Body of missing pregnant woman found; boyfriend charged with double murder
AKRON, Ohio — A body found at the end of a days-long search for a woman nearly nine months pregnant is indeed hers, a medical examiner confirmed yesterday as investigators pieced together the case against the boyfriend accused of killing her.The body found Saturday in a park was that of 26-year-old Jessie Davis, whose due date was July 3, the Summit County medical examiner’s office said. Bobby Cutts Jr., who authorities suspect is the father, is charged with two counts of murder.
The cause of death had not yet been determined, said Lisa Kohler, the Summit County medical examiner. Her office had said it might be difficult to determine the cause of death because of the advanced state of decomposition.
The fetus was still in the woman’s womb, Kohler said as she left her office Sunday. She declined to comment further. Confirmation of Davis’ identity had been announced on a recording from the medical examiner’s telephone hotline.
Davis, of Lake Township near Canton, was reported missing after her mother found Davis’ two-year-old son, Blake, home alone, with bedroom furniture toppled and bleach spilled on the floor. Blake gave investigators 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, 30, a police officer who is Davis’ boyfriend and has an estranged wife. He is scheduled to be arraigned today.
Davis’ relatives have said they believed Cutts, of North Canton, was the father of both Blake and the fetus Davis was carrying.
Investigators have refused to comment on the circumstances surrounding the discovery of Davis’ body and Cutts’ arrest.
There was no immediate response to messages seeking comment Sunday from Davis’ family members and Cutts’ lawyer. Cutts’ pastor, the Rev. C.A. Richmond, declined to comment as he entered a service in Canton yesterday.
The body was found in an area known as Top O’ the World because of its elevation. The area contains a dirt road, a small dirt parking area and a couple of benches overlooking a grassy field.
The body was found in that field, said Roger Riggins, an investigator for the medical examiner’s office.
Just down the road, someone posted a sign that said, “God bless you Jesse and Chloe, forever in our hearts.” People had placed flowers and red and yellow ribbons just below a sign identifying the park.
“We’re trying to make sure we know everything about Jessie’s disappearance and if anybody else is responsible for this, we’ll try to identify them and locate them,” said FBI agent Scott Wilson.