A disturbing investigation in Washington state has led authorities to name a convicted sex offender as a person of interest in the death of a missing elderly woman whose body was discovered encased in concrete beneath a newly built shed.
Elderly woman goes missing in Washington
Marcia Norman, 82, had been reported missing since April 1, when her family reported not hearing from her, despite both of her vehicles being parked in front of her home.
When police arrived for a welfare check, the state of disarray they discovered “suggested Marcia may have left abruptly – household tasks such as dishes appeared to have been left mid-process.”
Her remains were eventually found partially entombed in concrete beneath a shed on another property in Olympia, as confirmed by the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives turned their attention to 47-year-old Jeffrey Zizz, a handyman with a serious criminal past, after learning that he was reportedly the last person to have contact with Norman before she vanished.
According to law enforcement, the two had dinner together shortly before she disappeared.
Handyman’s criminal past comes to light
Zizz, previously convicted of child molestation, quickly became the focal point of the case.
Police interviewed Zizz and confiscated some of his belongings during the course of their inquiry, including his vehicle.
Authorities reported that he later attempted to flee Washington in a friend’s car. However, he was later apprehended in Missoula, Montana.
This act violated the terms of a sentence from his earlier conviction, leading to his extradition back to Washington.
Police uncovered Norman’s body while examining a newly constructed shed Zizz had built shortly after her disappearance.
When they broke through the concrete inside, they found her remains beneath the surface.
Zizz had previously served as a pastor at Calvary Chapel of North Thurston but fell from grace following serious criminal charges in 2021.
He ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts out of nine child molestation-related charges.
As of now, no formal charges have been filed against him in connection to Norman’s death.
Missing elderly woman found brutally murdered
In an unrelated case in Connecticut, police conducting a welfare check stumbled upon a gruesome scene involving a dismembered body hidden inside a residence.
The victim, 70-year-old Tina Lloyd, was discovered inside her West Haven home, with body parts separated into 14 to 16 trash bags and stashed in a locked closet.
Authorities say her son, 27-year-old Theodore Lloyd, is now facing charges of trespassing and attempted arson, with more charges anticipated in connection to the murder of his mother. Investigators believe he acted alone.
The case began on March 24, when Tina’s older son contacted the West Haven Police Department, requesting a welfare check.
Upon arriving at her home on Nashawen Avenue, officers were met with the unmistakable smell of decomposition.
Once inside, they located numerous trash bags filled with body parts and signs of an attempted fire, according to law enforcement.
“The victim’s body was in such a state of decomposition that positive identification took some time,” West Haven Police Chief Joe Perno said during a press conference.
Ultimately, authorities used DNA analysis to confirm Tina Lloyd’s identity.
Detectives reviewed a substantial amount of evidence throughout the investigation, which included surveillance footage of Theodore purchasing suspicious items from local stores.
“There were several cutting utensils, there was an electric chainsaw and things of that nature,” Det. Jeff Gavinelli explained.
“A lot of the items were concealed in plastic bags, either in an attempt to be hidden or destroyed, but that was all retrieved by our ID unit.”
Investigators also discovered paper and lighter fluid in the residence, which they believe were intended to ignite a fire.
The suspect, who had been living separately from his mother since 2018 following a domestic dispute, was reportedly homeless at the time of the incident.
Authorities took Theodore Lloyd into custody on April 14 in Hartford. He was transferred to West Haven police and remains incarcerated under a $1 million bond.
Judge denies bail in court
His bond was later denied by a Thurston County judge on Monday and switched to a no-bail hold.
“The allegations before the court are shocking, both in their nature and that the alleged victim was an 82-year-old woman, a member of this community, who, the defendant, over a two year period befriended and knew lived alone,” Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rosemary Fitzgerald told Judge Sue Wilson.
“The allegations here are among the most serious and very troubling in terms of the prepared plan and the execution,” Wilson said.
New details into Norman’s death were revealed on the same day, when the arrest report was released.
Zizz, who had been working for Norman for two years prior to her death, once terrified the victim by appearing at the foot of her bed in the middle of the night earlier this year.
“(Norman) state that she told Zizz that it was inappropriate for him to be there and he needed to leave,” an arrest report detailed.
“(Norman) told her son that she spoke with Zizz and made it clear to him that they were to keep a professional relationship and he was was not to cross those boundaries again.”
When later questioned about it by investigators, “Zizz admitted that this had happened, he stated that he went into (Norman’s) room and while she was sleeping, he rubbed her shoulder, wanting to speak with her,” the report stated.
“Zizz stated that (Norman) told him to leave. Zizz told detectives that he did have thoughts about (Norman) romantically.”
While searching his home, detectives discovered a five-page letter that “appeared to be a meticulously planned out burglary/sexual assault of an adult woman, identified as a ‘customer.'”
Investigators were able to eventually able to locate Norman’s remains by retracing Zizz’s movements after her disappearance.
They discovered he had rented an excavator and a trailer, which were both GPS monitored. When they went to the property where Norman’s body was eventually found, the owner said that she had hired Zizz to build a shed and the victim was the one who recommended him to her.
“During the autopsy, it was discovered that wrapped around (Norman’s) wrists and ankles were long black Velcro straps, as well as evidence that she had been bound prior to death,” court documents said about the remains.
An autopsy revealed that Norman died from blunt force trauma caused over a period of hours and penetrating injuries to the head from a nail gun.
The Thurston County Coroner said the case was the “worst he had ever seen’ in the quarter of a century he had been practicing.
