Prosecutors will pursue the death penalty against a delivery man accused in the brutal murder of a Boca Raton woman.
The State Attorney's Office filed a notice of intent Monday to seek the death penalty in the Aug. 19 murder of 75-year-old Evelyn Udell.
Jorge Luis Dupre Lachazo, 21, faces charges including first-degree murder.
According to police, Lachazo and another delivery driver had been contracted through BestBuy to deliver a washer and dryer to Udell's home.
At one point during the delivery, the driver was outside making phone calls to the office when he heard screaming from inside the house. That's when he ran inside the home and found Udell, who was on the floor and covered in blood, police said.
Lachazo fled but was later caught. Police said he beat Udell with a mallet and doused her with a liquid chemical. At some point, a fire ensued.
Udell, a longtime employee at Florida Atlantic University libraries, died from her injuries. Her family filed a lawsuit in late September against BestBuy and the two contractors they used for the delivery, alleging the companies failed to conduct adequate background checks on its workers.
