ORLANDO, Fla. – There are new developments in the murder of Olivia Diggs, a local mother whose dismembered body was found earlier this year in Lake Underhill.
New reports from police show her accused killer, Rafael Gonzalez, confessed to an inmate while behind bars at the Orange County Detention Center.
The inmate's name was redacted in the reports, but it says he called Crimeline after Gonzalez described the murder to him.
Gonzalez allegedly told the inmate he was raping Diggs and then “began punching her in the face.” When Diggs didn't cooperate, he punched her repeatedly in the face and “continued to rape the victim.”
Diggs would eventually die from her injuries. The inmate said Gonzalez told him he dismembered her using a machete and little handsaw from his landscaping job.
Gonzalez then allegedly went to great lengths to cover it up. The reports said he bought new tiles for the bedroom floors, Pine-sol, air fresheners, garbage bags, and new sheets and pillowcases.
To get rid of the body, reports said Gonzalez told the inmate that he threw Diggs in Lake Underhill “hoping alligators would eat her remains.”
Investigators put a recorder on the inmate to try and get a second confession on tape, but Gonzalez would not talk about the incident.
Gonzalez is still being held in jail, and has had stints in the psych ward while incarcerated. He is currently being appointed a new public defender and has another court hearing in January.