TEMPLE, Texas — The defense team for double-murder suspect Cedric Marks lost a motion in court Thursday that would have allowed them to watch, either recorded or in person, the testing of evidence for DNA.
426th District Court Judge Fancy Jezek denied the motion after Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab supervisor Brent Watson testified that the lab must remain sterile.
“A simple sneeze, cough or a piece of hair can contaminate DNA," said Watson.
Instead, Jezek said the DPS crime lab in Waco must provide notes and test results to Marks' defense.
Among the items is a towel with seven drops of blood on it.
Marks' attorney Robert Cowie argued they needed to see the testing to make sure no mistakes were made.
"This is a fight for Mr. Marks' life," said Cowie, Assistant Public Defender from Austin.
Marks faces charges of tampering with evidence, burglary and capital murder related to the deaths of his ex-girlfriend Jenna Scott and her friend Michael Swearingin.
During a hearing in October, Jezek passed a defense motion that would allow Marks to wear street clothes with no shackles during the jury selection and actual trial.
Marks told the court in May, 2019 he was "absolutely not guilty" of any charges.
According to the office of Bell County District Attorney Henry Garza, prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Scott and Swearingin went missing on Jan. 4, 2019, according to their families and police. Police said their bodies were found in a rural Oklahoma town on Jan. 15.
Marks was arrested in Michigan soon after. During his extradition to Bell County, he escaped from a private prison transport company then led police on a 9-hour manhunt in Montgomery County before he was found hiding in a trash can and booked into the Bell County Jail.
The woman who is believed to have helped Marks in the deaths of Scott and Swearingin, Maya Maxwell, gave birth to a boy behind bars on June 4.
Maxwell is charged with tampering with physical evidence and two counts of murder. She remains in the Bell County jail on a $750,000 bond.