Jorge Dupre Lachazo, 24, beat and burned Evelyn Smith Udell, 75, police said. (Mugshot: Boca Raton Police Department)
A delivery man for Best Buy was sentenced to life plus 30 years for fatally beating a grandmother and setting her on fire.
Cops in Boca Raton, Florida, said the defendant, Jorge Dupre Lachazo, 24, was a helper for a delivery driver bringing a new washer and dryer to the home of the victim, Evelyn Smith Udell, 75. But when his colleague stepped outside to return some phone calls to the home office, Lachazo struck her with a mallet and doused her with a flammable chemical, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Police discovered the 75-year-old unconscious on the laundry room floor of her home.
“Udell had blunt force injuries to her head and severe burns to a majority of her body,” officers said. “According to B.R.F.D. personnel, who arrived on scene first, the victim was located on the floor of the laundry room, leaning up against the washing machine and her clothing was fully engulfed. The dryer was running and they also located all of the burners on the stove and the oven turned on.”
Officers described Udell being taken to an ICU in critical condition, with injuries including second- and third-degree burns on the majority of her body, brain bleed, and multiple skull and facial fracturs.
“She has been placed in hospice care,” they said.
Police announced the following day that she died.
Update: Unfortunately, the victim succumbed to her injuries and has passed away. @bocapolice offer our sincere condolences to her family and loved ones. We will work with the State Attorney’s Office and the Medical Examiner’s Office as we continue to investigate. https://t.co/9crGyYlU6O
— Boca Raton Police (@BocaPolice) August 20, 2019
The defense argued at Lachazo’s three-day bench trial that Udell’s death was not premeditated or intentional, according to CBS News. Lachazo was convicted of first-degree murder with a weapon, burglary with assault or battery while armed, and first-degree arson.
Cops said they responded Aug. 19, 2019, at approximately 9:15 a.m. to an assault allegation. The witness, who worked as a delivery driver for JB Home Delivery, said he and Lachazo were contracted to deliver appliances for Best Buy. They brought a washer and dryer to Udell’s home. She was the only person at the residence, this man said.
The driver said that after switching out the washer and dryer for the new items, he went outside to return multiple missed calls from their home office. Meanwhile, Lachazo stayed inside. He was supposed to fill Udell in regarding the new appliances and answer her questions.
But the driver said he soon heard screaming from the home and noticed a garage door closing. Concerned, he went to the front door and noticed blood on the floor of the “laundry room/bathroom.”
Udell was on the floor near that blood.
Dupre Lachazo, acting strangely, told the driver they had to leave, according to the probable cause affidavit. In fear of his safety, the driver stepped outside and immediately called both his supervisor and 911.
“Lachazo got in the delivery truck and fled the scene,” police said.
Cops found and pulled over the white box truck, finding him sweaty and shaking, as if nervous, according to documents. They noted that the hair of his lower legs, exposed from wearing shorts, were burnt. The surface of his legs had ashes on them.
At Udell’s home, police discovered blood. Burn marks, including on a wooden door frame and the lower part of the washing machine. There was a strong smell of chemical and a bloodied mallet with a wooden handle on the washing machine.
In an interview, Lachazo admitted striking Udell in the head with the mallet, knocking her out, according to documents.
He closed the garage door, got chemical agent from there, and returned to the laundry room to douse Udell and the room.
“He then made a motion with his hands that the chemical spontaneously combusted,” cops said. “He denied knowing the ignition source that was used to start the fire.”
Lachazo admitted to recently using cocaine and marijuana, officers said.
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