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Thread: Jorge Luis Dupre Lachazo Sentenced to Life in 2019 FL Slaying of 75-Year-Old Evelyn Udell

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    Jorge Luis Dupre Lachazo Sentenced to Life in 2019 FL Slaying of 75-Year-Old Evelyn Udell


    Evelyn Udell




    August 21, 2019

    Delivery driver accused of killing Boca Raton woman previously arrested in South Florida

    Jorge Lachazo, 21, accused of beating, burning victim

    By Neki Mohan
    Local 10 news

    BOCA RATON, Fla. - A man accused of killing a Boca Raton woman after delivering a washing machine and dryer to her home has a prior arrest history in South Florida.

    Records show that Jorge Lachazo, 21, had been arrested in two theft-related cases last year in Miami-Dade County.

    Both cases were closed and appeared to have been dismissed.

    Lachazo was arrested Monday on attempted murder and battery charges, but his charges were upgraded Tuesday after the victim, Evelyn Smith Udell, 75, died of her injuries.

    Lachazo now faces charges of first-degree murder, first-degree arson and armed burglary with battery.

    Police said Lachazo and co-worker David Gonzalez, who work for a company contracted by Best Buy, dropped off a washer and dryer at the woman's home in the Colonnade at Glen Oaks.

    While the men were installing the new appliances, Gonzalez went outside to return a work call, leaving Lachazo alone with the woman.

    After hearing screams coming from the house, Gonzalez went back inside and noticed blood on the floor of the laundry room. He also found Smith Udell on the floor.

    While Gonzalez was outside calling 911, Lachazo got into the delivery truck and drove away, police said.

    Local 10 News on Wednesday obtained an audio file of the 911 call in which Gonzalez is heard emotionally requesting help from a dispatcher.

    "I need somebody. I need police here," Gonzalez told the dispatcher.

    He then tells the dispatcher that he doesn't know what happened, but said, "I saw a lot of, a lot of, a lot of screaming. So I (inaudible) go inside, I saw the lady on the floor."

    A police officer responding to the call stopped the truck and noticed that the hairs on Lachazo's legs were burned and had ash on them, police said.

    During a search of Smith Udell's home, detectives found burn marks on the washing machine and door frame leading to the laundry room.

    "Burn marks and charred debris was observed in various locations on the tile floor within the room," Detective Scott Hanley wrote in the probable cause affidavit. "A strong odor of a chemical was present. A wooden-handled mallet was on top of the washing machine. Blood was observed on the mallet. A glass wine bottle was on the floor in front of the washing machine. Long hair was observed in the dried blood on the lower front portion of the washing machine and wine bottle."

    An open can of acetone was found on the kitchen counter, its plastic lid on the floor next to the washing machine, Hanley wrote.

    After Lachazo was treated for his injuries at Boca Raton Regional Hospital, he was interviewed by police at the Boca Raton Police Department.

    Lachazo admitted to detectives that he used the mallet to hit Smith Udell on her head and then went into the garage to get a chemical that he poured on her, according to the report. He claimed it spontaneously combusted.

    "It's just unbelievable -- horrifying," neighbor Karen Bransdorf said. "I came home at 11 o'clock and (there were) police on the street and everything."
    Police said Lachazo admitted to using cocaine and marijuana earlier in the day.

    Smith Udell was taken to Delray Medical Center, where she later died.

    "It makes you feel that you can't trust anyone," neighbor Bobbi Cohen said.

    A Florida Atlantic University spokeswoman confirmed in a statement that the victim was a longtime employee of FAU libraries.

    "Evelyn worked at FAU from November 2003 until April 2018 as a cataloger in the technical services department," the statement read. "Evelyn will be remembered as a kind, caring and hard-working member of the staff. The university is devastated to hear about Evelyn's passing. We send our deepest condolences to her family, friends and former colleagues."

    Best Buy CEO Corie Barry also released a statement, saying the Boca Raton store was closed Tuesday out of respect for the victim and her family.

    Barry said the company has suspended its relationship with the business that was subcontracted to deliver the appliances to Smith Udell's home.

    The company was identified by the Palm Beach Post as XM Delivery, of Miami, a subcontractor to distribution giant J.B. Hunt.

    https://www.local10.com/news/florida...-south-florida
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Prosecutors to seek death penalty against deliveryman accused of elderly woman's murder

    By Lizandra Portal and Lexi Nahl
    CBS12 News

    BOCA RATON, Fla. (CBS12) — Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty for the delivery driver charged in the murder of an elderly woman in Boca Raton, according to court documents.

    Police arrested 21-year-old Jorge Lachazo, of Hialeah, on charges of first-degree murder, first-degree arson and armed burglary with battery after they say he beat 75-year-old Evelyn Udell who later died at a Delray Beach hospital.

    The documents filed on Monday say the "capital felony was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel."

    Nick Panagakis, an attorney for the Udell family, spoke with CBS12 News Tuesday.

    He says the State Attorney's office consulted the family before seeking the death penalty. He explained that while though nothing will bring back Evelyn - a beloved mother, grandmother, and community member - this punishment could bring some measure of justice for the family.

    Panagakis the death penalty is completely warranted in this case given the premeditated and brutal nature of the crime.

    "This is the worst of the worst," Panagakis said on a phone call with CBS12. "And I understand that [Lachazo] might not be a serial killer in the truest sense, but this is a serial killer type of murder....this is like something out of the Manson murders. The man was not just trying to kill her, he was trying to torture her."

    A plea of not guilty was filed in September.

    A status check is set for Thursday at 8:30 a.m.

    https://cbs12.com/news/local/prosecu...-womans-murder
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Heartbreak & hope: Family pushes for change after delivery man arrested in loved one's homicide

    By Ryan Hughes and Erik Altmann
    WPTV News

    BOCA RATON, Fla. — Evelyn Udell spent decades working in libraries and was always surrounded by novels of intrigue and mystery.

    “Evy was a very social person,” said Sloane Udell, Evelyn’s daughter-in-law.

    Evelyn surrounded herself not just with books, but family and friends as well.

    “She was completely devoted to her family. I mean she lived for her boys and for her grandchildren. She was completely devoted to her husband, she was completely selfless,” Udell said.

    The Udell family never imagined that Evy, a grandmother and devoted wife of 55 years, would have her own story end the way it did: making national headlines.

    "The hardest part is just the horrific nature of what she went through," said Udell. "We now have to live with what her final moments were like."

    Udell, 75-years-old, was brutally murdered inside her Boca Raton home on Aug. 20, 2019.

    Police allege 21-year old Jorge Dupre Lachazo beat Udell with a mallet, doused her in a chemical and set her on fire.

    Sloane Udell told WPTV more than 50 percent of her mother-in-law's body burned in the attack. Evelyn underwent emergency brain surgery but died the next day.

    "When I think that a 21-year-old kid did this to her, how sick and depraved it is, I mean she had a grandson his age," Udell told WPTV. “I mean, my son will graduate from college in about a year-and-a-half, and she was already making plans to go to his graduation.”

    Lachazo was there that fateful day in August delivering and installing a new washer and dryer for Udell. He faces charges of first-degree murder with a weapon, burglary, robbery, and first-degree arson.

    Prosecutors also filed notice that they intend to seek the death penalty in the case.

    Lachazo has pleaded not guilty to all counts, and his next court hearing is scheduled for April 17, 2020. Police have not identified a motive behind the attack.

    The Udell family says the brutal murder robbed her of her golden years.

    "She was 75, but she was a very young 75. She wasn’t slowing down at all,” Udell said.

    A NATIONAL EPIDEMIC

    In early 2018, Jorge Dupre Lachazo was arrested after allegedly stealing a cellphone. Prosecutors initially charged him with a felony, but that was reduced to a misdemeanor. After completing a pre-trial diversion program, the misdemeanor petit theft was wiped from his record.

    "There does not appear to be any vetting whatsoever of their subcontractors," said the Udell family attorney, Nick Panagakis.

    Panagakis works for Morgan & Morgan, the same firm where Evelyn's son and Sloane's husband, Harran Udell, practices law.

    The family has filed a lawsuit against Best Buy, JB Hunt & X.M Delivery Service (the two subcontractors behind the delivery), as well as Lachazo, salespeople from Best Buy who sold the washer and dryer, the owner of XM Delivery, and the delivery driver.

    Panagakis called incidents of delivery workers attacking vulnerable customers a "national epidemic."

    "It is happening all through America and affects every one of us potentially," said Panagakis.

    Udell's case was not unique.

    WPTV found dozens of similar incidents nationwide.

    A convicted sex offender with a lengthy criminal history faces charges for allegedly raping and killing a woman in her own home in Richmond, VA. The suspect was hired to stain the victim's deck earlier in the year.

    In Sacramento, a repairman faces accusations of killing a 64-year-old man in his own home.

    A former cable technician is accused of sexually assaulting two different women while working in New Jersey.

    And locally, a handyman from Hallandale Beach was recently arrested and accused of allegedly raping a woman while she babysat her grandchild. Also, a delivery man faces charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman in the Greenacres area after delivering furniture. The incident occurred just weeks before Udell's death.

    WPTV even reported in 2016 on a case of a repairman accused of attacking a mother while her children were home. The suspect, Dario Dotto, plead guilty to multiple counts and was required to register as a sex offender. Dotto had a prior conviction, after returning to the home of a customer in 2009 and stealing pain meds from their bathroom.

    In Udell's case, police say Lachazo admitted to using cocaine and vaping marijuana earlier in that day.

    "The information that we have confirmed very recently is that there was no pre-employment drug screen," Panagakis told WPTV.

    PREVENTING ANOTHER TRAGEDY: “WE DO NOT WANT EVY TO HAVE DIED IN VAIN”

    "If this can just stop one of these crimes then hopefully that'll make us feel better," said Sloane Udell.

    The Udells want action in the wake of Evelyn's death.

    The family has teamed up with Republican State Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen of Fort Myers, to ensure consumers know who will actually show up at your home for each and every delivery in the state.

    “We want the tragedies to stop, we do not want Evy to have died in vain," Fitzenhagen told WPTV.

    Rep. Fitzenhagen works for Morgan & Morgan, the same firm behind the Udell family's lawsuit.

    Fitzenhagen says she is crafting a bill in Evelyn's name that would require retailers to notify customers when they are using a subcontractor for deliveries.

    Fitzenhagen said, "If they are coming over the threshold, we want to assure the retailer requires all the subcontractors that they use to have a level two background check.”

    Best Buy has told WPTV previously that the company joins “with the Udell family in calling for legislation regarding mandatory background checks across the retail industry, and any other reasonable steps that can be taken to ensure this kind of tragedy does not occur again.”

    Sloan Udell told WPTV that they are "just trying to find some good in all of this."

    The Udell family hopes that Evy's Law will pass in the Florida Legislature during the upcoming session, which will help turn the page on this dark chapter in their lives.

    https://www.wptv.com/news/region-s-p...orrific-murder

    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Related:

    New bill seeks stiffer regulations for home delivery services after Boca Raton woman killed

    ‘Evy Udell Public Safety Act’ would hold retailers, delivery service providers accountable for employees facing criminal charges

    By Local 10 News

    PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – A bill filed Tuesday in the Florida House seeks to add stringent screening requirements for home delivery service providers.

    The "Evy Udell Public Safety Act" is named after Evelyn Smith Udell, a Boca Raton woman who police said was beaten, set on fire and killed by a delivery worker last year.

    Sponsored by state Rep. Michael Caruso, R-Delray Beach, the law, if passed, would require all delivery service companies to complete local and national criminal background checks for employees. It would also require retailers contracting with delivery service providers to provide documentation of such.

    The proposed law would prohibit delivery workers from entering homes if they have been arrested, convicted or are awaiting trial on a wide-range of charges, including sexual misconduct, assault, domestic violence, manslaughter and murder.

    Boca Raton police said Jorge Lachazo, 21, was delivering a washer and dryer from Best Buy in August when he beat Udell with a mallet and doused her with a chemical he found in her house, setting her on fire.

    Lachazo is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree arson and armed burglary with battery. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

    Records show that Lachazo had been arrested in two theft-related cases in Miami-Dade County in 2018.

    Best Buy retained J.B. Hunt and XM Delivery to deliver and install appliances. Udell’s family is suing Best Buy, claiming the company “did nothing” to warn Udell that delivery and installation services had been delegated to third-party companies that Best Buy “did nothing to investigate, supervise or oversee.”

    Under the proposed law, any company found to be in violation could be charged with a third-degree felony.

    The bill only applies to delivery service providers of “household goods,” excluding postal and package service workers.

    https://www.local10.com/news/local/2...-woman-killed/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Death penalty off the table in case of woman killed during delivery drop in Boca Raton

    By Kennedy McKinney and Skyler Shepard
    CBS12 News

    BOCA RATON, Fla. (CBS12) — The death penalty is now off the table for Jorge Luis Dupre Lachazo, the delivery man who is accused of murdering 75-year-old Evelyn Udell.

    In 2019, Lachazo was accused of killing Udell as he and another worker delivered a washer and dryer to her home.

    According to police, Lachazo admitted he hit the woman, doused her with a liquid chemical, and claimed the chemical "spontaneously combusted." He also said he used cocaine and marijuana earlier in the day.

    Udell worked at the Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton as a librarian.

    On Jan. 6 a written waiver was filed and approved by the Palm Beach County Courts that the case will no longer be a jury trial and instead will be a bench trial. This means the death penalty is off the table.

    Trial by judge is scheduled for Jan. 23 at 9 a.m.

    https://cbs12.com/news/local/jorge-l...january-6-2023
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Former deliveryman found guilty of killing 75-year-old Boca Raton woman

    Jorge Dupre Lachazo to be sentenced in April

    By Scott Sutton
    WPTV News

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The man who was charged with killing a 75-year-old Boca Raton woman after delivering a washer and dryer to her home was found guilty Wednesday.

    A non-jury trial began Monday for Jorge Dupre Lachazo, who was charged with first-degree murder in the Aug. 20, 2019, beating and burning of Evelyn Udell.

    Boca Raton police said Lachazo, now 24, beat Udell with a mallet and doused her with a chemical he found in her home, setting her on fire.

    Lachazo was found guilty of first-degree murder, burglary and arson.

    According to the report, Lachazo admitted to detectives that he used the mallet to hit Udell on her head and then went into the garage to get a chemical that he poured on her. He claimed it spontaneously combusted.

    Lachazo, a Hialeah resident, had been working for a company contracted by Best Buy to deliver the appliances.

    Earlier this month, attorneys agreed to waive a jury trial, meaning Lachazo won't be eligible for the death penalty.

    Lachazo will be sentenced on April 5.

    https://www.wptv.com/news/region-s-p...ca-raton-woman
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  7. #7
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    Delivery driver gets life for killing woman, setting fire

    AP

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An appliance delivery man was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for beating a 75-year-old woman to death and setting her on fire at her Florida home.

    A Palm Beach County circuit judge gave Jorge Dupre Lachazo two life sentences, plus another 30-year sentence, according to court records. The 24-year-old was convicted in January of first-degree murder, burglary and arson, following a three-day trial.

    Dupre Lachazo and another man delivered a washer and dryer purchased from Best Buy to Evelyn Smith Udell’s Boca Raton, Florida, home in August 2019, officials said. After installing the appliances, the other man went outside and reported hearing screams minutes later. He found Udell on the floor and called 911. Dupre Lachazo drove off in the delivery truck but was later stopped by a responding officer, investigators said.

    Police found a rubber mallet, which was used in the attack, and a can of paint thinner that Dupre Lachazo used to start the fire next to Udell’s body, according to law enforcement. Both had Dupre Lachazo’s fingerprints on them, prosecutors said. Investigators also found that the woman’s wallet had been disturbed, suggesting theft as a motive for the attack.

    Defense attorneys didn’t deny that Dupre Lachazo attacked the older woman, but they argued the slaying wasn’t premeditated or intentional.

    https://apnews.com/article/delivery-...8823236ac441bd

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