Attorney says detective used 'coercive' tactics in interrogation of woman accused of murder; judge disagrees
Mar. 2—An El Paso County judge ruled on Thursday that the majority of a detective's four-hour interview with Deka Jean Simmons, who is accused of killing 48-year-old Daxcimo Ceja and hiding his body, would be admissible at her trial in May.
The prosecution alleges that Simmons, 39, shot and killed Ceja on April 7 in a garage in north Colorado Springs because she believed he was a child molester, and because Ceja was a registered sex offender for an incident that took place in 1999 in California involving a minor. Ceja's body has yet to be recovered.
Judge David Gilbert broke the interview into three segments. During the first two hours of the interview, Simmons speaks to Colorado Springs police Detective Nicole Black about her background and her life. Portions of the first segment were played in court where Simmons could be heard telling Black that she was looking for her child, who she believed was a victim of sex trafficking; her several years spent in prison; her drug use; and more.
Simmons has been in and out of prison her entire adult life, including being sentenced to 12 years behind bars for accessory to murder in the shooting death of Donna Oliveto, a former inmate with her in the El Paso County jail.
During the next two hours of the interview, Black advises Simmons of her Miranda rights and Simmons tells the detective that she will speak to her. This portion of the interview was not played in court, but prosecuting attorney Jennifer Viehman said Black only begins asking Simmons questions about the homicide investigation after her Miranda rights had been read.
The third and final portion comes roughly 30 minutes after Simmons' Miranda rights had been read where she informs Black that she is "done talking," but despite that, she continues talking to Black. The third portion was also not played in court on Thursday.
Both the prosecution and defense said that at no point during the interview did Simmons confess to killing Ceja.
Simmons' defense attorney David Lipka argued that the entire interview should be suppressed at trial because Black used "coercive" tactics to get Simmons to speak on subjects related to the case.
Lipka argued to the court that Black used "subtle psychological confusion" to get Simmons to talk about things relevant to the case — such as her hatred of child molesters and if she knew two key witnesses in the case — without her realizing the importance of the statements being given. Additionally, Lipka argued that Simmons not being informed that she had been detained on a first-degree murder warrant until two hours into the interview with Black was a violation of her rights and a way to "build a profile" without her knowledge.
Lipka alleges that if his client knew why she had been detained — for the first two hours Black only disclosed to Simmons that she was being held on a burglary warrant — she wouldn't have spoken in as much detail to Black.
Viehman argued that there were no coercive tactics on the part of Black, but rather that all statements provided by Simmons during the first portion of the interview were provided voluntarily, and that Black asked no "leading questions" pertinent to the investigation.
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For the second portion of the interview, Viehman argued that Black gave Simmons her Miranda rights in a clear manner and there was no attempt to downplay its importance.
Lipka said the insertion of Simmons' Miranda rights two hours into the interview was done consciously by Black in an attempt to downplay the importance of the Miranda rights and to get Simmons to keep talking without knowledge that what she was saying could be used against her.
Gilbert ruled in favor of the prosecution for portions one and two of the interview. Gilbert said during his ruling that he did not find that there were any attempts at coercion on the part of Black, that all statements provided by Simmons were done so voluntarily, and that Black's reading of the Miranda rights was done in good faith by Black.
As a result of Gilbert's ruling, the first two portions of Simmons' interview with Black will not be suppressed at trial. However, Gilbert noted that there may be further objections from the defense to the admission of the first portion of the interview on the grounds of relevance at trial.
Gilbert ruled that the third portion of the interview after Simmons tells Black she is "done talking" will be suppressed at trial because he viewed that statement as Simmons invoking her right to silence. The prosecution had no objection to suppressing the third portion of the interview.
Following her arrest, Simmons filed a civil lawsuit against Black claiming that Black had falsely arrested her in connection with Ceja's murder, and that she is being unlawfully imprisoned as a result. Court records show that the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Colorado on Oct. 21, was recommended to be dismissed by Magistrate Judge Gordon Gallagher on Feb. 16 because of a "failure to satisfy federal pleading standards for municipal liability."
As of Thursday, the lawsuit against Black has not been dismissed. Simmons' murder trial is slated to begin May 1.
At Simmons' preliminary hearing in October, Black testified that a confidential informant told her that Simmons had killed at least three other people besides Ceja. During Black's testimony, Viehman briefly mentioned that Simmons is connected to the disappearance of 27-year-old Santino "Tino" Cardella, who was reported missing in April.
As of Thursday, Simmons has yet to be charged in any additional homicides.
Simmons is due in court on April 14 for a pre-trial readiness hearing. She remains in custody at the El Paso County jail on a no-bond hold.
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