Former MMA fighter Cedric Marks charged for murder of Minnesota woman

Former MMA fighter Cedric Marks has been convicted for the 2009 murder of a Minnesota mother.

Authorities confirmed on Monday that the former fighter is accused of multiple Texas murders and is one of two people charged in the death of an abducted woman from a Minnesota domestic violence shelter 11 years ago.

Cedric Marks of Killeen, Texas, is 45 years old and has been charged in Hennepin County for second-degree murder of April Pease. The victim was a mother of one. According to court documents, Marks and Pease were allegedly involved in a custody dispute. 34-year-old Kellee Sorensen of Lynden, Washington has also been charged in connection to the murder.

Marks and Sorensen allegedly located Pease at the shelter in Washington state, after which, the victim was transferred to a Bloomington, Minnesota shelter. Court documents state that the two men tracked down the mother of one at the new refuge shelter and took her against her will. The child was allegedly left at the shelter when she was abducted.

“The investigation revealed that in March of 2009, Marks and Sorenson travelled to Minnesota from Washington and located April Pease at the women’s shelter. Pease was taken against her will,” the affidavit said (via ESPN).

According to court documents, Marks informed Sorensen he killed Pease. Sorenson later informed police that Marks had killed Pease at an unknown location whilst she sat in the car.

Marks removed the mother’s hands and teeth so that she couldn’t be identified by authorities. Marks’ previous wife told police that Pease’s body was buried somewhere in Dakota, but it is unclear if the body was ever discovered.

Authorities confirmed that Marks is suspected in the murder of an ex-girlfriend Jenna Scott by strangulation, and another man in Texas, January 2019.

In February, Marks escaped a private prison van whilst it stopped at a McDonalds in Texas as he was transported from Michigan. He was located nine hours later, re-arrested and taken to Bell County Jail.

Marks compiled a professional 31-28-0 record as a middleweight MMA fighter. His career began in 1999, and his last fight was in 2018, a total 9 years after the murder of April Pease.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 3/18/2020.