BELL COUNTY, Texas — The families of Jenna Scott and Michael Swearingin are getting ready to host their 5th annual 5k run. It's all to celebrate their lives and raise awareness of a bigger issue that led to their deaths.
Scott and Swearingin were two friends from Temple, Texas. Scott was a domestic violence victim, and Swearingin stood by Scott through it all. They were both found dead in a shallow grave in Oklahoma in 2019.
"They were murdered," Deborah Harrison, Swearingin's mother said.
Cedric Marks was sentenced to death by a Bell County jury for the murders in June of 2023.
The trial took several weeks, and the victims' families and friends were there every step of the way.
"We made it through the trial, even mother and daddy that are in their 80's," Harrison said. "They made it every day to that courtroom."
Now the victims' families are hoping to help other victims of domestic violence through their nonprofit, Priceless Beginnings.
"This is a promise I made," Annie Hammons, President of Priceless Beginnings and grandmother to Scott's daughter, said. "When it happened to Jenna, I said that I would never let her die in vain. Because she didn't get to make the impact she wanted to on her own daughter, I was going to do that for my granddaughter and for other kids that are out there experiencing this."
Through volunteer work, the nonprofit helps provide temporary housing for domestic violence victims.
"In the middle of the night, they'll get a call, and if there's an emergency, they will go and help that family," Shannon Hartmann, real estate agent in Temple said. "I don't like to just give money away. It has to mean something to me. It can't just go to the top or the business. These people, they're actually doing the work."
Part of the funds for the nonprofit are raised through their biggest event of the year, their annual 5k run.
The run is happening on Saturday, Oct. 14 at Pepper Creek Trail in Temple. Registration is open, and they need more participants.
"We need about 1,000 people to show up next Saturday," Harrison said. "The gun goes off at 8:30 a.m. We'll have t-shirts there to sell. We'll probably still have some bracelets left."
This run will be a special one filled with celebration, as justice was served for the family just a few months ago.
"This is because the trial is over," Sarah Roark, a friend of Scott's said. "The verdict has been handed down. We've always been waiting for that to happen."
It's something the victims' families will still always grieve.
"Your mama's heart still wants your baby, and that's real hard," Harrison added. "All we can do is try to make something good out of it, and that's Priceless Beginnings."
But the family finds peace in knowing they can help others speak out.
"One of the last conversations Annie had with Jenna is she said, 'This may cost me my life, but I know he will keep doing this to others that might never stand up to him,'" Roark said.
For more information on the run, click here.
Other ways you can help:
"If there's any donors out there, the two biggest requests that we have are mattresses and an enclosed trailer to carry the furniture," Hammons added.
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