An appliance delivery man who beat a 75-year-old woman to death and set her on fire at her South Florida home nearly four years ago has been sentenced to life in prison.
Jorge Dupre Lachazo, 24, of Hialeah, was given the sentence Wednesday, WPTV reported.
Dupre Lachazo was convicted in January of first-degree murder, burglary, and arson in the killing of Evelyn Smith Udell. Prosecutors and defense attorneys had reached an agreement that he wouldn't face the death penalty.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
Dupre Lachazo and another man had delivered a washer and dryer purchased from Best Buy to Udell’s Boca Raton home in August 2019.
After installing the appliances, the other man went outside and reported hearing screams minutes later. He found the victim 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 used in the attack and a can of paint thinner used to start the fire next to Udell's body. Prosecutors said both had Dupre Lachazo's fingerprints on them.
Local
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 argued the slaying wasn't premeditated or intentional.
Udell was a longtime employee at Florida Atlantic University libraries. She was a cataloger in the technical services department from 2003 until 2018, university officials said.
