A Colorado woman who killed a man she said was a sex offender will spend the rest of her life in prison, officials said.
Deka Simmons, 40, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Wednesday, Aug. 21, following his conviction in the 2022 murder of Daxcimo Ceja, according to a news statement from the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Ceja’s bones were discovered on October 5, 2023, inside a bag in a drainage culvert in Colorado Springs after local police reacted to an anonymous tip, according to prior reports. According to authorities, the investigation into Ceja’s death began on March 30, 2022, and Simmons was charged with first-degree murder in April of that year.
According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, Simmons killed Ceja, 48, in a garage after learning that he had a connection with a 17-year-old female when he was 25 years old in California. According to the source, prosecutors described Simmons as someone who “has an unrestrained hatred for anyone who would molest a child,” and also mentioned Simmons’ worry of her daughter being a victim of sex trafficking.
Ceja’s mother, Karen Fancher, addressed in court during the sentence, stating, “[Ceja] was killed for something he did 24 years ago,” according to the Gazette. “[Simmons] won’t be on the street to hurt anyone else’s families like she has done her whole life.”
Ceja was not registered as a convicted sex offender in California, where the alleged contact occurred, according to Megan’s Law online records. PEOPLE’s request for clarification to the Office of the District Attorney, Fourth Judicial District of Colorado, was not responded to promptly.
According to the publication, Simmons has been accused of three previous homicides but has yet to face charges in any of them.
Simmons was also sentenced to an extra 24 years for interfering with a corpse and three years for tampering with physical evidence. Her sentences would be served concurrently, according to the judge’s ruling, prosecutors said.