Text messages, GPS data lead to arrest in Thurston County murder investigation
Apr 21, 2025, 12:57 PM
A photo of 82-year-old Marcia Norman, whose body was discovered in Olympia. (Photo courtesy of the Thurston County Sheriff's Office)
(Photo courtesy of the Thurston County Sheriff's Office)
Thurston County prosecutors say a local handyman is facing murder and kidnapping charges after the remains of an 82-year-old woman were found buried beneath a shed he was hired to build.
Jeffrey Kian Zizz is expected to be charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, and unlawful disposal of human remains following the disappearance and death of Marcia Norman, who lived alone in her Thurston County home, according to probable cause documents.
Family members first reported Norman missing on April 4, after she missed several appointments and friends raised concerns.
At her home, they discovered her vehicles still parked outside and her wallet inside, along with untouched medication in a daily organizer dating back to April 1.
Authorities learned from the woman’s son that she had previously expressed concern about Zizz, a handyman she employed.
Months earlier, she allegedly told her son she had woken to find Zizz standing at the foot of her bed uninvited.
She confronted him and made it clear their relationship was to remain professional, but the incident was never reported to police.
Text messages recovered from Norman’s iCloud showed she and Zizz had planned to have dinner on April 1. Zizz later told detectives they had tacos and wine together that evening before he returned home.
However, surveillance footage and license plate camera data indicated he returned to her property multiple times in the early hours of April 2.
Detectives also found inconsistencies in Zizz’s statements and location data.
Although he denied returning to her home after 9 p.m., FLOCK camera footage showed his truck near Olympia intersections around 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. that morning.
When questioned, Zizz claimed he left his phone at home during the trips, a detail investigators found suspicious.
Ring camera footage from Zizz’s roommate’s home showed no activity matching Zizz’s story of coming and going. Detectives also noted a bent window screen outside Zizz’s bedroom.
During a search of Zizz’s residence, detectives found a five-page typed letter outlining a planned burglary and sexual assault of a female client.
Zizz denied involvement in Norman’s disappearance.
But on April 7, his roommate reported him missing after Zizz took the roommate’s truck and failed to return.
Later that day, Idaho State Police found the truck abandoned after an elk collision on a remote stretch of Highway 12. Zizz was later arrested in Missoula, Montana.
Investigators traced Zizz’s activities the day after Norman was last seen.
He had rented an excavator on April 2 and used it at a jobsite to demolish and rebuild a shed. The property owner told detectives she had hired Zizz on Norman’s recommendation.
On April 8, cadaver dogs alerted to the presence of human decomposition in the bed of Zizz’s truck.
Later, the dogs also alerted near the base and interior of the newly built shed.
Detectives excavated the area and discovered human remains on April 9.
The body was confirmed to be Norman the next day during an autopsy.
She had been bound at the wrists and ankles with long black Velcro straps and died from blunt force trauma and penetrating head injuries, the medical examiner determined.
Zizz remains in custody.
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