BELL COUNTY, Texas — The long-awaited capital murder trial of mixed martial arts fighter Cedric Marks began Monday morning at the Bell County Courthouse.
Marks is accused of strangling his ex-girlfriend Jenna Scott and her friend Michael Swearingin to death back in January 2019.
It was a tense and emotional atmosphere in the courtroom. The day started with opening statements.
Bell County Attorney Henry Garza says they have waited years for this day. He added that there will be evidence shown throughout this trial, including Walmart surveillance footage of Marks buying clothes and a shovel before the two bodies were found in Oklahoma.
Marks, who is representing himself, made it known that he plans to cross examine each piece of evidence that implies he is guilty. Marks also added that he has been asking for a speedy trial since 2021. He says he wants, "justice for everyone."
The first witness called to the stand was Deborah Harrison, who is the mother of Swearingin. She walked everyone through the day she found out her son was missing on Jan. 4, 2019.
Harrison went to her son's house in the morning because she was informed an alarm was going off. She walked around the house and saw her son's dog in the kennel. Harrison assumed he made a quick trip to the store.
However, noon came around and she found out Swearingin didn't go to a work meeting, so she called the Temple Police Department. Swearingin and his car were nowhere to be found.
She described Swearingin as a "good son" to the courtroom and says she had to convince Temple police the disappearance was unusual.
Family and friends searched for Swearingin and Scott for days, but they didn't find anything in Texas. Their bodies were later found in Clearview, Oklahoma on Jan. 14, 2019.
She also mentioned that her son told her how Marks said he was going to kill him while he was leaving a 2018 protective order hearing against Marks. Swearingin bought a gun and security cameras after the alleged threat because he was afraid.
She said she thought at the time Marks said that because he was angry and that she didn't think it would actually happen.
Marks cross examined Harrison and said that he never threatened anyone, and if something was said, why was nothing ever reported?
The next witness to the stand was Karen Scott, Jenna Scott's mother.
"She had a big heart," Karen Scott said. "She loved helping people."
She said her daughter always had to stay with someone because she feared for her life.
"She was scared of Cedric Marks," Karen Scott said.
The two met on the dating app Tinder and dated for nearly three years. Karen Scott says in the beginning Marks was kind. However, after a year and a half, things took a turn. She says Marks became physically and emotionally abusive.
Jenna Scott tried to get a protective order in 2018 because she said Marks would choke her until she would pass out. A judge denied the order.
The family also says Marks contacted her professors at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. The school advised her to drop out.
Karen Scott says she was with Jenna Scott the day before she disappeared. Text messages between the two were shown to the courtroom. According to the messages, Jenna Scott was over at Swearingin's house to help him with girl troubles.
However, Karen Scott said the messages didn't sound like they were coming from her daughter. The last messages were shown on the morning the two were pronounced missing. Jenna Scott said she was heading to Austin with Swearingin, but they were not found there.
"We did a lot of praying," Karen Scott said. "We tried not to give up. We had a lot of hope."
While Marks was cross examining Karen Scott, he tried to present video and audio evidence of conversations between him and Jenna Scott, that he said told a different story.
Garza says the recordings might not be authentic. The videos were not played for the courtroom.
Marks also cross examined Karen Scott by bringing up how Jenna Scott's child never mentioned anything about the abuse.
"I've blocked stuff out," Karen Scott said. "I have to work. I have to raise my granddaughter who doesn't have a mother."
Phones are not allowed in the courtroom, but 6 News will continue to bring updates during each recess and after court each day.
