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A Muncie man has been charged with murdering his ex-wife who had been reported missing and was later found dead at an abandoned house.
Prosecutors are also seeking a habitual offender enhancement for 50-year-old Ceaser Curtis, the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday.
According to a probable cause affidavit, officers were dispatched Sept. 6 in reference to a missing person and spoke with the daughters of the deceased, Marcia Curtis. The daughters said they hadn’t heard from their mother since Sept. 1 and that she didn’t show up for work.
Ceaser was the last known person to see Marcia. The daughters said he picked her up from work in Portland.
Officers called Ceaser, who said he picked up Marcia on Sept. 1 and that they argued on the drive back to Muncie.
He told officers Marcia demanded to be let out of the vehicle, and he last saw her as he drove away.
The daughters showed officers a screenshot sent from Ceaser earlier in the day Sept. 1, which showed messages Marcia was exchanging with other men. Ceaser expressed jealousy in a message to one of the daughters.
Officers spoke to witnesses, one of whom said they sometimes went with Ceaser to pick up Marcia in Portland. However, on Sept. 1, the witness said Ceaser asked them to not come because the two of them would be arguing.
Later that night, witnesses said they were together with Ceaser at one of their homes and that Ceaser was alone by then.
Another witness told officers that Ceaser had contacted her earlier in the year and requested that she kill Marcia. The witness said that was soon after the divorce and that Ceaser said he had a homemade lead pipe she could use.
One of the witnesses also said Ceaser told them he “did it” after being asked about where Marcia was. The witness said Ceaser described arguing with Marcia, slapping her in the face and throwing her cell phone out the window.
The witness said Ceaser told them he hit Marcia with a baseball bat and left her near a reservoir.
Officers went to the area and found Marcia’s body, which “had undergone a large degree of decomposition” by that point but still showed clear signs of “significant trauma to the head.”
In seeking habitual offender status, prosecutors noted Ceaser’s past convictions for arson with intent to defraud in 2001 and operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person in 2010.
The case is State of Indiana v. Ceaser L. Curtis, 18C04-2309-MR-000003.
An initial hearing is scheduled for Sept. 29.
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