TEMPLE, Texas — It has been five years since the deaths of Jenna Scott and Michael Swearingin.
A Bell County Grand Jury determined the pair was murdered by former mixed martial arts fighter Cedric Marks, Scott's former boyfriend, on January 3, 2019. Marks was convicted and sentenced to death for the murders in 2023.
For the past five years, Scott and Swearingin's families have not stopped fighting for justice and are still honoring their memory.
6 News has covered the deaths of Scott and Swearingin since the day they were first reported missing. Below is a timeline of everything that has happened in the case over the past five years.
Jenna Scott and Michael Swearingin are reported missing
On Jan. 5, 2019, the Temple Police Department posted on Facebook asking for help locating Jenna Scott, a 28-year-old nursing student at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, and Michael Swearingin, a 32-year-old salesman and friend of Scott. Police said the two had last been seen together the day before and were considered missing.
According to Scott's brother, Talon Scott, Swearingin's car was found the next day in Austin.
Talon Scott said his sister was dating a man she met on a dating app at the time. That man was identified as Cedric Marks.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Scott had filed for a protective order against Marks in 2018, claiming she feared for her life and that Marks had choked her into unconsciousness on two occasions. Marks claimed his actions were in self-defense.
A judge had denied Scott's protective order.
Cedric Marks is arrested
Marks was arrested in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Jan. 8, 2023, for reportedly breaking into Jenna Scott's home. He was charged with burglary and set to be extradited to Bell County, TX.
Marks' wife Ginelle McDonough and a woman named Maya Maxwell were also arrested on other charges.
Swearingin and Scott's bodies are found
On Jan. 15, 2019, two bodies were found in a shallow grave in Clearview, Oklahoma, according to the Temple Police Department.
An autopsy later confirmed the bodies to be those of Jenna Scott and Michael Swearingin. The two were buried later that month.
Maya Maxwell claimed in an affidavit that Marks had killed Scott and Swearingin after luring them to a Killeen home. She claims that she was there when the bodies were buried.
Cedric Marks escapes from transport
Marks escaped from a prisoner transport van in Conroe, TX in February of 2019, while being transported from Michigan to Texas.
After a nine-hour manhunt involving multiple law enforcement agencies, Marks was found hiding in a trash can just a few blocks away from where he had escaped.
Marks was booked into the Bell County Jail and charged with capital murder and multiple other charges.
Marks was also charged with murder in the abduction and death of another woman, April Pease, in 2020.
A long road to trial
Cedric Marks won the right to defend himself at his trial in June of 2021.
Both Marks and the prosecution made numerous requests in the case, delaying the trial numerous times over the next few years.
Marks' trial finally began on April 17, 2023. Swearingin's mother was the first person to testify.
The trial lasted for several weeks with testimony from family members, law enforcement and alleged accomplices. Marks defended himself throughout the trial.
6 News was in the courtroom for each day of the trial. Further details on the trial can be found at KCENTV.com.
A long-awaited verdict
On May 24, 2023, four years after Scott and Swearingin's deaths, after six weeks of trial and nearly four hours of jury deliberations, Marks was found guilty of capital murder in the deaths of Scott and Swearingin.
Marks was sentenced to death by the jury on June 9, 2023.
Both Scott and Swearingin's families gave victim impact statements after the sentencing.
Deborah Harrison, Swearingin's mother, said she forgave Marks as a person but did not forgive what he did.
The families also spoke to the media after the trial.
“It’s been a really long, hard, stressful, traumatizing journey,” Talon Scott said. "From January 2019 all the way till now, the family has experienced so many different emotions, going through the whole grieving process, whether it be anger, sadness, denial. There’s been a lot of small senses of closure throughout this whole endeavor, but now today, we get a really good sense of closure.”
"Michael and Jenna are beautiful people, but they're in heaven now," said Harrison. "They're smiling down on us, and they're really happy today."
Members of the jury also spoke to the media about the ruling and the decisions behind it.
Maya Maxwell accepted a plea deal in Oct. 2021, agreeing to testify against Marks in exchange for facing up to 20 years on counts of tampering and fabricating evidence of a human corpse. She pleaded guilty to the charges and is currently serving her sentence.
A lasting legacy
The families of Jenna Scott and Michael Swearingin have since created a nonprofit organization, Priceless Beginnings, which provides temporary housing for victims of domestic violence.
The families host an annual 5K run to celebrate the lives of Scott and Swearingin and raise awareness for their cause and donations for Priceless Beginnings.
"Your mama's heart still wants your baby, and that's real hard," Harrison said. "All we can do is try to make something good out of it, and that's Priceless Beginnings."
Cedric Marks began the appeal process in Bell County on Aug. 9, 2023. His motion for a new trial was denied by a judge on Aug. 23, 2023.
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