Person of interest in disappearance of Tenino woman pleaded guilty to child molestation in 2022
.jpg "The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office is seeking information regarding the disappearance of Marica Norman, a Tenino area woman who went missing from her home on April 1.")
A man in his late 40s has been identified as a person of interest in connection with the disappearance of a Tenino woman who hasn’t been seen since April 1, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.
The family of Marcia Norman, 82, reported April 4 that they had not seen her since the first of the month. The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office began to investigate and deemed her disappearance suspicious after it appeared she had left her home abruptly.
“Household tasks such as (doing) the dishes appeared to have been left mid-process,” sheriff’s officials said in a news release.
As the Sheriff’s Office continued to investigate, they learned that Norman had had dinner with her 47-year-old handyman — Jeffrey K. Zizz — on April 1.
The Olympian usually does not identify people accused of crimes before they appear in court for the relevant matter. However, the Sheriff’s Office publicly identified and shared a headshot of Zizz in a Tuesday Facebook post.
As of Tuesday, Zizz had not been charged with a crime related to Norman’s disappearance.
Detectives have spoken with Zizz multiple times and he is believed to be the last person to see the missing woman. They also have seized items related to the case, but they say they do not have probable cause to arrest him.
Zizz, driving a friend’s vehicle, was arrested April 6 in Missoula, Montana, on an unrelated warrant, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Brooks said Zizz is still in custody in Montana.
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Chris Lanese ordered a no bail bench warrant be issued for Zizz on Monday, according to court records.
Zizz was charged with sexual assault crimes involving children in November 2021, according to previous Olympian reporting. He pleaded not guilty to nine specific crimes during his arraignment.
However, in 2022, Zizz pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree child molestation and one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.
In a written statement to the court, Zizz said he “engaged in sexual contact” with two victims who were between 12 and 14 years. Additionally, he admitted to communicating with a third minor between 2018 and 2021.
After he pleaded guilty, Judge Carol Murphy granted Zizz a suspended sentence of 75 months on the molestation counts and 29 months in prison for the communication count. The sentence was to be suspended for six years with conditions, according to court records.
In a signed memorandum to the court dated Monday, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Olivia Zhou alleged Zizz violated the conditions of his suspended sentence. As a result, Zhou asked the court to order a bench warrant.
Zhou said Zizz absconded from Washington State Department of Corrections‘ supervision on Monday. His Community Corrections Officer reportedly could not contact him that day after learning Zizz had left his home the night before.
That same day, DOC received a notification that Zizz’s truck was found in Idaho, indicating he left the county and the state without permission, according to court records.
Anyone with information about the Norman case is asked to contact Thurston County Sheriff’s detectives at detectives@co.thurston.wa.us or by phone at 360-786-5530.
This story was originally published April 8, 2025 at 12:17 PM.
