Cedric Marks, MMA fighter on murder trial, wanted prison release to sell his action figures

The arrest of veteran MMA fighter Cedric Marks has caused quite a stir on the internet. We take a deep look into the sequence of events and the latest developments from the story.

Marks is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend Jenna Scott and her friend Michael Swearingin, both of Temple, Texas, in 2019, and burying their corpses on his family's land near Clearview, Oklahoma.

Scott testified that Marks threatened to kill her and her family, but Judge Paul LePak dismissed her request for a protective order, which lead to her death. Scott further claimed in that instance that Marks had choked her until she was unconscious. Cedric Marks, according to Scott, also boasted about his ability to conceal a murder.

Marks was arrested in Michigan in relation to the murders of Scott and Swearingin. Marks escaped while being transported to Texas and led authorities on a nine-hour manhunt before being located hiding in a trash can.

Following the two counts of capital murder, it was revealed that Marks was also charged with April Pease's murder. Pease vanished from a Bloomington, Minnesota, shelter in 2009, shortly after a contentious child custody battle with Marks.

On Monday, May 15, Detective Powell took the lead again in the ongoing trial on the lengthy case. The court heard Marks' first recorded interview as well as an audio tape of him and his sister insisting he is innocent. The court then heard Marks's three-hour-long second interview with the police. In this interview, Marks told Powell that he travelled to Texas in January 2019 and did not stay in Michigan as he claimed in his first interview.

In an interesting turn of events, Cedric Marks stated in a recorded interview that he would plead guilty to homicide charges if he could be released on bail to raise money for his family by selling action figures. Detective Powell turned down Cedric Marks' plea, stating, “There is no way we’re going to let you out.”

Maya Maxwell, the alleged accomplice and ex-girlfriend of Marks, previously returned to the witness stand in week four of the trials for direct examination by prosecutors.

Maxwell entered a plea agreement to testify in court about how Marks allegedly murdered Jenna Scott and Michael Swearingin.

She pleaded guilty to two counts of tampering evidence and was sentenced to 20 years in prison with the possibility of parole. Maxwell admits during her cross-examination by prosecutors that she initially told police that she and Marks did not travel to Texas. Then she added that Cedric Mark's son needed an action figure and that their trip to Texas had nothing to do with Jenna and Michael.

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MMA fighter arrest: Cedric Marks discredits Maya Maxwell's statements to the police

Cedric Marks proceeded to cast doubt on the statements Maya Maxwell made to Detective Powell in the most recent hearing.

Cedric Marks claimed Maxwell's animosity for Jenna Scott was palpable. Marks recalled that Maya had taped Scott's mouth in the bathroom and suffocated her with a plastic bag, as he had told Powell.

Even though Marks initially said a spiked club was used, he later backtracked on that claim.

Marks then claimed responsibility, saying his connection with Scott, lack of attention to his children, and reconciliation with Maxwell were all his fault.

Marks has denied any responsibility for April Pease's death, as he had previously done for those of Michael Swearingin and Jenna Scott.