911 call released in deadly attack
‘I heard a lot of screaming,’ delivery man said after elderly woman beaten
BOCA RATON – Through frantic sobs, delivery man David Gonzalez begged a 911 dispatcher to send police to the home of a woman who’d been beaten and set afire in her laundry room, a recording released Wednesday by police shows.
That woman was 75-year-old Evelyn “Evy” Udell, who died Tuesday from her injuries.
Police say Gonzalez’s coworker, Jorge Luis Dupre Lachazo, 21, of Hialeah, hit Udell on the head with a wooden mallet and set her on fire with acetone while his partner was outside.
The men showed up Monday morning to deliver a new washer and dryer to Udell’s home in the Colonnades at Glen Oaks, a suburban neighborhood near Yamato and Jog roads in Boca Raton.
After installing the appliances, Gonzalez stepped outside to return some missed calls and Lachazo stayed inside to show Udell how to use her new washer and dryer.
Soon, the scene turned gruesome.
Gonzalez told a 911 dispatcher he was outside when he heard screams coming from inside the house.
“I heard a lot of screaming and I went inside,” he said. “The lady is on the floor.”
Gonzalez also describes Lachazo getting in the work truck and having trouble starting the engine because he does not know how to drive a stick shift.
About the 6:11 minute mark of the 911 recording, Gonzalez tells the dispatcher he’s watching as his coworker is “escaping” and trying to drive away in the company truck. But the truck was stalling on him.
Lachazo was eventually able to drive away, but was later captured by police.
Police and rescue crews found a bloodied and beaten Udell lying unconscious in her laundry room. The dryer was running and the oven and every burner on the stove had been turned on.
Udell died the next day, eight days before her 76th birthday.
Police say they do not know what triggered Lachazo.
He has been charged with murder, aggravated battery on a person 65 or older, and arson causing great bodily harm. He is being held without bond at the Palm Beach County Jail.
Court records show his next hearing is in September.
About 10 a.m. Wednesday, the tree-lined street Udell lived on was empty.
A next-door neighbor who declined to give his name said Udell was a nice woman who mostly kept to herself.
He said he couldn’t understand why Lachazo would do such a thing to a quiet librarian like Udell.
“It was very horrific,” he said of the incident.
In Hialeah, no one answered the door at a listed residence for Lachazo and his family on Wednesday afternoon. The blinds were drawn in the small apartment.
A next-door neighbor named Ray was taking out his trash.
Ray, who declined to give his last name, said he hadn’t seen the family since yesterday, but insisted they were “good people,” particularly Lachazo’s parents.
He knew about the crime Lachazo has been accused of committing, but didn’t think that should reflect on his entire family.
“No one can take the blame of what their children do when they are grown,” he said.
Ray said he didn’t know much about Lachazo himself. He said he speaks more to his parents, who he called “good neighbors.”
At a North Miami residence listed for Gonzalez, no one answered the door Wednesday evening.
Udell bought her appliances from Best Buy, but Best Buy did not make the delivery.
A Boca Raton police report indicated a company called J.B. Hunt employed Gonzalez.
But on Thursday, Best Buy officials said a J.B. Hunt subcontractor, Miami-based X.M. Delivery Service, handled the delivery.
“We have not suspended our relationship with J.B. Hunt,” Best Buy said in a statement. “As of now, the relationship we have indefinitely suspended is with the local small subcontractor of J.B. Hunt that was responsible for this delivery in Boca Raton.”
State records show X.M. Delivery Service’s listed officer is Manuel D. Chavez. He couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday despite a visit to his home in Miami.
Best Buy said it plans to revisit its delivery and installation programs and hire an independent security firm to review existing screening, auditing and safety procedures.