Remains of missing Tenino woman located under shed in Olympia, Sheriff’s Office says
.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.")
Detectives have found the remains of a missing Tenino woman buried under a shed in Olympia, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday.
Marcia Norman, 82, went missing April 1 and the Sheriff’s Office had been investigating her disappearance since April 4.
The Sheriff’s Office previously identified Jeffrey Zizz, Norman’s 47-year-old handyman, as a person of interest. He is currently in custody at the county jail on a no-bail hold for violating his suspended sentence in a separate sex offense case.
Zizz has not been charged with any crime related to Norman’s death as of Tuesday, court records show.
During the investigation, detectives learned Zizz recently built a shed at an “unrelated property” in Olympia the day after Norman went missing, according to the release.
Detectives obtained power equipment to move the shed and excavate the ground underneath on April 9. There, they found human remains partially encased in concrete. The release says the Thurston County Coroner’s Office confirmed the remains were those of Norman the next day.
Zizz left the state on April 8, prompting the court ordered warrant for his arrest. He was eventually taken into custody at a motel in Missoula, Montana, and extradited back to Washington on April 13, according to the release.
The Sheriff’s Office says Zizz remains the primary person of interest in the ongoing investigation, and detectives are working with both the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office and Coroner’s Office on the case.
Zizz pleaded guilty to two-counts of second-degree child molestation and one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes in 2022.
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.
Prosecutors say he violated those conditions by absconding from Washington State Department of Corrections’ Supervision and leaving the state.
Court records indicate Zizz is expected to appear at a treatment review hearing for that case on May 5.
