Former MMA Fighter Accused of Murdering 2 in Texas, Faces Additional Charges in Cold Case
If convicted, a 45-year-old former mixed martial arts fighter who went by the moniker “Spider-Man” in the ring could become known by a new descriptor: “serial killer.”
Not only is Cedric “Spider-Man” Marks, whose last professional fight came in 2018, accused of slaughtering two people in Texas last year, but authorities have also recently connected him to an 11-year-old cold case.
Marks is suspected of having strangled his ex-girlfriend, 28-year-old Jenna Scott, and 32-year-old Michael Swearingin in January 2019.
However, new charges have surfaced in connection with the cold case that suggest he may have killed before.
Marks and his alleged accomplice, Kellee Sorensen, are now facing charges for the 2009 abduction and murder of April Pease, the mother of one of Marks’ children, The Associated Press reported.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office in Minnesota has charged two people with the second-degree murder of April Pease. One of them is Cedric Joseph Marks: https://t.co/HHeUv07H5R #fox44tx pic.twitter.com/iZRDMTKEVQ
— KWKT FOX 44 (@KWKTFOX44) March 17, 2020
The provoking factor in this previously unsolved mystery may have stemmed from an alleged custody dispute, according to the AP.
“In 2009, April Pease and her child relocated to a women’s shelter in Bloomington following several domestic assaults by Marks,” the Bloomington Police Department in Minnesota said in a news release this week.
“The investigation revealed that in March of 2009, Marks and Sorensen traveled to Minnesota from Washington and located April Pease at the women’s shelter.”
“Pease was taken against her will and driven southbound on I-35,” the statement added.
Citing statements made by detectives, police said the victim was murdered solely by Marks while Sorensen waited in the car.
Marks “told Sorensen he killed Pease and removed her hands and teeth so she couldn’t be identified,” the AP reported, citing court documents.
Both suspects are being charged with second-degree murder.
Texas prosecutors are already seeking the death penalty against Marks for his alleged role in the 2019 double-murder, CBS DFW reported, though Marks has pleaded not guilty.
The current whereabouts of Pease’s body, meanwhile, are currently unknown.
Police announced the latest charges on Monday, March 16 — the same day as the 11th anniversary of Pease’s disappearance.
Two charged with murder of April Pease on 11th anniversary of her disappearancehttps://t.co/aSUav26Leu
— FOX 9 (@FOX9) March 17, 2020
“Our thoughts are with her family as they reflect back on the eleven painful years since she went missing,” the police statement read.
“We would like to thank all the local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies that assisted with this homicide case that spanned over four different states.
“We would also like to recognize our Detectives, both current and now retired, who worked on this missing person case that today lead to murder charges.
“They never gave up on trying to find April and hold those responsible for her disappearance accountable,” the statement concluded.
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