WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The delivery person accused of fatally beating a Boca Raton woman and setting her on fire has been spared the possibility of a death penalty with a non-jury trial scheduled for later this month.
Prosecution and defense counsel agreed to a bench trial for Jorge Dupre Lachazo starting on Jan. 23 at 9 a.m.
Jury selection was originally scheduled for Jan. 20.
Palm Beach Circuit Judge Daliah Weiss' maximum sentence would be life in prison.
Both sides appeared before Weiss on Friday. The suspect needed a Spanish interpreter.
Dupre Lachazo, now 24, is facing charges including first-degree murder with a weapon.
He is accused of killing Evelyn Udell, 75, inside her home in the Colonnades at Glen Oaks community, located on Northwest 49th Street, on Aug. 20, 2019.
Lachazo was at Udell's home installing a new dryer and washer from Best Buy. According to the criminal complaint, Lachazo beat Udell over the head with a mallet and set her on fire. She died from her injuries a day after the attack.
At one point during the police interrogation, Lachazo told detectives that he made a mistake and asked them to kill him.
