Funeral to be held Thursday for victim killed in Boca Raton attack

Evelyn Smith Udell, 75, beaten with mallet, set on fire, police say

BOCA RATON, Fla. – A 75-year-old woman will be laid to rest Thursday, days after she was killed. A man who was delivering a washing machine and dryer to her home in Boca Raton is accused in her death. 

Private security guards checked vehicles Thursday morning as they entered the property of the temple where loved ones are gathering to say their final goodbyes to Evelyn Smith Udell.

On Wednesday, police released the 911 call made by the suspect's co-worker after he walked into the victim's home to find her bleeding on the floor.

"I need somebody. I need police here," a clearly emotional David Gonzalez told the dispatcher. 

File: 911 call made after elderly woman beaten, burned at Boca Raton home

He then tells the dispatcher that he doesn't know what happened, but said, "I saw a lot of, a lot of, a lot of screaming. So I (inaudible) go inside, I saw the lady on the floor."

Police said Gonzalez's co-worker, Jorge Lachazo, 21, of Hialeah, beat Smith Udell with a mallet and doused her with a chemical he found in the house. He claimed it spontaneously combusted, authorities said. 

Police said Lachazo fled the scene in the delivery truck while his co-worker was on the phone with the dispatcher.

A police officer responding to the call stopped the white delivery truck and noticed the hairs on Lachazo's legs were burned and had ash on them, police said. 

Smith Udell, a former longtime librarian at Florida Atlantic University, was taken to Delray Medical Center, where she later died.
 


About the Authors:

Saira Anwer joined the Local 10 News team in July 2018. Saira is two-time Emmy-nominated reporter and comes to South Florida from Madison, Wisconsin, where she was working as a reporter and anchor.

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.