A Washington grandmother whose body was discovered buried beneath a shed endured a prolonged and painful death, during which she was tortured with a nail gun, authorities said as her handyman—also a registered sex offender—appeared in court for her murder.
Marcia Norman, 82, was restrained with Velcro straps, beaten, and injured with a pneumatic nailer, Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock said, describing it as “the worst case I’ve witnessed.”
“Her injuries did not cause immediate death. It took hours,” Warnock told NBC News.
“We see and experience many things, but this investigation is something you can’t unsee,” said Thurston County Prosecutor Jon Tunheim, according to King 5 News, noting that Norman’s injuries pointed to signs of torture.
The harrowing details came to light as Norman’s handyman, 47-year-old Jeffrey Zizz, appeared in court Monday—just a day after his arrest on charges including murder, kidnapping, and unlawful disposal of human remains.
The convicted child molester and father of five is being held without bail and is expected to face formal charges on Wednesday, according to reports.
Marcia Norman was reported missing by her family on April 4 and was discovered five days later, buried beneath a makeshift shed on an “unrelated property” in Olympia, Washington—a structure that had recently been built by Zizz, authorities said.
Sheriff Derek Sanders stated that Zizz was the last known person to see Norman, after the two had dinner together on April 1.
A search of Zizz’s home revealed a “five-page letter that meticulously detailed plans for a burglary and sexual assault targeting a woman referred to as his customer,” Sheriff Derek Sanders said, describing the discovery as “extremely disturbing.”
Authorities noted that while there was no evidence of a sexual assault in this case, aspects of the crime showed “similarities” to the contents of the letter.
When asked about a possible motive, Sanders said, “If I had to guess at this point, it’s that the suspect in custody is a violent individual.”
Zizz was arrested in Missoula, Montana, on April 7 and later extradited to Washington.
He was initially questioned in connection with Norman’s disappearance but became a suspect after investigators discovered he had falsely claimed to be at home the night she went missing, authorities said.
“That was the first point where we caught him in a lie, which allowed us to dig deeper,” Sheriff Sanders explained.
Zizz is scheduled to be arraigned on May 6 in connection with the case.
According to King 5, he was previously arrested on nine counts related to the rape and molestation of children. He pleaded guilty to three of those charges in October 2022 and was released after serving just 11 months, under the condition that he undergo treatment.
Sheriff Sanders indicated that this case was part of a larger issue he had previously raised.
“I don’t have anything positive to say, so to avoid saying something that might get me in trouble, I’ll just say this—it’s almost like I’ve talked about this before,” Sanders told King 5, referring to the deal that allowed the convicted sex offender to be released so soon.
