MMA fighter charged with ex-girlfriend’s 2009 murder following arrest for 2 other violent slayings

A former MMA fighter who was arrested last year in Texas for murdering his ex-girlfriend and her friend was charged in Minnesota Tuesday for killing another ex-girlfriend in 2009, according to reports.

Cedric Marks, 45, and Kellee Kristine Sorensen, 34, were charged with the second-degree murder of April Pease. Sorensen reportedly told authorities that they tracked Pease to a Bloomington woman’s shelter and took her to Interstate 35, where Marks killed her. Sorensen claimed she stayed in the car as Marks carried out the slaying, according to the Temple Daily Telegram.

Pease reportedly left with their then-4-year-old son after suffering abuse at Marks’ hands. Marks’ current wife revealed to authorities that the ex-MMA fighter killed Pease to get custody of the boy, according to the Daily Mail.

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KCEN reported that Pease’s body was never found. Court documents stated that Marks told Sorensen that he removed Pease’s hands and teeth to prevent her from being identified. Marks’ wife told authorities that Marks buried her body somewhere in the Dakotas, according to KEYE.

Bloomington Deputy Police Chief Mike Hartley said in the complaint that the manner in which Marks killed Jenna Scott, 28, and Michael Swearingin, 32, in Texas last year made him a suspect in Pease’s murder. The pair’s remains were reportedly found in a burn pit in rural Okufuskee County weeks after they vanished in Austin.

Marks remains jailed on capital murder in Texas for killing Scott and Swearingin in January 2019. Marks’ girlfriend, Maya Maxwell, helped kill Scott and Swearingin in a Killeen residence and told authorities that they transported the bodies to Clearview and discarded them in a shallow grave, accoridng to the Daily Telegram.

Marks allegedly burglarized Scott’s home months before killing Scott and her friend. The alleged break-in reportedly occurred six days after Scott unsuccessfully sought to obtain a permanent protective order against Marks.

Monday was the 11th anniversary of Pease’s disappearance. Sorensen is currently jailed in Washington, where she resides.

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[Featured Image: April Pease/KXAN video screengrab; Cedric Marks/Kent County Sheriff’s Office]