A nine-month pregnant mother from the Midwest is missing
A mother is missing, and she's nine months pregnant.
Even more disturbing is what her young son is saying about the last time he saw her.
When Blake's grandmother found him alone in his and his mother's Midwest home Friday morning, the 2-year-old reportedly said, "mommy is gone. Mommy was crying. Mommy is in the rug."
Mommy is 26-year-old Jessie Marie Davis.
No one has been able to reach her since a Thursday night phone call with her mother.
Police officers said they found no signs of forced entry and no signs of a struggle.
Davis' purse was dumped on the kitchen floor, and her cell phone, a bed sheet, and a comforter are missing, police officers said. The officers fear the little boy described his mother wrapped in a rug.
Davis lived alone with her son. The family said the father of her children is a police officer from a nearby town and believed to be separated from his wife.
Family and friends do not believe Davis would ever just walk away and leave her son behind.
Those who live in the neighborhood describe it as safe and quiet. That neighborhood is now littered with fliers in an attempt to get Jessie Marie back home.
CANTON, Ohio - A newborn girl with her umbilical cord still attached was found in a basket on a doorstep 45 miles from where a pregnant woman vanished, authorities said Tuesday. A DNA sample was taken from the infant Tuesday and was given to authorities investigating the disappearance.
Thomas Maurer, sheriff in neighboring Wayne County, said the baby was less than 24 hours old, and that officials are using "every caution we can" to eliminate the possibility that the baby is related to the missing woman, Jessie Davis.
Davis, 26, who is due July 3 with a baby she planned to name Chloe, has not been heard from since Wednesday evening when she spoke to her mother by phone.
A couple arriving home from dinner Monday night discovered the newborn on the porch of their rural home south of Wooster, Maurer said. The baby was dressed in a sleeper. The wicker basket contained a blanket and a bottle of formula, but there was no note, he said.
The baby was taken to Wooster Community Hospital, where DNA from the girl was taken using a mouth swab, said Maurer, who drove the sample to investigators in Stark County on Tuesday.
Davis was reported missing on Friday when her mother, Patricia Porter, went to Davis' house in nearby North Canton to check on her and found her grandson, 2-year-old Blake Davis, alone, wearing a dirty diaper in a home with furniture askew. A pool of bleach was on the bedroom floor, and the contents of Davis' purse were scatted in the kitchen. Her cell phone and a comforter were missing.
Blake told investigators: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in the rug."
The father of Davis' son and unborn girl is Canton police patrolman Bobby Cutts Jr. He is estranged from his wife, with whom he has at least one other child. Authorities searched his northeast Ohio home over the weekend and again Monday night. Officials say they have no suspects in the disappearance.
A fellow officer said Tuesday that Canton patrolman Bobby Cutts Jr. had an amicable relationship with her. Cutts has refused to talk about the case with reporters and is now on leave from his job.
Cutts shared the parenting duties for their 2-year-old son with Davis, said John Miller, president of the Canton patrolman's union. Cutts, also the father of Davis' unborn daughter, juggled parenthood with the demands of his patrol job on the midnight shift, Miller said.
"He's a good officer. He's got no problems at work. He treats people well," Miller said.
In 1998, he was sentenced to three years probation for disorderly conduct after a former girlfriend accused him of breaking a door jam and forcing his way into their home, causing her to fear for her safety, according to a police report from nearby Jackson Township.
About two years after his conviction in the disorderly conduct case, Cutts was hired by the Canton Police Department.
His personnel file also shows he won an appeal to overturn his firing in 2003 when authorities conducting a drug raid on his cousin's home found Cutts' handgun hidden under a mattress. Canton police officials accused Cutts of giving the gun to his cousin for protection and said Cutts was lying when he reported that the gun had been stolen.
A federal arbitrator ordered the city to reinstate the officer, saying Canton police had not proven the allegation.
Davis' family has declined to talk about her relationship with Cutts. Her father, Ned, held back tears Tuesday in an interview, saying he's trying to block out all emotion and focus on his daughter's safe return.
"I'm a dad that wants his daughter back," he said.
Miller accused the Stark County Sheriff's Office of waiting too long to retrieve Davis' cell phone records. The sheriff's department has not discussed whether any clues have been found in cell phone records.
Infant Found, But Is It Missing Mom's?
CBS News, NY - 2 hours ago
It won't end," said Cutts, a Canton police officer. He said he has slept little and has no appetite. Cutts, who also has two children with his wife Kelly, ...
Posted by: kwflatbed
Officials Search House of Missing Mom's Boyfriend
CANTON — Authorities on Wednesday night swarmed the house of the boyfriend of Jessie Davis, the 9-months-pregnant Ohio mom who disappeared last week, according to The Repository.
FBI agents and sheriff's deputies were serving a search warrant on the home of Bobby Cutts Jr. and were looking for a quilt and Davis' cell phone, Cutts' mother told the Canton, Ohio newspaper. It was the second time in three days that his house has been searched. Click here to read that report.
The FBI has questioned Cutts — a 30-year-old Canton police officer — twice today, and read him his Miranda rights the second time, according to his mother, Renee Horne. She added that agents took two cell phones belonging to Cutts.
Sheriff's deputies blocked off about a 100-yard stretch of the street in front of the home as FBI agents and deputies carried more than a dozen boxes and three large black bags.
Cutts, the father of Davis' 2-year-old son Blake, and likely the father of her unborn daughter, said it's been a "nightmare" since Davis vanished last week and he had nothing to do with her disappearance.
But though he isn't a suspect in the Davis case, police haven't told him he's been cleared, either.
"I would be dumb and naive to think they weren't treating me as a suspect just [based] on the different things I've had to go through the last couple of days," Cutts told the paper. "Like they've said to the media, me nor my wife are suspects, but I don't feel like we've been treated as that's 100 percent true."
CANTON, Ohio - The boyfriend of a missing pregnant woman was arrested on two counts of murder Saturday, and a body believed to be hers was found a week after she vanished from her home, authorities said. Jessie Davis, 26, was due to deliver a baby girl on July 3. Her mother found Davis' 2-year-old son alone in her home, where bedroom furniture was toppled and bleach spilled on the floor on June 15.
The boy gave investigators their first clues. "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug," the boy said.
Thousands of volunteers had searched for Davis over several days, while investigators continued to question Bobby Cutts Jr., 30, a Canton police officer, who is the father of Davis' son. Her family says he also is the father of the unborn child.
Investigators were mum on many details of their work until they announced Cutts was taken into custody Saturday and was to be arraigned on charges of murder in the deaths of Davis and her unborn child.
The Stark County Sheriff's Department also said a woman's body was recovered in Summit County at 3:30 p.m. Authorities did not give a location but said they believed it to be Davis.
"Our hearts go out to the family of Jessie Marie Davis," Chief Deputy Rick Perez said at a news conference announcing the developments.
FNC Jessie's Grave?
Investigators, officials surround what is believed to be the spot where Jessie Davis was found buried. | PHOTOS
(www.wkyc.com)
CANTON -- Major new development in the search for Jessie Davis. Around 3:30 P.M authorities say they recovered the body believed to be Jessie Davis' in the Summit County MetroParks. Bobby Cutts, Jr. was then placed under arrest and is currently in custody at the Stark County Sheriff's Office.
Posted by: kttref
I hate shitty cops...I really do.
Posted by: LTJMC
he is the reason people generalize and hate all cops. we all know there are many good one and the good far out weigh the bad.
Posted by: badogg88
It makes me absolutely sick. What is WRONG with people?
Posted by: kwflatbed
Accused Ohio officer nearly lost his badge in past
By JOHN SEEWER
The Associated Press
CANTON, Ohio — Before Bobby Cutts Jr. became a Canton police officer, he pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct in an incident an ex-girlfriend said left her worried about her safety. Later, he nearly lost his badge when his higher-ups alleged he had given his gun to a drug-dealing cousin.
Those cases pale in comparison with what Cutts is now accused of: killing girlfriend Jessie Davis, nearly nine months pregnant, and the unborn child, who Davis' family says is his. The couple's 2-year-old son had been left alone when Davis disappeared from her home, which was left in chaos, with overturned furniture, the contents of her purse scattered and a pool of bleach on the floor.
Cutts, 30, joined volunteers early in the search for Davis, 26, but stayed out of sight later as questions about him continued.
Before Saturday, when he was arrested, police said Cutts wasn't a suspect, but in his only interview he said he knew the focus was on him.
"I would be dumb and naive to think that they weren't treating me as a suspect," he told The (Canton) Repository.
He said he last spoke with Davis on June 13, about 90 minutes before she was last heard from in a telephone conversation with her mother.
Cutts has been on paid administrative leave from the police department. He worked the overnight patrol shift and coached youth baseball, basketball and football, said John Miller, president of the Canton patrolman's union.
"He's a good officer. He's got no problems at work. He treats people well," Miller said earlier in the week.
Cutts grew up playing sports in the city that is home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and played football briefly at nearby Walsh University. That's where he met Nikki Giavasis, the mother of his first child, a 9-year-old daughter. Giavasis now is a model and actress in Los Angeles.
The two lived together for a while. But when she began seeing another man in 1998, Cutts was accused of breaking into her home while she was inside with former NBA player Shawn Kemp of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Cutts pleaded no contest to a disorderly conduct charge and was sentenced to three years' probation. Giavasis told police she feared for her safety.
The pair are involved in a custody dispute over their daughter. The girl lived with Cutts last summer and is now with Giavasis, said her attorney, Jeffrey Jakmides.
Two years after the altercation with Giavasis, Cutts joined the Canton police department.
He also married and had a daughter with his wife, and has remained married despite the relationship with Davis. Cutts has said he and his wife are separated and that she knew about the relationship.
Cutts' bosses tried to fire him in 2003 when authorities conducting a drug raid on his cousin's home found Cutts' handgun hidden under a mattress. Canton police officials said Cutts gave the gun to his cousin for protection and said Cutts was lying when he reported the gun stolen.A federal arbitrator ordered the city to reinstate the officer, saying police had not proven the allegation.
Investigators repeatedly searched Cutts' house, a split-level home in a middle-class neighborhood with a swingset and a pink child's playhouse in the back yard.
Davis' family was not commenting Saturday, but earlier her mother, Patricia Porter, said that although she suspected Cutts, she hoped those suspicions would be proven false.
"I pray everyday that it's not Bobby Cutts," she told CNN's Larry King. "I want it to be someone that doesn't even know us.
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Posted by: Sniper
This sucks......... HORRIBLE HORRIBLE news....
Posted by: kwflatbed
2nd arrest in Ohio pregnant-woman case
CANTON, Ohio - A day after authorities arrested a pregnant woman's boyfriend on murder charges, one of the man's former classmates was jailed for allegedly hindering the investigation.
Bobby Cutts Jr. and Myisha Ferrell were scheduled to be arraigned Monday. Cutts, a police officer, faces charges of murdering 26-year-old Jessie Davis and her fetus. His friend, Myisha Ferrell, faces one count of obstruction of justice.
The Stark County sheriff's office said Ferrell, 29, was arrested and jailed Sunday, but declined to release other information, including whether she had a lawyer.
Sheriff's deputies and FBI agents with a search warrant broke down the door of Ferrell's apartment Saturday night, agent Scott Wilson said. She was not home during the search.
Davis' body was found Saturday in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, still carrying her dead, nearly full-term fetus. The Summit County medical examiner confirmed the identity Sunday.
Davis, of Lake Township near Canton, was reported missing June 15 after her mother found her 2-year-old grandson, Blake, home alone, with bedroom furniture toppled and bleach spilled on the floor. Blake gave investigators some of their first clues, saying: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug."
Thousands of volunteers searched for Davis for several days, while investigators questioned Cutts, a Canton police officer who has an estranged wife.
Cutts, 30, is the father of Davis' son. Her relatives have said they believed Cutts also was the father of the fetus Davis was carrying. Davis' mother had said Davis planned to name the baby Chloe.
Davis' family members and Cutts' lawyer did not return calls for comment Sunday. Cutts' pastor, the Rev. C.A. Richmond, declined to comment as he entered services in Canton.
Justin Lindstrom, 27, an upstairs neighbor of Ferrell's, said officers spent two hours searching the woman's apartment Saturday night before leaving with several full, brown paper bags and bottles of bleach from the basement.
Authorities would not describe what the deputies seized.
Ferrell worked at a Denny's restaurant until quitting her job Friday, Lindstrom said. A manager at Denny's confirmed that Ferrell had worked there as a dishwasher.
Lindstrom said he never really hit it off with Ferrell, who lives in the apartment downstairs with her 11-year-old daughter. He said she had parties every night.
Davis' body was found in an area with a dirt road, a small dirt parking area and a couple of benches overlooking a grassy field.
Over the weekend, people placed flowers and red and yellow ribbons just below a sign identifying the park. Just down the road from where the expectant mother's body was found, someone posted a sign saying, "God bless you Jessie and Chloe, forever in our hearts."
Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. is being held on a $5 million bond. (File)
AP
(CBS)CLEVELAND A grand jury Thursday indicted a former Canton police officer on murder charges in the deaths of his pregnant girlfriend and her unborn daughter.
Bobby Cutts Jr. could receive the death penalty if convicted in the June death of Jessie Davis, whose disappearance drew national attention as thousands searched for her in the area surrounding her northeast Ohio home.
Cutts, 30, is the father of Davis' 2-year-old son, Blake, and her family says he was the father of the baby girl due to be delivered July 3. Cutts is being held on a $5 million bond.
Authorities investigating the case of a slain pregnant woman have allowed few details to emerge since the father of her child was charged in her death nearly two months ago.
Numerous questions remain unanswered, including how Jessie Davis was killed, who disposed of her body and what the motive was behind the killing.
Davis, 26, was killed in her home near North Canton on June 14, authorities have said. Her disappearance drew national attention as thousands gathered to search for her in the area near her home, about 45 miles south of Cleveland.
Davis' body, still carrying a nearly full-term fetus, was found nine days later about 25 miles away from her home in a remote area of a park.
Stark County assistant prosecutor Dennis Barr said Thursday's news conference would focus on Cutts, but that prosecutors would also discuss a former high school classmate of Cutts', Myisha Ferrell, who has been charged with obstruction of justice. Prosecutors have accused her of helping dispose of Davis' body.
Cutts, 30, is the father of Davis' 2 1/2-year-old son, Blake, and her family says he was the father of the baby girl who was due to be delivered July 3.
Prosecutors have 90 days from Cutts' June 23 arrest to take the case to trial. Cutts is being held on a $5 million bond.
Davis was reported missing when her mother went to her home and found Blake in a dirty diaper, the bedroom furniture toppled and a pool of bleach on the floor.
Blake provided authorities with the first clues, saying: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug."
Earlier this month, Summit County medical examiner Lisa Kohler said she was unable to determine how Davis was killed.
Kohler ruled that the manner of death was a homicide but offered no other details, listing the cause as "unspecified homicidal violence."
Investigators had previously stated that the advanced decomposition of the body would make it difficult to determine a cause of death.
CANTON, Ohio — A Canton police officer pleaded not guilty Friday to three counts of aggravated murder and other charges in the killing of his pregnant girlfriend.
Bobby Cutts Jr., who could receive the death penalty if convicted in the death of Jessie Davis and her unborn daughter, nodded at his parents and his pastor upon entering and leaving the makeshift courtroom at the Stark County safety building.
Davis’ disappearance in June drew national attention as thousands gathered to search for her in the area surrounding her northeast Ohio home. Authorities have not said how she was killed.
Along with the aggravated murder counts, Cutts, 30, also faces two counts of gross abuse of a corpse and one count each of aggravated burglary and endangering children.
"His spirits are strong. I think he has faith in the process," said Cutts' attorney Fernando Mack. "He's presumed innocent just like any other defendant situated similarly. He just wants people to pray for him.”"
Myisha Ferrell, a high school classmate of Cutts, also pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of obstructing justice and complicity to abuse of a corpse. Prosecutors say she helped dispose of Davis' body.
Common Pleas Judge Charles E. Brown Jr. set a trial date of Sept. 18, within 90 days of their arrests.
The date could be postponed if defense attorneys waive the defendants’ rights to speedy trials. They could also file a request to have the trials moved to a different county because of the case’s heavy publicity.
"We have to evaluate the case and do our homework," said Cutts’ attorney Myron Watson.
"Right now, it’s just hard to gauge," Mack added.
Davis' mother, Patricia Porter, left the arraignment without commenting as did prosecutors who walked out with her. Assistant prosecutor Dennis Barr cited an order filed by the judge Friday that prevents parties from discussing the case.
Authorities say Davis was killed June 14 in her home near North Canton, about 45 miles south of Cleveland. Davis’ body, still carrying a nearly full-term fetus, was found nine days later about 25 miles away from her home in a remote area of a park.
A day after Davis was killed, Porter found her 2 1/2-year-old grandson, Blake, alone in the home wearing a dirty diaper. Bedroom furniture was toppled and a pool of bleach was on the floor.
Prosecutors want statements made by the toddler to be heard at trial. He provided authorities with the first clues, saying: “Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy’s in rug.”
Whether the toddler’s statements would be admissible at trial is up to the judge because of the boy’s age, said Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero.
Cutts is the boy’s father and Davis’ family says he was also the father of the baby girl Davis was due to deliver July 3.
Cutts continues to be held on a $5 million bond. The patrolman was suspended without pay from his job in June.
"The gravity of the charges are very significant," Watson said. "Any reasonable person that’s been charged with this type of crime obviously is not jumping for joy."
Earlier this month, Summit County medical examiner Lisa Kohler said she was unable to determine how Davis was killed.
Kohler ruled that the manner of death was homicide but offered no other details, listing the cause as "unspecified homicidal violence."
Cutts faces a minimum of 25 years to life if convicted of aggravated murder.
Ferrell faces one to five years in prison if convicted of obstruction, and an additional six to 18 months if convicted on the complicity charge.
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Posted by: kwflatbed
By The Associated Press
CANTON, Ohio — A police officer accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend admitted to his high school classmate and co-defendant that he killed her and told authorities where they could find her body, prosecutors said.
Bobby L. Cutts Jr., 30, told Myisha Ferrell that he killed Jessie Davis and her fetus, prosecutors said Tuesday in documents filed in Stark County Common Pleas Court. Cutts has pleaded not guilty.
Ferrell told police of Cutts' admission on Nov. 4, the day before she pleaded guilty to obstructing justice for lying to authorities, prosecutors said. She also admitted to complicity to gross abuse of a corpse and was sentenced to two years in prison.
Ferrell, 30, has agreed to testify against Cutts, who is facing three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of gross abuse of a corpse, and one count each of aggravated burglary and endangering children.
Davis, 26, was believed missing for nine days in June, and thousands gathered to search for her close to her home near North Canton, about 45 miles south of Cleveland. She was nearly full-term in her pregnancy.
A day after Davis was killed, her mother, Patricia Porter, found her 2 1/2-year-old grandson, Blake, alone in Davis' home. Investigators said the boy provided them with the first clues, saying: ''Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug.''
Davis' body was found in a field in a park about 20 miles from her home.
''Cutts led police to a remote location where the badly decomposed body of Jessie Davis was recovered,'' prosecutors wrote. ''The body was found on top of the burgundy patterned comforter.''
Prosecutors filed the documents in opposition to a motion by Cutts' lawyers to dismiss death-penalty specifications in the case. Prosecutors have not provided sufficient facts to support a death sentence, Cutts' defense team said.
Judge Charles E. Brown Jr. denied the motion Tuesday.
Brown has imposed a gag order on attorneys. Telephone calls to Cutts' attorneys, Fernando Mack and Myron Watson, were not immediately returned.
Cutts' attorneys said at a pretrial hearing Tuesday that they don't believe Ferrell's statement to prosecutors contains an admission by Cutts. His attorneys also argued that prosecutors haven't given enough information to support an aggravated burglary charge.
In a written reply posted on the court's Web site, prosecutors argued that Cutts may have initially entered the home with Davis' consent. But once he ''began his violent assault upon Davis, he no longer had the privilege to remain in the home and became a criminal trespasser.''
Cutts is scheduled to face trial in late January or early February.
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Posted by: kwflatbed
The Associated Press
CANTON, Ohio — Prosecutors today accused a former police officer of strangling a woman who was pregnant with his child, dumping her body, then lying to investigators as thousands searched for her body last summer in a case that received national attention.
Bobby Cutts Jr. was feeling the pressure of his crumbling marriage, financial debt and supporting several children, Stark County assistant prosecutor Chryssa Hartnett said in her opening statement at Cutts’ trial.
“We are here because of physical pressure — the physical pressure he exerted around the neck of Jessie Davis for the several minutes it took for him to snuff the life out of her and her unborn child,” she said.
Cutts’ attorney, Fernando Mack, told the jury they wouldn’t like the fact that Cutts knew where the body was and left his 2 1/2-year-old son Blake alone for 26 hours, referring to charges of gross abuse of a corpse and child endangering.
But he said that prosecutors did not have the evidence that he killed Davis and only hoped to enrage them enough to convict him of a murder charge.
“They hope that you’ll lose your way,” Mack said.
Cutts, 30, a former Canton patrolman, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder, aggravated burglary and other charges in the death of Davis and her female fetus. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
Cutts was supposed to pick up his son on June 13, Jessie Davis’ mother Patricia Porter testified.
After Porter couldn’t reach her daughter, she went to Davis’ house the morning of June 15 and found Blake alone.
“He’s soaked in feces and urine,” Hartnett said.
Porter testified that the 2 1/2-year-old told her: “Mommy’s crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy’s in the rug.”
Hartnett told jurors that Cutts, who sat with his hand on his chin throughout her opening statement, removed Davis’ body from her house.
“He rolled Jessie up in the comforter from her bed and put her in the back of his truck,” said Hartnett, adding that her feet hung out of the comforter.
Cutts then headed to the home of friend Myisha Ferrell, a high school classmate, and told her that he used his arm to strangle Davis, Hartnett said.
He told her to say that he had arranged for her to baby-sit for Blake — part of his plan to cover up his involvement in the crime, Hartnett said.
“She does it. She lies for him,” Hartnett said.
Prosecutors say Ferrell later told police of Cutts’ admission. She then pleaded guilty to obstructing justice for lying to authorities and complicity to gross abuse of a corpse. She was sentenced to two years in prison.
Mack told the jury not to allow testimony portraying Cutts as a womanizer or horrific photos of Davis’ corpse to anger them into a conviction. Her body was found in a park on June 23 about 20 miles from her home and was badly decomposed.
“They will not tell you the facts and circumstances that led to her death,” Mack said.
Mack also pointed out that the Summit County medical examiner was unable to determine how Davis was killed, listing the cause as “unspecified homicidal violence.”
“They don’t have a cause of death, rather they have hypotheticals,” he said.
The trial is expected to last at least two weeks. An all-white jury will consider the case against Cutts, who is black, and his attorneys have objected to the panel’s lack of racial diversity.
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Posted by: kwflatbed
Friend to turn on ex-cop at murder trial
CANTON, Ohio (AP) -- Prosecutors said a former police officer strangled his pregnant girlfriend, rolled her body in a comforter, stuck it in the back of his truck, and drove to the home of a high school classmate who helped him dump it.
Ex-cop Bobby Cutts Jr., right, talks with his attorney, Carolyn K. Ranke, as his murder trial opens.
1 of 3
But that friend isn't helping now: Myisha Ferrell has agreed to testify against Bobby Cutts Jr., and jurors are expected to hear from her Tuesday in his capital murder trial.
Assistant Stark County prosecutor Chryssa Hartnett said in opening statements Monday that Cutts told Ferrell he had strangled Jessie Marie Davis with his arm.
He also told Ferrell to say that he had arranged for her to baby-sit for his 2½-year-old son Blake -- part of his plan to hide his involvement in the crime, Hartnett said.
Ferrell later told police of Cutts' alleged admission, prosecutors said. She pleaded guilty to obstructing justice and complicity to gross abuse of a corpse. She was sentenced to two years in prison.
Cutts, 30, a former Canton patrolman, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder, aggravated burglary and other charges in the death of Davis and her female fetus. Thousands searched for Davis in the area surrounding her northeast Ohio home in the days after she was reported missing June 15.
Defense attorney Fernando Mack said in opening statements that Cutts knew where Davis' body was, but said he had nothing to do with her death. He also said prosecutors had no evidence tying Cutts to the killing.
On Monday afternoon,the jury heard two audio recordings in which Cutts denied any knowledge about what happened to Davis, who was about two weeks from delivering their second child, according to prosecutors.
Cutts told Sgt. Eric Weisburn that he didn't know if the child was his because Davis also was seeing someone else.
Cutts, who was married, characterized their relationship by saying, "It was more sexual than like a relationship." He added: "Blake was born and that made things a little different."
He told Weisburn that he'd last spoken to Davis on June 13. He said he called her the next day when she didn't bring 2½-year-old Blake over for him to watch.
In one of the phone calls, he left an angry message saying, "You could at least call," Hartnett said. At the time, Blake was home alone.
Mack told jurors that they wouldn't like that Cutts knew where Davis' body was, or that he left Blake alone for 26 hours. But he said prosecutors did not have evidence Cutts killed Davis. Prosecutors hope Cutts' other actions will enrage the jurors, he said.
"They hope that you'll lose your way," Mack said.
Jessie Davis' mother, Patricia Porter, testified that she found Blake home alone with a dirty diaper June 15. She said that the 2½-year-old told her: "Mommy's crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in the rug."
Blake later told police: "Daddy's mad."
Investigators found bleach dumped in Davis' bedroom, her nightstand tipped over and the mattress askew on the box spring.
Hartnett said Cutts was feeling the pressure of his crumbling marriage, financial debt and supporting several children.
Hartnett said Cutts led police to Davis' body. The badly decomposed remains were found June 23 in a park about 20 miles from her home near North Canton, some 45 miles south of Cleveland.
Mack pointed out that a medical examiner was unable to determine how Davis was killed, listing the cause as "unspecified homicidal violence."
"They don't have a cause of death; rather, they have hypotheticals," he said.
The trial is expected to last at least two weeks.
CANTON, Ohio --
Defense attorneys began presenting their case Monday in the trial of a former police officer accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend and called a witness who said scientists couldn't find blood on items taken from his home.
Kylie Graham, a criminalist for Stark County crime lab, testified that she couldn't confirm blood on gloves, a sweat shirt and other clothing collected from former Officer Bobby Cutts Jr.'s house on June 20, five days after Jessie Marie Davis was reported missing.
Investigators found a large bleach stain on the carpeting in Davis' bedroom and could not find any blood evidence in the room. Gary Rini, an independent forensic science consultant, testified that bleach won't make blood stains undetectable.
"It actually enhances the ability to detect blood because it dilutes it and spreads it in a further area," Rini said.
Cutts' attorneys told the jury during opening statements that there was no evidence linking Cutts to Davis' killing. Prosecutors warned the jury that common sense, not DNA evidence, would determine the case.
Cutts' friend, Myisha Ferrell, is the case's key witness and testified earlier that Cutts demonstrated to her that he choked Davis with his arm. Defense attorneys have not challenged Ferrell's testimony that she witnessed Cutts dumping the body in a park about 20 miles from Davis' northeast Ohio home.
Cutts, 30, also father of Davis' 2 1/2-year-old son, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder and other charges, and could receive the death penalty if convicted. He resigned from his post as a Canton patrolman.
Prosecutors have said Cutts was feeling the pressure of his crumbling marriage, financial debt and supporting several children.
Thousands searched for the 26-year-old Davis in the area surrounding her home in the days she was missing after her death and before Cutts led authorities to the body.
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Posted by: kwflatbed
Ex-Ohio Officer Testifies in Murder Case
By JOE MILICIA Associated Press Writer
CANTON, Ohio --
A former police officer accused of killing his pregnant lover sobbed on the witness stand Monday that he accidentally struck her when she wouldn't let him out of her house.
"I didn't mean to hurt her," Bobby Cutts Jr. testified, clutching a handful of white tissues.
Cutts, 30, said he was at Jessie Davis' home to pick up his 2 1/2-year-old son, Blake, and was telling her to hurry. He started to leave after she didn't move more quickly to get Blake ready, he said, but she stopped him. He pointed his finger at her face, and she bit it, he testified.
Cutts tried to leave again, but Davis grabbed his arm and told him he couldn't, the suspect testified. He pulled his arm away and threw his elbow back, telling jurors that it landed in Davis' throat area and that she fell hard.
During four hours of testimony, Cutts also said he drove around with the body and later mulched his yard and went to work, trying to tell himself nothing was wrong.
Thousands searched for the 26-year-old Davis for more than a week, until Cutts led authorities to the body wrapped in a comforter in the park.
"I made a weeklong bad decision," Cutts testified Monday.
Cutts could receive the death penalty if convicted of killing Davis, who was nearly full term with a female fetus when she died last June.
Cutts said he performed CPR, then tried to use bleach to revive her; a large bleach stain was found in her room.
"She wasn't responding and I knew she was dead," Cutts testified.
He said he recalled thinking: "No way this is happening; this is not happening."
Under questioning from his own attorney, Fernando Mack, Cutts said he didn't know why he failed to call police.
"How do you explain that?" Cutts said, raising his voice. "I just wanted to go get my son. I didn't want anybody to get hurt."
Cutts testified that he didn't want Blake to see his mother, so he put Davis' body in the bed of her truck and went to a friend's house while the boy slept.
Later, he said he drove around in a panic, not knowing what to do.
"I can't keep driving around with her body in the back of this truck," he said - so when he saw a dirt road leading to a park, he pulled in.
"Did you leave Jessie at that location?" Mack said.
"Yeah," Cutts said between sobs.
After more than two hours of testimony, Cutts sat sniffling on the stand as assistant prosecutor Dennis Barr began his cross-examination.
"Mr. Cutts, do you have a cold? Because I don't see any tears," Barr said.
Defense attorneys objected.
"Did you cry this much when you dumped Jessie's body in the park?" Barr asked.
"After I dumped her body, yes, I did cry," Cutts said.
When asked by Barr why he didn't call 911 after he struck Davis, Cutts said that had he tried, using Davis' cell phone, but that he couldn't get the phone to work.
Prosecutors said Cutts was feeling the pressure of his crumbling marriage, financial debt and supporting several children. The state rested its case Friday, with closing arguments scheduled for Tuesday.
The former police officer in Canton is on trial on aggravated murder and other charges.
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Posted by: kwflatbed
He was just found Guilty
Ohio ex-cop convicted in lover's death
By JOE MILICIA
CANTON, Ohio - A former Ohio police officer has been convicted of murdering his girlfriend and her unborn child. Bobby Cutts Jr. could face the death penalty.
Cutts cried on the stand during the trial as he told jurors he accidentally killed Jessie Davis by putting an elbow to her throat. He said he panicked and dumped her body in a park.
Prosecutors say Cutts strangled Davis over mounting child support.
The couple's young son was found home alone and gave investigators their first clues in the case. He told investigators "Mommy's in the rug," and "Daddy's mad."
Bobby Cutts Jr. Found Guilty of Killing Pregnant Girlfriend Jessie Davis
Friday, February 15, 2008
AP
Feb. 12:Bobby Cutts Jr. listens during the closing arguments in his trial in Canton, Ohio.
CANTON, Ohio — A jury has convicted former Ohio police officer Bobby Cutts Jr. of murdering his pregnant girlfriend and their unborn baby.
He could face the death penalty.
Cutts was convicted of aggravated murder in the death of the nearly full-term female fetus.
The jury found him not guilty of aggravated murder in Davis' death, a count that includes intent to kill with prior calculation and design. But they convicted him of a lesser charge of murder in her death.
Aggravated murder carries a possible death sentence.
Cutts, who resigned as a Canton patrolman after his arrest, had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
During the trial, Cutts, 30, testified through sobs that he accidentally killed Davis with an elbow to her throat as he was trying to leave her house last June. He said he then panicked and dumped her body in a park.
Prosecutors said Cutts strangled Davis, 26, over mounting child support and hid her body to cover up his involvement. The jury sided with that version of events.
Cutts did not react as the verdicts were being read.
The jury reached its decision on Friday morning, their fourth day of deliberations, after overtime discussions the night before.
The couple's 2 1/2-year-old son Blake, who was found home alone, gave investigators their first clues to his mother's disappearance when he said, "Mommy's crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in the rug," and later, "Daddy's mad."
For more than a week, Cutts denied knowledge of her whereabouts as thousands searched in the area. He finally led authorities to the body, wrapped in a comforter and dumped in a park about 20 miles from her home.
Cutts also was convicted of abuse of a corpse, burglary and child endangering.
Jurors, who had been sequestered at a hotel since deliberations began Tuesday, met until about 10 p.m. on Thursday in the case against Cutts in the June death of Davis.
Cutts could receive a death sentence, life in prison without parole or life with parole eligibility after 20, 25 or 30 years.
The former police officer testified that he accidentally killed Davis, who was carrying their second child, with a blow to the throat during an argument as he attempted to leave her northeast Ohio home against her wishes.
But prosecutors argued that Cutts strangled Davis to avoid making child support payments for a fourth child. Besides being the father of Davis' toddler son and unborn daughter, Cutts also has a child with his ex-wife and a child with a former girlfriend.
Ohio man convicted in murder of 26-year-old girlfriend, unborn child
updated 54 minutes ago
CANTON, Ohio - A former police officer should face execution for killing his pregnant lover and their unborn daughter, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday.
“Bobby Cutts deserves the maximum sentence allowed by law in the state of Ohio. That’s the sentence of death,” assistant Stark County Prosecutor Dennis Barr told jurors who convicted Cutts earlier this month and must recommend a sentence.
Barr said the state had met its burden to prove that Cutts deserves to die for his crimes.
Cutts' tearful pleas
Two appearances by Cutts on the witness stand were the emotional highlights of his trial in the death of Jessie Davis, 26, and the nearly full-term fetus.
Two weeks ago, Cutts sobbed on the witness stand as he testified that he had accidentally killed Davis with an elbow blow to the throat during a disagreement at her northeast Ohio home and dumped her body at a park in a panic.
Defense attorney Fernando Mack said execution would be inappropriate because it should be reserved for the “worst of the worst,” including serial killers.
“This is a situation that got out of hand,” said Mack, who argued that execution would leave the couple’s 2½-year-old son, Blake, an orphan.
“This penalty is to be used sparingly,” Mack said.
Death penalty possible
The jury was scheduled to begin deliberating a sentence recommendation after hearing the judge’s instructions on the law.
Cutts, 30, was convicted of aggravated murder in the death of the fetus. He could receive the death penalty, life in prison without parole or life with parole eligibility after 20, 25 or 30 years.
If the jury recommends death, the judge can reduce the sentence to life, something that has happened just seven times in Ohio in 27 years.
Jurors found Cutts not guilty of aggravated murder in the death of Davis but convicted him of a lesser charge of murder in her death.
Cutts took the stand Monday to plead with jurors who convicted him. Sniffling and his voice wavering at times, he accepted responsibility for his crimes.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I’m asking you to spare my life,” Cutts said in an unsworn statement, which exempted him from cross-examination by prosecutors.
Apologizing to the teary-eyed members of Davis’ family sitting in the front row, Cutts said he could not express in words how he felt knowing that he had killed her and the baby.
Prosecutors told the jury that Cutts killed Davis and the unborn baby last June to avoid making child support payments for the child.
Child provided police with clues Blake, who was found home alone, gave investigators their first clues to his mother’s disappearance when he said, “Mommy’s crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy’s in the rug,” and later, “Daddy’s mad.”
For more than a week, Cutts denied knowledge of her whereabouts as thousands searched in the area. He finally led authorities to the body, wrapped in a comforter.
Cutts, who also was convicted of abuse of a corpse, burglary and child endangering for leaving Blake Davis alone, resigned as a patrolman from the Canton police department.
Posted by: kwflatbed
Ex-Officer Cutts Avoids Death Sentence
Ex-Officer Convicted Of Killing Pregnant Girlfriend
CANTON, Ohio -- A jury sentenced a former Canton police officer to life in prison with no chance of parole for 30 years for killing his pregnant girlfriend and their unborn daughter.
The judge asked everyone involved in the trial of 30-year-old Bobby Cutts Jr. to gather in the courtroom Wednesday afternoon to hear the jury's recommendation.
Jurors began deliberating Tuesday morning.
The 30-year-old Cutts had testified that he accidentally killed Davis with an elbow blow to the throat during an argument.
He eventually led authorities to her body, which he had dumped in a park.
After returning to the stand after his conviction, Cutts asked jurors to spare his life and instead send him to prison for life.
CANTON, Ohio — A former police officer sentenced to life in prison for killing his pregnant lover is seeking a new trial, arguing that the jury handed down contradictory verdicts.
Attorneys for Bobby Cutts Jr. filed the appeal Friday in the 5th District Court of Appeals.
Cutts, 31, was convicted in February of killing Jessie Davis and their unborn daughter at her northeast Ohio home. Prosecutors alleged he killed Davis, 26, and the fetus last summer to avoid making child support payments. Thousands of volunteers helped search for Davis before her body was found dumped in a park.
Jurors convicted Cutts of aggravated murder in the death of the fetus. They found him not guilty of aggravated murder in Davis' death but convicted him of a lesser charge of murder.
The filing argues that convicting Cutts of murder in Davis' death and aggravated murder in the fetus' death was inconsistent because both deaths were the result of the same act.
"The jury clearly lost its way and created such a manifest miscarriage of justice that the conviction must be reversed and a new trial ordered," the appeal said.
Cutts' attorneys also argue that the judge presiding over the trial should have allowed jurors to consider an involuntary manslaughter conviction because no witnesses contradicted Cutts' claim that he did not purposely kill Davis. Cutts testified that he accidentally hit Davis in the throat with his elbow during an argument and that he dumped her body in a panic.
Among other issues, Cutts' attorneys also say the trial should have been held outside Stark County, where the crime was committed, because intense media coverage made it difficult to find an impartial jury.
Members of the jury had helped search for Davis' body, seen media reports about the death and believed Cutts was guilty, the appeal said.
Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Mark Caldwell said many of the issues raised in the appeal were also raised during trial.
"I'm not surprised by the sort of claims they are making," he said.
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Jessie Marie Davis (File)
Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. is being held on a $5 million bond. (File)
Ex-cop Bobby Cutts Jr., right, talks with his attorney, Carolyn K. Ranke, as his murder trial opens. 
Watch crime scene video »
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