Colorado Woman Sentenced to Life Without Parole for 2022 Murder

Colorado woman convicted of torturing and killing a man she alleged was a sex offender has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, authorities announced.

On Wednesday, August 21, Deka Simmons, 40, received the sentence following her conviction for the 2022 murder of 48-year-old Daxcimo Ceja, according to a press release from the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

Ceja’s remains were discovered on October 5, 2023, inside a bag located in a drainage culvert in Colorado Springs. The discovery came after police acted on an anonymous tip. The investigation into Ceja’s homicide began on March 30, 2022, and Simmons was arrested in April 2022 on charges of first-degree murder.

Prosecutors stated that Simmons killed Ceja in a garage after learning that he allegedly “had a relationship” with a 17-year-old girl when he was 25 years old in California.

Prosecutors described Simmons as having “an unrestrained hatred for anyone who would molest a child,” and noted her fear that her own daughter could become a victim of sex trafficking.

During the sentencing hearing, Ceja’s mother, Karen Fancher, addressed the court, stating, “[Ceja] was killed for something he did 24 years ago,” and added, “[Simmons] won’t be on the street to hurt anyone else’s families like she has done her whole entire life.”

Records from California’s Megan’s Law registry do not list Ceja as a convicted sex offender. Attempts to obtain further clarification from the Office of the District Attorney, Fourth Judicial District of Colorado, were not immediately returned.

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Simmons has been a suspect in three other homicides, though she has not been formally charged in connection with those cases.

In addition to her life sentence, Simmons was ordered to serve 24 years for tampering with a dead body and an additional three years for tampering with physical evidence. These sentences will be served consecutively, according to the presiding judge.