A man in Washington state is accused of killing an elderly woman with a nail gun and then burying her in a shallow grave.
Jeffrey Zizz, a former pastor, is facing charges including murder, kidnapping and unlawful disposal of human remains in connection with the death of 82-year-old Marcia Norman. She was last seen on April 1 before she 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.
Cadaver dogs sniffing around the property alerted search crews to the potential remains there on April 9, days after she was reported missing by concerned family. Authorities also used ground-penetrating radar to confirm the presence Norman’s body, which was ultimately located about 18 inches underground with “concrete poured over the top,” according to Sheriff Derek Sanders.
The shallow grave was beneath a shed recently built by Zizz, who worked as a handyman for the victim, NBC News reported.
On Monday, Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock said Norman died from injuries, most of them caused by a pneumatic nailer.
“Her onset from injury to death was not instant. It was hours,” Warnock said, calling it the most disturbing case of his career, yet.
A search of the suspect’s home also turned up “a five-page letter which meticulously planned out a burglary and sexual assault of a woman who is referred to as his customer,” Sanders said. He noted that “there are similarities” between what is outlined in the letter and what seemingly occurred at Norman’s home.
Zizz was initially arrested in Missoula, Montana for an alleged probation violation tied to past child sex crimes. On Sunday, he was charged in connection with Norman’s slaying, and he was being held without bail.
A motive for the killing was unclear and an investigation into the matter is ongoing.
