TEMPLE, Texas — Jonathan Scott, the father of a Temple woman who was killed four months after Judge Paul LePak denied a protective order against a man now charged with her murder, started a petition calling for changes to Texas protective order laws Monday.
By Wednesday, the petition had more than 1,500 signatures.
"Current Texas law does not require criminal background checks of individuals against whom protective orders are filed," the petition reads. "Our daughter, Jenna Scott, sought a protective order against an individual with an extensive criminal background, and the court ruled against her protective order because the judge was not aware of the individuals criminal background even though it was presented in verbal testimony."
Jenna Scott tried to file the protective order against Cedric Marks in July 2018, which was a month before police said he broke into her apartment in August 2018.
The judge denied the protective order in September 2018, and four months later, Jenna and her friend Michael Swearingin were reported missing from Temple. Their bodies were later found in rural Oklahoma.
After being arrested in Michigan, extradited back to Bell County and escaping custody during the transport, Marks was booked into the Bell County Jail for capital murder of multiple persons and several other charges.
See a break down of the people involved in the case below.
Administrators of the Finding Jenna and Michael Facebook page said they planned to meet with State Rep. Hugh Shine Friday to discuss legislative changes.
To view the petition, click here.