woman was allegedly heard laughing in the video, saying, "That’s what you do when you choke me."
The video showed Torres saying, "I can't f**king breathe, seriously," to which Boone replied, "That's on you. Oh, that's what I feel like when you cheat on me."
What did Mark NeJame say about Sarah Boone's case?
NeJame weighed in on Boone's case ahead of her trial for Torres' murder that is set to begin on Monday, October 9.
The defense lawyer, who does not have any link to Boone's case, told The US Sun that the woman's attorneys could argue the Battered Spouse Syndrome defense if they wanted to attempt a complete acquittal for their client.
However, NeJame also said that Boone will "have to be able to show that she was a victim of this ongoing cycle of violence" to win with the Battered Spouse Syndrome defense.
The lawyer explained that if the defense chooses to convince the jury that Boone was a victim of the battered spouse syndrome, they will not only have to show an ongoing cycle of abuse "but also that she felt helpless and that killing the other person was the only way out."
"And that poses some difficulty in this case. Why? Because with a guy locked up in a suitcase, you could have surely gotten away," NeJame said.
The lawyer also mentioned that the video evidence of Boone mocking Torres while he was locked in the suitcase is another challenge her defense will have to face in court.
"There’s no question that hurts," NeJame said, adding, "If I were the defendant's lawyer, I would simply say, she felt there was no way out."
"She wanted him to feel her pain and that because there's been this cycle of ongoing violence where she thought she had no other way out, her words might not have been the best words to use that were videotaped, but it all the more goes to show how she had been so abused so long that now she was gonna get her comeuppance," NeJame said.
He also admitted that no matter what defense Boone's lawyer chooses to argue at the trial, "There's landmines ahead."
