Vigilante woman with ‘unrestrained hatred’ for pedophiles learns her fate after killing and dismembering wanted sex offender
A Colorado woman who was paranoid about child molesters has been sentenced to life in prison after she shot a wanted sex offender and dumped his remains in a drainage ditch.
Deka Simmons, 38, will spend the rest of her life behind bars without the possibility of parole for the murder of 48-year-old Daxcimo Ceja in Colorado Springs.
At Wednesday’s sentencing, prosecutor Sharon Flaherty said in her plea that Simmons killed Ceja because he was a sex offender who had a relationship with a 17-year-old girl when he was 25, the Colorado Springs State Gazette.
Simmons was the subject of an intense investigation dating back to April 2022, when she was arrested for the brutal murder.
Deka Simmons, 38, was the subject of an intense investigation dating back to April 2022, when she was arrested for the murder of 48-year-old Daxcimo Ceja in Colorado Springs
Simmons killed Ceja while there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest for failing to register as a sex offender.
Authorities say Simmons shot Ceja in a garage, dismembered his body and put it in a freezer, then transported his remains in a van.
Officers were able to link the brutal murder to Simmons thanks to DNA found on more than 300 bloodstains in the garage.
In October 2023, police found Ceja’s body in a drainage ditch near 500 W. Polk Street after receiving an anonymous tip about human remains in a bag.
Flaherty told the court that Simmons had an intense disdain for pedophiles, according to trial testimony. It was alleged that her ill feelings stemmed from an alleged incident involving her daughter.
‘[She] “has an unbridled hatred for anyone who abuses a child,” the prosecutor said, before adding that this feeling of disgust was a “fixation” and a “paranoia.”
District Attorney Sharon Flaherty said Simmons killed Ceja because he was a sex offender who had a relationship with a 17-year-old girl when he was 25
CSPD Detective Jerry Shiffelbei testified that one of Simmons’ former cellmates told him she once killed a man because she thought he was a child molester.
Other incriminating evidence came in the form of a Facebook message the killer allegedly sent to a witness via Facebook Messenger.
āDID YOU CLEAN THE HOUSE???ā Simmons allegedly sent the letter to someone involved in searching the garage after the murder.
In October 2023, police found Ceja’s body in a drainage ditch near the 500 block of W. Polk Street, after receiving an anonymous tip about human remains in a bag
Detective Jason Gasper revealed that the Colorado mother believed her daughter was the victim of sexual abuse by Simmons’ stepfather, whom she stabbed in 2019 after a heated custody dispute.
During the trial, Ceja’s parents, Karen and Barry Joseph Fancher, gave heartbreaking victim impact statements.
‘Dax [Ceja] was a good man. He didn’t deserve to die this way,” said father Barry Fancher.
‘[He] was murdered for something he did 24 years ago,” Karen Fancher said. “She’s not going to be out there hurting other people’s families like she’s done her whole life.”
In addition to a life sentence without the possibility of parole, Simmons was sentenced to 24 years in prison for tampering with the body of a deceased person and three years for tampering with physical evidence.
In a statement, the prosecutor said she was charged with, among other things, first-degree murder, a violent crime with a weapon and tampering with the body of a deceased person.
āThe successful outcome of this case, against a woman who has proven to be a danger to members of our community, took the dedication and perseverance of many members of my office,ā said U.S. District Attorney Michael Allen.