Woman Who Dismembered Alleged Sex Offender Sentenced, Parents Claim He Was 'Good Person'

Earlier this week, Deka Simmons was found guilty of first degree murder, violent crime-used weapon, violent crime-used death, tampering with physical evidence and tampering with a deceased human body for the 2022 murder of 48-year-old Daxcimo Ceja.

Immediately following the verdict, an El Paso County District Court Judge delivered Simmons' sentencing.

A first-degree murder conviction in Colorado automatically comes with a sentence of life in prison without parole, which she was given. The judge also sentenced her to an additional 24 years for the Tampering with a Deceased Human Body charge, and another three years for Tampering with Physical Evidence, per a release from the DA's office.

Ceja's dismembered remains were found in a bag inside a drainage pipe on October 5, 2023, after officers in Colorado Springs received an anonymous tip. The following day, they were identified as belonging to Ceja, who was already believed to be the victim of a homicide but whose body had not yet been located. Simmons had already been arrested in April 2022 for the murder.

During the trial this month in Colorado, according to The Denver Gazette, prosecutors alleged Simmons killed Ceja because he was a registered sex offender. "She has an unrestrained hatred for anyone who would molest a child," said Prosecutor Sharon Flaherty, calling it a "fixation" and "paranoia" for Simmons. Per Flaherty, Ceja allegedly had a relationship with a 17-year-old girl in California when he was 25 and had a warrant out for his arrest at the time of his death for failing to register as a sex offender.

Flaherty also painted Simmons as someone who had fears her daughter was a sex trafficking victim during closing arguments. At one point during sentencing, when those alleged fears were brought up again by Judge David Gilbert, he reportedly said "there were court proceedings to keep [the daughter] safe from [Simmons]" -- causing Simmons to exclaim, "You don't know s--t about me! F--k you!"

Testimony against Simmons reportedly included a detective who claimed her former jail roommate said Simmons admitted to killing a man she believed was a child molester. Another detective said a witness told him Simmons shot Ceja with a handgun, dismembered the body and then stored it in a freezer. Messages on Facebook also referenced cleaning the house, while blood samples from the garage allegedly matched Ceja's DNA.

Simmons' defense team tried to poke holes in the credibility of the witnesses, saying the testimony of one witness who claimed she saw parts of the murder take place was "not true." They also reportedly argued the scientific evidence didn't directly tie Simmons to Ceja's murder.

Before the sentencing, Karen and Barry Fancher -- Ceja's parents -- reportedly gave victim-impact statements.

"He was killed for something he did 24 years ago," said his mother. "[Simmons] won't be on the street to hurt anyone else's families like she has done her whole entire life."

"Dax was a good person," added his father. "He didn't deserve to go out this way."