Trial for woman accused of murder delayed for second time amid witness tampering allegations

Jun. 2—A judge ruled on Friday that the trial for a Colorado Springs woman accused of murder will be pushed back to November, despite the defendant disagreeing with her attorney and desiring a quick trial.

Deka Jean Simmons, 39, appeared in court on Friday for a motions hearing in the case where she is accused of killing 48-year-old Daxcimo Ceja and hiding his body.

The prosecution alleges that Simmons shot and killed Ceja on April 7 in a garage on Colorado Springs' north side 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.

Simmons trial was originally slated to begin in May but was delayed until late June at a hearing earlier this year. At Simmons' hearing on Friday, her attorney David Lipka informed the court that he would be requesting for Simmons' trial to be continued again.

Lipka stated that the motion to continue the trial was as a result of two factors: the first, one of the prosecutors working on the case against Simmons is currently experiencing significant health issues, and won't be able to work for the next several weeks as a result; and second, that there is a large amount of discovery yet to be reviewed by the defense that was only recently admitted by the prosecution.

The motion to continue the trial was unopposed by the prosecution, but was opposed by Simmons herself, according to Lipka, who stated Simmons has a desire to move to trial as quickly as possible. Lipka told the court that he disagreed with the stance of his client, and that continuing the trial was the best for her case in the long run.

After hearing argument on the issue from Lipka, Judge David Gilbert ruled that he would allow the continuation of the trial despite the objections from Simmons.

Simmons' new trial is scheduled to begin on Nov. 13.

The remainder of the motions hearing was spent discussing the court and attorney's thoughts on expanded media coverage for trial, with the prevailing narratives being a concern for the safety of witnesses if cameras are allowed in court for the trial, as well as how best to handle certain case issues with the jury.

The court made reference to "significant new information" relating to Simmons case throughout the motions hearing, and one of the biggest pieces of information is Simmons' recent arrest on accusations of witness tampering.

Last month, Simmons was arrested from the El Paso County jail and charged with tampering with a witness or victim, a Class 4 felony. According to the affidavit, Simmons was in communication with a man named Colby Veil, 56, and the two discussed plans to keep witnesses from testifying in Simmons' trial.

In the phone calls, which the affidavit states all took place in January, Veil can repeatedly be heard telling Simmons that the witnesses aren't "going to say nothing," at trial and that he "already took care of it."

Three woman are listed as the victims in the new case, but the names of all three have been redacted from the affidavit.

Court records show that on May 5, Veil was arrested and charged with tampering with a witness or victim, and that he remains in El Paso County jail on a $25,000 bond.

The tampering-with-a-witness case, as well as two additional open cases against Simmons where she faces allegations of assault, menacing and robbery, were not discussed in any significant detail at Friday's motions hearing.

Additionally, the Colorado Springs Police Department recently made a second arrest relating to Ceja's death last month. Krista Arellano, 38, was arrested last month and faces three charges: tampering with a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and accessory to a crime.

Arellano is scheduled to make her next appearance in court on Tuesday for her preliminary hearing.

At Simmons' preliminary hearing in October, detective Nicole 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 Friday, Simmons has yet to be charged in any additional homicides.

Simmons will return to 4th Judicial District Court on Nov. 3.