Muncie man suspected in FCC worker's death

A Muncie man is suspected of killing a former FCC employee.

Ceaser L. Curtis, 50, was arrested Sept. 14 in connection with the death of his ex-wife, 46-year-old Marcia Curtis. Her remains were found at an abandoned property along Delaware County road 800 South.

A request for a search warrant was filed Monday in Delaware Circuit Court 4, including the probable cause affidavit required for arresting Curtis without a warrant. 

According to the affidavit, Ashley and Brittany Ratcliff filed a missing person report for their mother, Marcia Curtis, with Muncie police Sept. 6. She was last seen leaving FCC on Sept. 1.

The Ratcliffs told police Ceaser Curtis had picked their mother up from work and was the last person to see her. Brittany Ratcliff said she believed Ceaser Curtis knew where her mother was and “feared the worst,” according to the affidavit. Brittany Ratcliff showed police a screenshot of messages her mother had been exchanging with other men, which had been sent to her sister from Ceaser Curtis earlier in the day Sept. 1.

According to the affidavit, Ceaser Curtis told police he picked up Marcia Curtis from FCC on Sept. 1 and they started arguing on their drive back to Muncie.  

He told police she had demanded to be let out of the vehicle at the intersection of Jackson Street and Butterfield Road, and she had started walking north as he drove away.

Detectives extracted information from Ceaser Curtis’ phone, which included an argument via text. During the exchange she said she was “done” with him, after which he called her 36 times consecutively without a response, the affidavit says.

Ceaser Curtis returned to a friend’s house alone shortly after midnight Sept. 1, one of the witnesses told police.

Another male witness told police Ceaser Curtis admitted to him that “he did it,” the affidavit says. The witness told police Ceaser Curtis told him he had slapped Marcia Curtis in the face while driving south on Burlington Drive and tossed her phone out of the window. He alleged Ceaser Curtis told him he hit Marcia Curtis with a baseball bat and left her in a rural part of the county near Prairie Creek Reservoir. 

He told police Ceaser Curtis frequently took drives around the reservoir and surrounding areas, and the witness took police to some of those locations. At an abandoned property along Delaware County road 800 South, police found a shoe near a field and smelled a “strong odor of decay.” They found Marcia Curtis’ remains. According to the probable cause affidavit, “it was clear that there was significant trauma to the head.”

A female witness admitted to police Ceaser Curtis asked her to kill Marcia Curtis shortly after their divorce March 28. The witness said Ceaser Curtis had discovered his ex-wife had been speaking with other men and he told her he had a homemade lead pipe he wanted her to use, the affidavit says.

According to an order on conduction of pre-charge initial hearing, the prosecution had until 1 p.m. today to file formal charges against Ceaser Curtis. He’s being held without bond in Delaware County Jail.

An autopsy on Marcia Curtis was performed Friday morning at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie. Preliminary results had not been shared with The Commercial Review as of Tuesday evening.

Ceaser Curtis posted to Facebook on Aug. 27 accusing his ex-wife of sleeping with other men. He shared more than 100 posts that same day from various sources, including a picture of a sweatshirt with the following words printed on it: “I’ll put you in the trunk and help people look for you don’t test me!”

Ceaser Curtis was charged in Randolph Superior Court in June with a Class A misdemeanor for invasion of privacy in the case of violating a protective order issued to prevent domestic or family violence or harassment. His criminal history includes charges for battery and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

In Indiana, murder carries a penalty of 45 and 65 years with an advisory sentence of 55 years.