Woman’s killer faces death penalty
Deliveryman accused of beating, setting a Boca Raton woman on fire
A 21-year-old deliveryman accused of beating and setting a Boca Raton woman on fire, killing her, could face the death penalty when he stands trial.
On Monday, the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office filed paperwork indicating prosecutors will pursue the death penalty against Jorge Luis Dupre Lachazo.
The update in the case comes on the heels of proposed legislation inspired by 75-year-old Evelyn Udell’s death, which could require extensive background checks for all deliverymen who enter the homes of consumers.
On Aug. 19, Evelyn “Evy” Udell was home alone, expecting a new washer and dryer she’d purchased from Best Buy to be delivered and installed by Best Buy employees.
However, Lachazo and David Gonzalez, of X.M. Delivery Service, arrived at her door.
Gonzalez and Lachazo removed the old washer and dryer and installed the new appliances in the laundry room near Evy’s two-car garage, police said.
Gonzalez went back to his truck to return several missed calls from the office, while Lachazo remained inside the home to show Evy how to use the appliances.
Instead, Lachazo savagely beat Evy with a mallet and set her on fire, Boca Raton police said. He later tried to escape the scene in the delivery truck.
He has been charged with first degree murder, first-degree arson and burglary, among other charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
A prosecutors’ office spokeswoman declined to comment about the recent filing on how it’ll seek the death penalty.
In September, the family of Evelyn Udell made their first public appearance to announce that they would be filing a lawsuit against Best Buy and the subcontractors involved in the delivery of Udell’s products.
On Tuesday, Nick Panagakis, one of the attorneys representing the Udell family in the suit, said his clients had been notified about State Attorney David Aronberg’s
recent filing in court regarding the death penalty for Lachazo. “They fully support his decision,” Panagakis said.
In addition to announcing a lawsuit last month, the Udell family also called for laws regulating regulating the hiring and continued employment of workers who show up to people’s homes. As of now, no such laws exist and the vetting of at-home workers is largely left up to individual employers. Often, these employers rely on subcontractors for their services.
Panagakis said that within the last month state representatives Michael Caruso and Heather Fitzenhagen have been actively working to craft legislation that would address some of the family’s goals.
Rep. Caruso, who represents Boca Raton, said he is fine-tuning a bill that would require every delivery person who enters into the homes of consumers to make a delivery or installation to undergo a national background check every year.
Caruso said the bill would also require any company — from a large retailer to a small subcontractor — that sends employees into consumer homes to register with the state and provide documentation proving their employees who enter homes have been background checked.
The bill would specifically target delivery workers that “cross the threshold” of homes, according to Caruso. It would not target delivery workers who normally don’t enter into homes, such as UPS workers or food delivery workers.
In addition to these requirements, Caruso said the bill would require retailers who use subcontractors for in-home deliveries or installations to make it explicitly clear to customers that their products will be delivered by a third party. It will also require that the retailer provide the customer with the name of the subcontractor prior to the delivery.
Currently, many consumers, like Evelyn Udell, are unaware that the deliverymen who show up at their doors are not affiliated with the companies they originally purchased products from.
Caruso said he first began to put thought to the forthcoming bill after learning about the death of Udell, as well as an incident in June where a Greenacres woman accused a City Furniture deliveryman of cornering her and molesting her.
However, an incident that hit closer to home inspired him to act fast.
Caruso said that a month after Udell’s death, his wife was at home expecting the delivery of a dishwasher from Home Depot. One deliveryman entered the home and said he would come back with the dishwasher. He did, but also returned with two other men who Caruso’s wife was not expecting.
Caruso said his wife felt uncomfortable being at home alone with the three men and ended up leaving through the backdoor. Later, she learned the men were subcontractors and wondered whether they had ever been backgroundchecked.
Caruso said the incident made him realize that there needed to be clear legislation that would leave no room for doubt.
Rep. Fitzenhagen, who represents Fort Myers and will likely co-sponsor his bill, agreed.
“There is nothing to ensure that the person who is coming into your home is not a threat or a criminal,” said Fitzenhagen. “We want to fix that.”
Caruso said that once the bill is closer to being finalized he intends to reach out to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried for assistance in drafting language on what penalties can be applied to companies who do not obey the law — should it pass.
Fitzenhagen said the penalty should be strong enough that retailers will feel obliged to comply with the requirements. “The end goal isn’t to sue people, but to prevent this from occurring,” she said, referring to Udell’s death.
Because there isn’t a state agency that is currently charged with maintaining data and tracking the records of in-home delivery workers, Fitzenhagen said there will need to be a separate bill to allocate funds toward an existing state agency to undertake that work. She said that as of now, there aren’t any estimates on how much that would cost.
Caruso said that he has yet to receive pushback on the bill, but he expects to once it is filed. “With every piece of legislation there is always some pushback.” His goal is to file the bill by Nov. 15.
Panagakis said Udell’s family has provided feedback on drafts of the forthcoming legislation. He added that although the bill will be focused at the state level, he hopes it will pass and inspire broader efforts.
“I genuinely hope that this is the start of something that goes national,” Panagakis said. “There is no reason that we should be the only state that requires this.”