(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A woman has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of a man whose body was found in a drainage culvert more than a year after his murder.

According to the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s (DA) Office, Deka Simmons, who was charged with pre-meditated murder in the death of Daxcimo Ceja in 2022, was found guilty on Aug. 21, 2024 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. She was also found guilty of multiple other charges, including Violent Crime Causing Death, Tampering with a Deceased Human Body, and Tampering with Physical Evidence.

Daxcimo Ceja. Courtesy: Colorado Springs Police Department

In October 2023, an anonymous tip to Pikes Peak Area Crime Stoppers reported human remains in a bag located in a drainage culvert near the 500 block of West Polk Street, in a neighborhood southeast of West Fillmore Street and I-25. Law enforcement responded and confirmed the remains were human.

Days later, the El Paso County Coroner’s Office identified the remains as Daxcimo Ceja of Colorado Springs. The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) said Ceja had been identified as the victim of a homicide on March 30, 2022, though police were unable to find his body at the time.

Simmons was identified as a suspect in 2022, and was arrested in April of that year. She remained in custody when Ceja’s body was found.

In addition to her life sentence, Simmons was sentenced to 24 years for the Tampering with a Body charge, and another three years for Tampering with Evidence.

“The successful outcome in this case, against a woman who has proven herself to be a danger to members of our community, took the dedication and perseverance of many members of my office,” said 4th Judicial DA Michael Allen.