Former MMA Fighter Facing Death Penalty for Two Murders
USAtoday
USAtoday
Cedric “Spider Man” Marks has been accused of killing two people in January and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty as a means of punishment. The 45-year-old former middleweight MMA fighter was arrested in February for the murders.
Marks has been charged with the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Jenna Scott and her male friend, Michael Swearingin. On January 3 of this year, Marks killed and buried the bodies of Scott and Swearingin in a shallow grave in Clearview, Oklahoma approximately 370 miles north of Killeen, Texas. The bodies were found a week and a half later on January 15.
Marks was arrested on January 8 near Grand Rapids, Michigan. However, during the prison transport to Texas on February 3, he escaped from the van after it had stopped at a McDonald’s in Conroe, Texas. He led authorities on a nine-hour manhunt only to be found hiding in a large 55-gallon trashcan two blocks away.
Bell County District Attorney Henry Garza told the Temple Daily Telegram, “We have filed with the district clerk our notice that we will seek the death penalty in the Cedric Marks case, in connection with the murders of Michael Swearingin and Jenna Scott.”
Cedric Marks’ attorney, Michael White mentioned that Marks “wasn’t surprised” upon hearing the news that the prosecutors were seeking the death penalty. White also said that his client “is anticipating his day in court when his story is told.”
During the summer of 2018, Jenna Scott filed an order of protection against Marks citing, “He told me he had killed someone in Oklahoma, but that he was able to cover it up and that he could do the same here in Texas.”
Scott has previously described her ex-boyfriend as a “pathological liar” and a “master manipulator.” She also mentioned that he showed pride in killing animals as a child and had choked her as well. “Every time I try to break up with him, he threatens me,” Scott said. “I have to stay away from him to stay safe and to protect the people I love.”
There are also reports that Marks broke into Scott’s home last August and threatened her saying, “You know what I am capable of… your entire family and all your friends will need witness protection if you call the police.”
Once the bodies of Jenna Scott and Michael Swearingin were discovered and connected to Cedric Marks, authorities in Minnesota committed to reopening a missing persons case of another one of Marks’ former girlfriends.
April Pease was last seen in 2009 when she was entangled in a custody disagreement with Marks. Minnesota authorities have officially named Marks as a person of interest.
His current girlfriend, Maya Maxwell, is looking at charges of murder as well since she was present during the murders in Texas and at the burial location in Oklahoma.