MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas — In an arrest affidavit filed Tuesday morning by Temple police, a witness accuses Cedric Marks of killing both Michael Swearingin and Jenna Scott at a residence in Killeen on Jan. 3.
Marks remains in the Bell County jail with a bond of $1.75 million.
According to the affidavit, Maya Maxwell, the woman who admitted to moving Swearingin's car to Austin, told police Marks killed them both and told them their bodies could be found in Clearview, Oklahoma.
Maxwell told police Scott and Swearingin were alive when they were brought to the Killeen home.
Maxwell said Marks entered a room where Swearingin was and when he left, Swearingin was dead, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit states, Maxwell told police Marks went in a room where Scott was and when he left she was dead.
According to the affidavit, Maxwell told police she heard a struggle when Marks entered the rooms with Swearingin and Scott.
Maxwell has been in police custody since Jan. 29 when she was brought back from Michigan where she was staying at a home with Ginell McDonough in Muskegon County. McDonough is the mother of two of Marks' children. She was booked into the Bell County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
After investigating different addresses in the Killeen area, Channel 6 confirmed with neighbors that Maxwell had been staying with Marks, and his wife, on Basalt Dr. in Killeen before helping Marks carry out the alleged murder as well.
A previous arrest affidavit stated that Maxwell told detectives, in a voluntary interview, she took Swearingin's vehicle to Austin in an attempt to hide it from law enforcement. The vehicle was found Jan. 6 in an area of Austin that Swearingin's mother said her son would never go.
Maxwell also told police she was there before and after the deaths of Scott and Swearingin and was there when their bodies were taken to Oklahoma and buried, according to the second affidavit, obtained on Sunday.
Marks was booked into the Bell County Jail Sunday after leading police on a 9-hour manhunt in Montgomery County. He is charged with capital murder of multiple persons and other charges.
The other charges listed on the Bell County Jail log include interference with an emergency call, false reporting to a law enforcement agency employee, violation of a protective order, and burglary of a habitation and committing a crime.
Marks' bond amount was raised on Monday from $16,500 to $250,000 for the charge of burglary of a habitation and $1.5 million for the charge of capital murder of multiple persons.
Conroe police said Cedric Marks hid inside of a 55-gallon trash can for as long as nine hours while authorities from 17 agencies searched for him.
Marks escaped from a Texas Prisoner Transport van at 7:20 a.m. Sunday when the guards stopped at a McDonald's to get food, according to police.
Marks was wanted on two murder warrants for the deaths of his ex-girlfriend Scott and her friend Swearingin.
A massive manhunt began with authorities receiving tips from the community, some of which turned out to be untrue, according to Conroe Police Chief Jeff Christy.
After an extensive search with K9 units, Christy said new surveillance footage emerged, allowing authorities to get a better idea of where Marks was hiding.
Marks was found a little before 5 p.m. in a trash can in the 1000 block of Windswept Dr. Christy said Marks surrendered without incident. He was taken to the Montgomery County Jail.
Among the agencies that helped in the search for Marks were, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Marshals, the Gulf Coast Task Force, Texas Department of Safety Criminal Investigation Division, Texas Rangers, Texas Highway Patrol, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Harris County Sheriff's Office, Texas Department of Criminal Justice K9 Division, Harris County Precinct Two, Three and Four Constables, Conroe Fire Marshal's office, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Christy said the two guards, and the 10 prisoners in the transport van would all be interviewed by authorities.
Christy said Marks had leg restraints, hand restraints and a restraint around his waist to connect them all. Christy said it was unknown if any of those restraints were connected when he escaped or how he was able to remove any of them.
KCEN Channel 6 reached out to Texas Prisoner Transport Monday. A representative of the company, who would only give the name Lisa, would only say that an internal investigation was being conducted.
Christy said some of the incorrect information they received from the community led them in different directions. He said one tip they received said Marks changed clothes, which Christy said was not true.
Christy said they believe Marks was in the trash can all day long. He said Marks did not contact anyone during his escape.
"We're really excited for all the assistance we received from other law enforcement across South Texas," Christy said.
Christy and Montgomery County Sheriff Scott Spencer confirmed the two murder warrants were issued by the Texas Rangers.
An initial press release just after Marks' escape said he was wanted on three murder warrants. Christy could not provide details on the third murder investigation.
You can see the full press conference with Chief Christy below.
Maj. TJ Cruz with the Bell County Sheriff's Office said the sheriff's office was still working on the logistics of when and how they would bring Marks back to Bell County.
KHOU reporter Matt Dougherty tweeted video of Marks being taken into custody Sunday evening.
Marks was being extradited from Michigan to face a burglary charge in Bell County. Temple police said Marks broke into Scott's home in August 2018.
Montgomery County sheriff officials said dispatch received the call about Marks' escape around 7:20 a.m. Sunday.
Conroe police gave a press briefing around 1 p.m. You can watch the full press conference below.
Video taken just before 11:30 a.m. from reporter Matt Dougherty, from Channel 6 sister station KHOU showed authorities searching an area along I-45 North.
Dougherty also tweeted video of police searching the area around Walmart in Conroe.
Cruz said the Bell County Sheriff's Office was notified around 8 a.m. that Marks had escaped.
Cruz could not say why Marks was taken to Montgomery County, but he said at the time Texas Prisoner Transport was on its way to Bell County.
Marks was picked up from the jail in Grand Rapids, Michigan Jan. 31 to be brought to Bell County.
Scott was found dead with Swearingin on Jan. 15 in Clearview, Oklahoma. They had been missing since Jan. 4.
Marks was arrested in Grand Rapids, Michigan Jan. 8, four days after Scott and Swearingin were last seen.
The Bell County District Attorney's Office said on Jan. 10 it was in the process of extraditing Marks from Grand Rapids. Marks wasn't picked up from the Michigan jail until Jan. 31
Two more women entered the scene when Marks' wife and mother of two of his children, Ginell McDonough, and another woman, Maya Maxwell, were arrested in Muskegon County, Michigan on Jan. 11.
McDonough was charged with harboring Marks and Maxwell at her home between Jan. 5 and Jan. 9. During her arraignment Jan. 16, a judge set McDonough's bond at $75,000 for harboring felons.
Maxwell proved to be the first direct connection to the disappearance of Scott and Swearingin.