A Washington state handyman is facing charges in connection with the death of a missing woman whose remains were buried and partially encased in concrete underneath a shed he allegedly built, authorities said.
Jeffrey Zizz, 47, faces charges of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, and unlawful disposal of human remains, Thurston County officials announced during an April 21 news conference. Those charges are expected to be formally filed by April 23, and additional charges may follow as the investigation continues, said prosecuting attorney Jon Tunheim.
Zizz, who was previously convicted of child sex crimes, is accused of killing Marcia Norman, 82, in early April, according to authorities and court records. Norman had disappeared “under suspicious circumstances” from her residence near Tenino, a small city of nearly 2,000 about 15 miles south of Olympia, said the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities began the investigation on April 4 after receiving a missing person report from Norman’s family, the sheriff’s office said. Her family reported that they had not heard from Norman since April 1, but both her vehicles remained parked at her residence.
Zizz was later arrested in Missoula, Montana, and was taken into custody for an alleged probation violation tied to his child sex crimes, according to Sheriff Derek Sanders. He was then extradited to Washington state and booked into Thurston County Jail, where he remains held without bail.
In a statement released April 20, Norman’s family described her as an “engaged member of her community and family” who was “full of life with plans for the future” and “loved by many.”
“Our family has experienced the loss of our center,” Norman’s family said. “Marcia was the one that brought us together. Our family is grieving and looking for ways to honor her memory.”
Marcia Norman, 82, of Tenino, Washington. She was last heard from on April 1, 2025. She was reported missing days later and her remains were found in Olympia on April 9, 2025.
Timeline of investigation into Marcia Norman’s disappearance
During the April 21 news conference, Sanders provided a timeline of the investigation after Norman was reported missing. Sanders said investigators learned that on April 1, Norman had dinner with Zizz — who was identified as her handyman and was the last known person to see her at the time.
On April 4, patrol deputies and investigators were dispatched to Norman’s residence after her son and neighbor reported her missing. Investigators determined that “circumstances at her residence were not adding up” and returned the next morning to secure some areas of interest, Sanders added.
Investigators also conducted interviews throughout that day and spoke to Zizz, who had been cooperative at the time, Sanders said. The sheriff noted that Zizz had provided answers that “made sense,” which caused the investigation to stall.
But evidence from a license plate reading camera system caught Zizz “in a lie,” Sanders said, adding that investigators were able to execute search warrants in the case. Zizz later failed a polygraph examination on April 5 and requested an attorney during his second interview with investigators.
While investigators conducted the search warrants on April 5, they seized Zizz’s truck and searched his storage unit and trailer, according to Sanders. Investigators also searched his home and seized several items, including a five-page letter that “meticulously planned out a burglary and sexual assault of a woman who was referred to as his customer,” Sanders said.
Between April 6 and April 9, Sanders said investigators continued to search suspicious areas and conducted searches over nearby McIntosh Lake. On April 7, investigators sought a warrant for Zizz’s alleged probation violation but discovered that he had fled the state with a roommate’s truck.
“We later learned that that truck struck an elk near the Idaho-Montana border, and at that point, we began mobilizing and asking for assistance from Idaho State Police and the Missoula law enforcement,” Sanders said. “Later that evening, we learned that (Zizz) was taken into custody with the assistance of Missoula law enforcement.”
On that same day, special cadaver dogs were sent to a property in Olympia and searched a shed that investigators had learned Zizz built the day after Norman was reported missing, according to authorities. Sanders said a second search was conducted on April 8, in which two out of the three cadaver dogs indicated that human remains were likely present at the shed.
Authorities then moved the shed and excavated the ground beneath it on April 9, locating human remains about 18 inches underground in a shallow grave with “concrete poured over the top,” according to Sanders.
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Local coroner reveals Marcia Norman’s cause of death
Sanders said an autopsy of the human remains was conducted by the county coroner’s office on April 10. The coroner’s office later confirmed that the remains were of Norman.
Norman’s immediate cause of death was “combined blunt force and penetrating, sharp force injuries of the head,” said Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock. He added that other significant conditions that contributed to her death were multiple blunt force injuries to her torso and extremities.
The autopsy also revealed that Norman’s injuries were the result of being assaulted by another person, and that the injuries were inflicted while she was alive, according to Warnock. The coroner’s office found no evidence of sexual assault, but Warnock said test results are still pending.
“Our focus moving forward is going to be on Marcia, the life she lived, her family — who’s going to continue to live in her name — and the investigation … that ensures that justice is sought for her,” Sanders said at the news conference.
A man is serving 45 years for murder. He just confessed to killing another woman.
Suspect pleaded guilty to child sex crimes in 2021
Court documents previously obtained by USA TODAY found that Zizz pleaded guilty to molesting three children, who were all under the age of 15, in October 2021.
Zizz pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree child molestation and communication with a minor for immoral purposes, according to court documents filed in August 2022.
Zizz was prohibited from owning a firearm or going near his victims until October 2032 and also ordered to serve six years of community custody, or supervised release and rehabilitation, court records show. He was sentenced to nearly nine years in jail but was released after 11 months due to him receiving credit for time served, according to court records.
Contributing: Saleen Martin, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marcia Norman case: Washington state handyman charged with murder