Woman with ‘unrestrained hatred’ for child predators murdered and dismembered wanted sex offender whose remains were left bagged in a ditch

JASON KANDEL
Aug 23rd, 2024, 3:29 pm

A Colorado woman who prosecutors said had an obsession over child molesters will spend the rest of her life in prison for shooting a registered sex offender whose remains were found in a bag in a drainage ditch.

Deka Simmons, 40, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Wednesday in the death of Daxcimo Ceja, 48. She was sentenced immediately after she was found guilty of first-degree murder and tampering with a body and physical evidence, prosecutors announced in a news release. She was also given an additional 24 years for tampering with a body and another three years for tampering with physical evidence, prosecutors said.

Prosecutor Sharon Flaherty said in closing arguments that Simmons killed Ceja because he was a registered sex offender who had a relationship with a 17-year-old girl when he was 25, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported. Ceja had a warrant out for his arrest for failing to register as a sex offender when he was killed, the newspaper reported.

“(Simmons) has an unrestrained hatred for anyone who would molest a child,” Flaherty said, calling it a “fixation” and “paranoia” for Simmons, the paper reported.

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