LUBBOCK, Texas — The admitted killer of Jacob Wayne Duffee, Oscar Diaz Cerna of Lubbock, pleaded guilty Monday and was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Duffee, 30, of Levelland, was last seen September 29, 2017 and reported missing. A woman who knew Cerna for 14 years came forward with information. She told police that Cerna came to her house and appeared to be shaken.
She said Cerna, age 23 at the time, admitted to shooting a man in the face about a month prior to talking to her. She said Cerna put the body in a bathtub at first, but then got help from his dad to move the body to a shallow grave.
Duffee’s body was found on October 31, 2017 in a storm drain near 52nd Street and Magnolia Avenue.
Police found Cerna and talked to him. He admitted having an argument with Duffee (who had been Cerna’s boss) at his apartment in Lubbock, but he claimed that Duffee left after that argument.
Police searched the apartment and found blood. Officers were then able to get an arrest warrant.
Cerna was charged with murder and Cerna’s father, Oscar Pena Cerna, was charged for tampering with evidence.
