Investigators said the woman was dead before three separate fires were set inside her fifth-floor New London apartment.
NEW LONDON, Wis. — A 39-year-old Wisconsin man has been charged with killing his mother and setting fires inside the apartment where her body was found, according to a criminal complaint filed in Waupaca County.
Rodolfo Gonzalez faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide, arson, mutilating a corpse, first-degree recklessly endangering safety and resisting an officer. The charges are allegations, and Gonzalez has not been convicted in the case. A judge set his cash bond at $1 million during an initial court appearance Tuesday.
Police and firefighters responded Sunday to Franklin Park Apartments at 505 Division St. in New London after a fire was reported in a fifth-floor unit. Residents were evacuated as firefighters entered the building and found smoke coming from the apartment, according to the complaint and local news reports.
Fire crews found three separate fires inside the unit and discovered an unresponsive woman on a bed. Investigators said she had suffered multiple sharp-force injuries to the neck. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have not publicly released her name.
The complaint said cat litter had been poured over the woman’s head and that one fire had been set on the bed near her body. Investigators described those details as part of the evidence collected at the scene. Officials have not released a suspected motive.
An autopsy found no soot in the woman’s lungs and no elevated carbon monoxide in her blood, according to the complaint. Investigators said those findings indicated she had died before the fires began. The complaint alleges the fires may have been set in an effort to conceal the killing.
Security footage from the apartment building allegedly showed Gonzalez walking on the fifth floor around the time of the fire. The footage showed him entering the apartment while carrying an object that appeared to be a book, authorities said. Gonzalez had lived with his mother, according to investigators.
Officers found Gonzalez several hours later sitting on a bench near an elementary school, the complaint said. Police alleged that he resisted officers as they took him into custody. Two lighters and a Bible were found in his possession, according to court documents.
The new charges follow an earlier criminal case involving Gonzalez and the same woman. The complaint said he had previously been charged in Outagamie County with attempted first-degree intentional homicide after allegedly attacking his mother and another man with a rock and knife in February 2025.
Gonzalez was later found not competent to proceed to trial in that case. Court records cited by FOX 11 show that his release was approved at a May 7 hearing with conditions that included cooperating with treatment and evaluations. A competency review in the earlier case is scheduled for Aug. 11.
During Tuesday’s bond hearing, prosecutors sought conditions barring Gonzalez from contacting his brother or residents affected by the apartment fire. Waupaca County Circuit Court Judge Troy Nielsen approved those restrictions and said a substantial cash bond was necessary to protect the public. Gonzalez’s attorney argued that the $1 million amount was too high for his client to post.
Gonzalez remained listed in the Waupaca County Jail after the hearing. His preliminary hearing in the new case was scheduled for Aug. 6, when a judge is expected to consider whether prosecutors have shown enough evidence for the charges to proceed.
Author note: Last updated July 30, 2026.