Missing Grandma Was Found Buried in Shed, Tortured with Nail Gun — And Cops Say They Found Handyman’s Letter

More information is coming to light about the gruesome killing of an 82-year-old Washington State woman who was found buried in concrete inside a shed, leading to the arrest of her handyman. 

Marcia Norman was reported missing on April 4 from her home in Tenino, Wash., the Thurston County Sheriff previously said in a statement. 

Her body was found bound with tape, with signs of severe torture, in a shed in a backyard in Olympia the following day. 

Jeffrey Zizz, who was her handyman, has been charged with murder in connection with her killing. 

Zizz, 47, is believed to be the last person to have seen Norman after the two had dinner on April 1, per the sheriff’s statement. 

Authorities responding to the elderly grandmother’s disappearance found her home in “suspicious circumstances,” eventually naming Zizz a person of interest.

As the investigation unfolds, police are revealing details of the circumstances under which Norman is believed to have died — and the Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock has said it’s the “worst case I’ve witnessed,” per KING 5, KOMO News and NBC News. 

“Her onset from injury to death was not instant. It was hours,” he said, according to NBC News. 

He said Norman had been bound with Velcro straps and tortured with a nail gun, KING 5 and KOMO News reported. 

Authorities have claimed she died from blunt force trauma and penetrating injuries to her head, KING 5, KOMO News and USA Today reported. 

She also had blunt force injuries to her torso, Warnock said, according to USA Today. 

Zizz was arrested days later in Missoula, Mont., on an unrelated probation violation, NBC News and USA Today reported, citing the sheriff’s office.

While executing a search warrant of his home, investigators found a five-page letter they allege Zizz wrote, where he “meticulously planned” the sexual assault of a woman he referred to as “customer,” KOMO News, USA Today and NBC News reported, citing court documents.

There are “similarities” between what’s written in the letter and the evidence found in Norman’s case, Sheriff Derek Sanders said, per NBC News.

Investigators also learned that months prior to her disappearance, Norman reportedly woke up in the middle of the night to find Zizz at the foot of her bed, according to an arrest report cited by KING 5 and KOMO News.

She reportedly told him off, telling him it was inappropriate and he had to maintain professional boundaries if he were to continue working for her, Norman’s son told police.

Zizz allegedly admitted this to police during the murder investigation, according to KOMO News. 

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In a statement released by her family and shared by the sheriff’s office, Norman is remembered as “the one that brought us together” who was “full of life with plans for the future.”

Zizz has been charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and unlawful disposal of human remains, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s statement.

Online court records did not indicate attorney or plea information.