A Best Buy customer was beaten, burned and killed. Her family is now suing the company.
The family of a customer who was fatally beaten and burned during a washer-dryer home delivery is suing Best Buy and other companies.
Evelyn “Evy” Udell, 75, died Aug. 19 in her Boca Raton home, police said. Accused of her murder: Best Buy and JB Hunt deliveryman Jorge Luis Dupre Lachazo, 21. Police say Lachazo struck Udell with a mallet until she was unconscious, then doused her in chemicals, which spontaneously combusted.
On Friday, Udell’s family announced that they have filed a lawsuit against Lachazo, Best Buy and the two contractors it used for the delivery, JB Hunt and XM Delivery.
“We will be pursuing the corporations whose negligence resulted in her death, to put an end to the systemic failure that allowed this to happen and in the hope that this never happens to another wife, mother, grandmother or sister again,” Sloane Udell, Evy’s daughter-in-law, said during a news conference.
The family will be represented by Morgan & Morgan, where Evy’s son Harran Udell is an attorney.
“We have filed a lawsuit against Best Buy, JB Hunt and XM Delivery Service to hold them accountable for failing to conduct adequate background checks on the workers they’re sending to customers’ homes,” said Nick Panagakis, the family’s attorney.
Through the suit, the family is seeking to recover damages in excess of $15,000
The family alleges that the nine listed defendants have committed 22 wrongful acts, including negligence and loss of consortium, which is the deprivation of the benefits of a family relationship.
The Udell family has also funded a charitable trust to support causes that Evy Udell loved, which include libraries and literacy projects. Udell was a retired library employee at Florida Atlantic University.
“Evy was a young 75 years old when she was murdered. She still traveled extensively, had an active social circle and volunteered at the local library,” Sloane Udell said.
Family members said they plan to support local and state legislation requiring extensive and ongoing background checks for in-home service workers.
“The killer’s background should have easily disqualified him as a delivery driver required to drive a delivery truck that he couldn’t legally do — and with direct and continuous access to the private homes of totally innocent victims,” Panagakis said.
In a statement released Friday, Best Buy said, “Our regret for what happened is as deep today as it was on August 19th. If the family will accept it, we would very much like the opportunity to donate to the charity they have established.”
It continued on to say that the company joins the family in calling for legislation on mandatory background checks and that those checks “have long been required by Best Buy.”
“We are working with those we contract out to ensure that these checks are up-to-date and are done on a re-occurring basis,” the statement read.
This story was originally published September 27, 2019 at 11:36 AM.
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