Jorge Dupre Lachazo was contracted to deliver and help set up new appliances at the home of an elderly woman in Boca Raton, Florida, but police said he beat the 75-year-old woman with a mallet and poured a chemical on her before setting her on fire.
Police found the woman unconscious on her laundry room floor Monday morning, WPTV reported.
She had injuries to her head and burns to most of her body.
Police said Lachazo had worked with another man to deliver the appliances. Once they were hooked up, the other man went outside to make a call as Lachazo showed the woman the new washer and dryer and answered any questions, WPTV reported.
That's when the other man heard screams and ran inside. He found blood near the woman on the laundry room floor, WPEC reported.
The man said "Lachazo was acting very strange" and told his co-worker he had to leave. Then he got into the delivery truck and drove away, WPTV reported.
Police said when they eventually caught Lachazo he was sweaty and shaking like he was nervous. They also said his leg hair was burned and he had ashes on his body.
In examining the scene, police said there was a strong chemical smell in the laundry room and a mallet with blood on it was found on the washing machine, WPTV reported.
There also was a wine bottle with a long hair stuck in dried blood lying on the floor.
Police said Lachazo admitting to hitting the woman with the mallet then going to the garage, grabbing a chemical, and soaking the room and woman with it. He said the chemical spontaneously combusted.
A can of acetone, without a lid on it, was found on a kitchen counter. Police said they found his fingerprints on the can.
Police said Lachazo had used cocaine and vaped marijuana before the attack, WPEC reported.
The woman is at the Delray Medical Center where doctors said she has multiple skull and facial fractures. bleeding on the brain and second- and third-degree burns over most of her body, WPTV reported.
She's in hospice care "in extremely critical and grave condition."
Lachazo has been charged with attempted second-degree murder, aggravated battery on a person 65 years of age or older and arson causing great bodily harm, The Palm Beach Post reported.
He's being held in the Palm Beach County Jail without bond, according to the newspaper.
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