Police said Tuesday they found the body of a missing Washington state woman encased in concrete after taking her handyman, a former pastor previously convicted of child sex crimes, into custody.
On April 4, deputies with the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office received a missing person report from 82-year-old Marcia Norman’s family, who had not heard from her since April 1.
Upon investigating Norman’s home, deputies found suspicious circumstances related to her disappearance. They later learned that Norman had dinner with Jeffrey Kian Zizz, 47, her handyman, on the evening of April 1.
Zizz, according to a statement by the Thurston County Sheriff’s Department, “recently built a shed at an unrelated property in Olympia the day after Marcia Norman was reporting missing.”
Investigators found Norman“buried under the shed and partially encased in concrete,” the statement continued.
“He told us they had dinner together. He’s not the average handyman to this family,” Thurston County Lt. Mike Brooks told KIRO. “He’s a good family friend, so it doesn’t necessarily seem like having dinner together would be uncommon.”
The sheriff said authorities arrested Zizz in Missoula, Montana, on an unrelated sex offense after he fled Washington. They later extradited him back to Washington.
“Zizz remains in Thurston County Jail on a no bail hold for his child molestation sentencing violation warrant while Detectives finish gathering evidence,” the sheriff said. “Zizz remains the primary person of interest in the ongoing investigation, and detectives are continuing to work closely with both the Thurston County Prosecutor’s and Coroner’s Offices.”
NBC News reports that Zizz served as a pastor at Calvary Chapel of North Thurston before police arrested him in 2021 on nine criminal charges, including incest, child rape, and molestation.
In 2022, he pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree child molestation involving victims between the ages of 12 and 14, according to records. Zizz also admitted to communicating with a minor under 18 for immoral purposes.
A judge sentenced him to 104 months in prison. He served 11 months before his release into a treatment program that required him to remain in Washington, court records showed.
He remains behind bars on a probation violation. Zizz is the primary person of interest in Norman’s death, but has not yet been charged.
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[Feature Photos via Thurston County SO]