A Florida delivery man was jailed for life for the brutal mallet murder of a grandmother after he dropped off appliances at her home.
Jorge Dupre Lachazo delivered a washer and dryer to the home of 75-year-old Evelyn Udell in Boca Raton before killing her.
Investigators found that Lachazo, who is now 24, beat his victim with the mallet before dousing her with chemicals he found in the home and setting her on fire.
After installing the appliances, a colleague of Lachazo went outside and told police he heard screams from inside minutes later.
He rushed inside and found Udell on the floor and called 911. Lachanzo drove away in the delivery truck and was later stopped by a responding police officer.
A jury found Lachazo guilty of first-degree murder, burglary and arson in January for the 2019 attack.
The court was told that Lachazo told investigators that he found the chemicals in the garage but claimed they spontaneously combusted.
Lachazo had been working for a company contracted by Best Buy to deliver the appliances.
“This was a harmless woman in her mid-70s. A wife, a mother, a grandmother, a friend to so many people,” said Circuit Judge Daliah Weiss.
“A woman who had a life well lived with honour, full of love, compassion — anything that you’d want in a person. That much is clear.”
