26y.o. Pregnant Jessica "Jessie" Davis (2007)

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1 yr old was found alone in the home and told Jessie's mother that "Mommie's in the rug, she broke the table". Strong smell of bleach in the bedroom was present, where matress was turned sideways.

LET'S ALL PRAY THIS IS NOT ANOTHER SCOTT PETERSON DEAL.

NORTH CANTON, Ohio -- A frantic search is under way for a missing pregnant woman in Ohio, Cleveland television station WEWS reported.


Jessie Marie Davis, 26, of Lake Township, is just days away from her due date -- ready to deliver a baby girl. But she vanished.
Police said there is a good possibility that foul play was involved in her disappearance.

"I don't know what could have happened to her," Jessie's mother, Patty Porter, said.

She struggled to hold back the tears on Saturday.

"We don't know what has happened, and I just want my daughter back," Porter said.

She said she usually talks to her daughter daily, and after not hearing from her in more than a day, she knew something was wrong. When she went to her daughter's home Friday, her fears were confirmed.

She found her daughter's bedroom in disarray and her 2-year-old grandson, Blake, home alone.

"She would have never left my grandson, ever, unless she was forced out there with somebody threatening him," Porter said

Police said bedroom furniture was knocked over and a cell phone, comforter and sheets from the bed were gone, and there was bleach on the floor.

"We are extremely concerned. We're concerned from the outset of this when we first started investigating this," said Stark County Sheriff's Capt. Gary Shankle.

Investigators said a Canton, Ohio, police officer is Blake's father and likely the father of the baby girl Jessie is carrying. He is a married to another woman. However, police did not call either of them a suspect.

"She was happy, excited. In the closet, she bought satin hangers to hang up clothes. Her packed bag was sitting there with a Bible," Porter said.

Jessie's family and friends are praying that she'll be home soon to celebrate the birth of her baby girl.

Davis is a white woman, 5 feet 4 inches tall and 135 pounds. She has blonde hair and hazel eyes.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Stark County Sherriff's Office at 330-430-3684.

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CBS) Jessie Marie Davis, who is nine months pregnant, was last heard from Wednesday, June 13. She spoke to her mother, Patricia Porter, on the phone. They had a normal conversation.

"She sounded happy, very excited about Chloe (her unborn daughter)," Porter told The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen. "We had our normal conversation. She was very up."

But after that, Davis, who has a 2-year-old son named Blake, vanished. When Porter didn't hear from her daughter Thursday, she decided to go to Davis' house in North Canton, Ohio.

"First thing I saw was her purse was all over the floor and then I hollered for Blakey," she said. "I said, 'Blakey, where's mommy?' He came running downstairs and you could smell him as he came through because he soiled his diaper. And that just, just seemed really out of character, since the smell in the house was overwhelming. And I ran upstairs. He said, 'Mommy's crying and mommy broke the table.' I thought maybe my daughter had got sick and passed out upstairs."

Porter said when she went upstairs, everything in the bathroom was in tact, but the bedroom was in disarray. The lamp and the nightstand were knocked over and the mattress was pulled partially off the bed. She said bleach had been poured all over the floor.

According to police, there are no suspects and no signs of a break-in. They do, however, suspect foul play. The only things missing from the home are Davis' cell phone, bed sheets and a comforter. Her car and her purse were still there. The police are using professionals with the department of human services who specialize in children because they are afraid of further traumatizing Blake.

Davis' family has launched a search and has posted fliers all around the area. Police are using canines.

The father of Blake and Davis' unborn daughter, Bobby Cutts Jr., a Canton police officer, is cooperating with the investigation. Capt. Gary Shankle of the Stark County Sheriff's Office said they are interviewing many people, including Cutts' wife, Kelly Cutts, with whom he has two daughters. According to local newspaper reports, Kelly and Bobby Cutts are separated and she is aware of her husband's relationship with Davis. They separated in February.

"Everybody in this investigation so far has cooperated fully with us," Shankle said. "And, like I say, we're still involved if tracking some more people down that may have some information."

Jessie Marie Davis

White female

9 months pregnant

26 years old

5 feet 4, 135 pounds

Brown hair with blonde highlights

Hazel eyes

Anyone with information regarding the well being and whereabouts of Davis are asked to contact the Stark County Sheriff's Office at [phone].

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Police Looking for Abandoned Newborn Girl in Case of Missing Ohio Mom Jessie Davis

Police investigating the disappearance of pregnant mom Jessie Davis are looking into the discovery of an abandoned newborn baby 45 miles from where the woman was last seen.

The day-old infant girl was left Monday night in a wicker basket on the doorstep of a residence in rural south Wooster, Ohio and taken to Wooster Community Hospital, where a DNA sample was taken.

Davis, who was pregnant with a baby girl and due to give birth July 3, vanished in North Canton, south of Cleveland in northeastern Ohio.

Authorities are trying to determine whether there is a link between that baby and the one Davis, 26, was expecting, said Stark City Sheriff's Chief Deputy Rick Perez in a Tuesday evening press conference.

"Investigators are not ruling anything out at this time," Perez said.

Thomas Maurer, sheriff in neighboring Wayne County, does not believe there is a connection between the baby and Davis. He said a doctor determined that the newborn was less than 24 hours old.

"We're using every caution we can" to ID the infant or eliminate the possibility that she is related to Davis, he said.

A couple arriving home from dinner Monday night discovered the newborn on the porch of their rural home south of Wooster, according to Maurer. 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 last heard from Wednesday when she spoke to her mother by phone from her home in North Canton.

In 2000 in nearby Ravenna, a pregnant woman was killed and her baby was cut out by a heavyset woman who claimed she was pregnant and took the victim's baby as her own. She killed herself five days later when police traced cell phone calls and went to confront her.

Earlier Tuesday, a former girlfriend of the man who fathered Davis' unborn child and her 2-year-old son told FOX News that he has a violent history and should be looked at as a possible person of interest in the case.

Canton, Ohio, police patrolman Bobby Cutts Jr. has two children with his wife and another child with Nikki Giavasis, who now lives in California. He is also the father of Davis' toddler son Blake, as well as her unborn baby girl. Davis disappeared last week.

Giavasis told FOX News on Tuesday that Cutts kicked down her door when he broke into her house after their relationship ended because he was upset that she was dating someone new. She had taken several restraining orders out against him, she said, including one in 2007. He also hit and verbally abused their daughter, who no longer sees him, according to Giavasis.

"He was very volatile during the relationship," Giavasis told FOX News. "He threatened to steal my daughter continuously ... He frightened me horrifically, my daughter, my family. It's been an ongoing ordeal since meeting him."

She said Cutts is manipulative and has been convicted of perjury several times. She believes he is responsible for Davis' disappearance.

"I think definitely he'd be the only suspect," she told FOX.

Cutts did not respond to FOX News' attempts to interview him, but several friends and family members told FOX News there is no way Cutts would try to harm Giavasis or his own child.

Police have specifically said that Cutts, 30, is not a suspect in the case and is cooperating fully with the investigation — as is his estranged wife, Kelly Cutts, who reportedly knew about the on-again, off-again relationship he had with Davis.

Cutts brought his pickup truck to a location agreed upon with police. The police searched it and found nothing suspicious, FOX News has learned.

FOX News spoke to friend of Cutts at the Canton Police Department who said he thinks Cutts is being railroaded. The friend said Cutts is a witness in a federal lawsuit that could go to trial this year surrounding discrimination claims within the Canton Police Department against black officers. The friend thinks Cutts is being railroaded and not enough time is being spent looking for foul play elsewhere.

Police investigating Davis' disappearance used a canine unit to search Cutts' home, but they still believe her 2-year-old son may be the only one who can tell them what happened.

Since the young mom vanished, the child, Blake, has been saying, "Mommy's in the rug" over and over, according to Davis' mother, Patricia Porter, who found the tot home alone last Thursday in a house that looked as though it had been ransacked.

• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Crime Center.

Police believe the "rug" the boy is referring to is a missing bed comforter. They have advised Porter, Davis' sister and other relatives not to ask the child questions so that any recollections and information he might have will come out naturally.

"Whatever comes, comes," Porter said. "He plays a lot. We're not trying to prod him or anything."

Blake has also said, "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table."

Porter told FOX News on Tuesday that Blake has been carrying around his mother's photo since she disappeared.

"I think he saw everything," Porter said, declining to comment further on what else the child has talked about.

Police think foul play could have been involved, but so far have turned up no leads and have no suspects.

"I think they're following every lead they have and I think they're doing the very best they can right now," Porter told FOX, weeping at times during the interview. "I just want my daughter back. We love her, her children love her ... We just want her home."

On Monday night, FBI agents, sheriff's deputies and police dogs searched Cutts' home and removed several items from the residence.

Bobby Cutts was to drop Blake off at Davis' home Thursday, Porter said in her 911 call. She declined to comment on how Cutts and her daughter got along or give any other information about him in her Tuesday interview with FOX News.

Cutts, who took part Sunday in a search around Davis' home, was placed on paid administrative leave due to the stress of the disappearance, Canton police Chief Dean McKimm told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer.

Before joining the Canton Police Department in 1998, Cutts was charged with aggravated criminal trespass for breaking into Giavasis' home and pleaded no contest, The Repository in Canton, Ohio, reported. He was found guilty and placed on three years probation, according to the paper, and became a police officer in 2000.

In February 2003, Cutts was fired from the force after an investigation into how his cousin had wound up with Cutts' weapon, The Repository reported. Cutts said the weapon was stolen, but police determined he had given it to the cousin. He was later reinstated, however, after an arbitrator intervened, according to the newspaper.

Click here to read The Repository story

Sheriff's deputies also combed through Jessie Davis' duplex over the weekend and returned Monday evening with FBI agents. A weekend search by police and 60 to 70 volunteers found no leads.

Porter went to her daughter's house Thursday to check up on her, worried that she hadn't heard from her in a day. What she found was Blake alone wearing a dirty diaper, a broken table and puddles of bleach on the floor.

The night stand and lamp in the bedroom were knocked over, and the mattress was partially off the bed.

"My God, something's wrong!" Porter said in a 911 call. Porter told the emergency dispatcher that her daughter "would never, ever" leave the child behind.

Items from Davis' purse were scattered all over the floor, and her cell phone is missing, according to investigators. Her car was still parked in the driveway, and the sliding patio door was unlocked. There was no sign of forced entry, police said.

Davis' sister told FOX News that the only clothing missing from the house was a pair of pink Victoria's Secret stretch pants and a white camisole top that said "Ohhh laaa laaa." Davis wore both frequently, according to her sister.

Davis had been excited about the upcoming birth of her second child, getting baby clothes ready and packing a suitcase for the delivery.

She had decided to name the girl Chloe, which means "blooming" in Greek. Davis was in good spirits when she spoke to her mother Wednesday.

"You just feel absolutely numb," Porter said. "I see her picture on television and I think, 'Oh my God, what a beautiful girl.' And then it hits you, 'That's my girl."'

Davis is employed by Allstate Insurance at a call center in nearby Hudson, company spokesman Mike Siemienas said Monday. A co-worker, Dianna Piltz, sent Davis a text message at 8:15 a.m. Thursday that wasn't returned.

"We freak out when she's a couple minutes late. She's pregnant and you always worry about pregnant women," Piltz said.

Neighbors said Davis lived a low-key life, and was often seen pushing a stroller. "Every now and then we'd see her out and about," said Jeff Midkiff, 46. "She would wave, or whatever. She seemed like a very quiet person."

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1,000 join search for missing Ohio woman
6/21/07

UNIONTOWN, Ohio - More than 1,000 volunteers spread out Thursday in a search of rural areas around the home of a missing woman who was 9 months pregnant when she disappeared.

"I think every single rock will be turned over on this search," said organizer Tim Miller, who runs the internationally active search team Texas EquuSearch.

Miller had expected about 200 volunteers Thursday and said he was a bit overwhelmed by the turnout. His team also brought in sonar equipment to check ponds and a remote-control airplane equipped with a camera to look for any sign of the missing woman, Jessie Davis.

Davis' younger sister, Whitney Davis, who wore a T-shirt with her sister's picture and the word "Missing" in red letters.

"They're going to help us find Jessie, hopefully, bring her back safe," she said.

Jessie Davis, whose baby is due July 3, was last heard from in a phone call with her mother on June 13. Two days later, her mother checked on her home and found it in shambles, with the furniture overturned, a comforter missing and her 2-year-old grandson wandering around alone.

The little boy told investigators: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug."

"We're holding onto that hope that maybe she's still alive out there," Miller said. "That would be the greatest thing in the world, but realistically, we know after a period of time that that normally doesn't happen."

Miller started EquuSearch his 16-year-old daughter, Laura, disappeared in Texas and was found dead 17 months later. Funded through donations, the group offers search-and-rescue training and uses specialized search equipment to help recover human remains around the world and search for missing children. It has worked on hundreds of missing persons cases, including the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway, 18, in Aruba.

On Wednesday, for the second time in three days, investigators searched the home of the man who fathered Davis' 2-year-old son and unborn daughter, although authorities have repeatedly said Canton police officer Bobby Cutts Jr. is not a suspect.

Cutts, 30, told The (Canton) Repository he had nothing to do with Davis' disappearance, and that he has slept little and had no appetite since the 26-year-old woman vanished.

Sheriff's investigators and FBI agents carried out more than a dozen white cardboard boxes, a few brown bags and three large black plastic bags during a search that lasted more than three hours.

A legal order allowed investigators to obtain some of Davis' cell phone records, which are being reviewed, Stark County sheriff's Chief Deputy Rick Perez said at a news conference Wednesday.

Cutts, who also has two children with his wife, Kelly, said they are separated but have not filed for divorce and that his wife knew he had a relationship with Davis.

He said he last spoke with Davis at 8 p.m. on June 13, about 90 minutes before she last spoke with her mother.

Cutts' mother, Renee Horne, told the Repository that agents at her son's home were looking for Davis' cell phone and a quilt missing from the Davis's home.

Horne said FBI agents questioned her son twice Wednesday, and read him his Miranda rights during the second interview. Investigators also took Cutts' two cell phones, Horne said.

Meanwhile, authorities said DNA tests would not be finished until next week on a newborn girl left on a porch about 45 miles away from Davis' home. Authorities are trying to determine if the infant, less than 24 hours old when it was found Monday evening in Wooster, is related to Davis. A bottle and can of formula left in the basket with the newborn were sent to be tested for fingerprints or any other evidence.

On its Web site, the FBI lists the case as a kidnapping. But FBI spokesman Scott Wilson in Cleveland said the label is standard whenever foul play is a possibility, and the agency doesn't know if Davis was abducted or not.

The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to Davis' whereabouts. EquuSearch added a $5,000 reward.

Thursday morning, scores volunteers gathered at a firehouse near a sign that read, "Pray for Jessie," to help EquuSearch's efforts.

"My heart goes out to them," said Lisa Dillon, 47, who took a vacation day from her state job to aid in the search. "I just want to help."

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Body found in pregnant woman's case
6/23/07

CANTON, Ohio - A massive search ended in sadness Saturday when authorities announced they found a body believed to be a pregnant woman who vanished from her home a week earlier. A police officer believed to be the father of the unborn child was arrested on two counts of murder.

Jessie Davis, 26, who was due to deliver a baby girl on July 3, was reported missing after her mother found Davis' 2-year-old son home alone, bedroom furniture toppled and bleach spilled on the floor.

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, who is the father of Davis' son but is married to another woman.

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.

Television news footage taken from helicopters above Cuyahoga Valley National Park showed investigators riding off-road vehicles to reach an area that is heavily covered with trees and brush. It also show authorities carrying a body bag on a stretcher and loading it into a white van.

Roger Riggins, an investigator with the Summit County medical examiner's office, confirmed a body was found at the southeast edge of the park, about 25 miles from Davis' home in Lake Township.

The medical examiner's office said they would perform an autopsy Sunday and try to use dental records to identify the body, but that they might have difficulty determining the cause of death because of the advanced state of decomposition,

Later Saturday, sheriff's deputies searched the apartment of a high school classmate of Cutts, looking for pillows, a bed sheet, a cell phone, cleaning supplies and other evidence in the case, The Repository in Canton reported, citing a search warrant signed by Stark County Common Pleas Judge John Haas.

An inventory of the search showed three cell phones, Lysol and Clorox cleaning solution bottles, three empty bottles of Febreze fabric freshener, garbage bags and a partial roll of duct tape were removed by deputies from the home, the newspaper reported.

Tim Miller, director of Texas EquuSearch, an internationally active search group that organized the volunteer effort, said Davis' mother, Patricia Porter, and other members of her family were called together and told about the body in late afternoon.

"A lot of the community stopped their lives to looked for Jessie and that meant so much to her and the entire family that they knew they were not alone in this," he said.

During the investigation, a newborn baby girl was left on the doorstep of a home in a nearby county, raising questions about whether it belonged to Davis. DNA tests were being conducted when another woman confessed to leaving the child at the home.

An attorney for Davis' mother said the family had a roller coaster ride of emotions and had no comment.

"I've seen them laugh, cry, be angry — everything you can imagine," Rick Pitinii said. "They need to be together, and they need to be alone, and they need to grieve."

Cutts, a Canton police officer since 2000, has said he and his wife are separated and that she knew about the affair with Davis.

Chief Deputy Rick Perez said the case was still being investigated. He would not comment on whether there were any other suspects.

Telephone messages seeking comment were left at the office of Cutts' lawyer, Bradley Iams, and the home and office of the Rev. C.A. Richmond, who is Cutts' pastor. Iams' home number is unlisted. Cutts' wife also did not return a phone call.

Cutts has been on paid administrative leave from his job.

"There is no denying that this has resulted in giving a black eye in the opinion of the local community as well as the opinion of the rest of the nation," Canton Police Chief Dean McKimm said of Cutts' arrest.

The police department had tried to fire Cutts 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 proved the allegation.

Cutts pleaded no contest to a disorderly conduct charge in 1998 after he was accused of breaking into the home of a former girlfriend. He was sentenced to three years' probation.

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New arrest in Ohio pregnant-woman case
6/24/07

CANTON, Ohio - A former classmate of a man suspected of murdering a pregnant woman was arrested Sunday on a related obstruction of justice charge, the FBI said.

Myisha Ferrell was arrested one day after the body of 26-year-old Jessie Davis was found in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, still carrying her dead, nearly full-term fetus. The Summit County medical examiner on Sunday confirmed the body was Davis'.

Sheriff's deputies and FBI agents arrested Ferrell after breaking down the door of her apartment and searching the home, agent Scott Wilson said.

The Stark County Sheriff's Department refused to discuss the arrest, saying any information made public would hurt their case. Ferrell was to be arraigned Monday, Wilson said.

Davis, of Lake Township near Canton, was reported missing after her mother found Davis' 2-year-old son, 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 Bobby Cutts Jr., 30, a police officer who is Davis' boyfriend and has an estranged wife. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on charges of murdering Davis and her fetus.

Cutts, of North Canton, is Blake's father, and relatives have said they believed Cutts also fathered the fetus Davis was carrying.

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.

Wilson would not describe what the deputies seized or say how Ferrell might have been involved.

Lindstrom said he had not seen the downstairs tenant over the weekend and rarely spoke to the woman, except to ask her to turn her music down. He said he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary around the time Davis disappeared.

"I heard loud noises in the middle of the night, every night," he said.

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 services in Canton on Sunday.

Lindstrom said he never really hit it off with Ferrell, who lives in the apartment with her 11-year-old daughter.

"She's not exactly your ideal neighbor. She and I haven't gotten along since day one," said Lindstrom, who moved into the building in January. He said she had parties every night.

"We're talking carloads at a time — four and five carloads — and until 3 or 4 in the morning," Lindstrom said.

Ferrell worked at a Denny's restaurant until quitting her job Friday, Lindstrom said. A manager at Denny's, who declined to give his name, confirmed that Ferrell had worked there but declined to comment further.

Officials at the Stark County jail said Ferrell was in custody, but declined to release other information, including whether she had a lawyer.

Davis' 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.

Davis' mother has said she planned to name the baby Chloe. 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." People had placed flowers and red and yellow ribbons just below a sign identifying the park.

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Court Documents: Bobby Cutts Jr. Killed Jessie Davis at Home
Monday, June 25, 2007

CANTON, Ohio — Court documents in the murder of a 9-months-pregnant Ohio mom indicate that her police officer boyfriend killed her inside her home and his accomplice helped cover up the crime by lying to investigators.

The documents state that 30-year-old Bobby Cutts Jr., who is in police custody and awaiting arraignment Monday, killed Jessie Davis, 26, at her home in North Canton.

His high school friend, Myisha Ferrell — who has also been arrested and charged with obstruction of justice — "communicated false information to investigators," according to court papers.

The sheriff department sergeant's affidavit filed Sunday describing the allegations against Cutts says he is accused of killing Davis and the fetus at Davis' home in Lake Township on June 14. The documents do not say how they were killed.

Ohio law allows a murder charge against someone accused of killing a fetus that would be able to live outside the womb.

Cutts' arraignment is scheduled for 3 p.m. EDT Monday at Canton Municipal Court. He is the father of Davis' 2-year-old son Blake, who may have witnessed his mother's killing, and also the likely father of her unborn daughter, who was due July 3.

Ferrell, 29, will also be arraigned in the same courtroom, also on Monday at 3 p.m. No attorney was listed for her in court documents.

Click here for the Jessie Davis content center from MyFoxCleveland.com.

Determining the cause of death will take weeks because of advanced decomposition, the medical examiner's office said Monday. The office will test the paternity of the fetus and for any DNA evidence, along with conducting toxicology and skeletal analyses.

Earlier Monday, Davis' father thanked the thousands of volunteers who helped search for his daughter and said he was overwhelmed by grief.

"It's been, at best, it's been very, very difficult," Ned Davis said on NBC's "Today" show. "I don't believe I can really quantify what our family's feeling."

"The loss of Jessie has been overwhelming. There are no words," he said.

Davis' body was found Saturday in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, still carrying her dead, nearly full-term fetus, a girl she planned to name Chloe.

Authorities have not said how the body was found on the edge of the park about 25 miles from Davis' home. Thousands of volunteers searched for Davis for several days in the few miles around her home.

• FOX Facts: Jessie Davis Timeline

Davis, of Lake Township near Canton, was reported missing June 15 after her mother found her 2-year-old grandson home alone, with bedroom furniture toppled and bleach spilled on the floor. The boy, Blake, gave investigators some of their first clues, saying: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug."

Ned Davis, who choked up when recalling memories of teaching a young Jessie to ride a bike, spoke of the people who helped search for her daughter: police officers, firefighters, neighbors and strangers. "I'm finding out, really, words are pretty weak vessels to say thank you," he said.

Cutts, a Canton police officer who also has a child with an estranged wife, was arrested Saturday on two counts of murder and due in court Monday. Davis' relatives have said they believed Cutts was the father of her unborn baby.

Cutts has also been involved in a custody dispute over a 9-year-old daughter he has with a third woman, Nikki Giavasis. She now is a model and actress in Los Angeles.

Giavasis said in an interview that the two were together about four months, and confrontations began after she broke off their relationship. He would try to intimidate her physically, she said.

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.

Ferrell, one of Cutts' former high school classmates, was jailed for allegedly hindering the investigation. She was also due in court Monday to face one count of obstruction of justice.

The Stark County sheriff's office said Ferrell 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.

Members of 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 Ferrell lived in the apartment downstairs with her 11-year-old daughter. He said she had parties every night.

Over the weekend, people placed flowers and red and yellow ribbons just below a sign identifying Cuyahoga Valley National 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."

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.

"Somebody found her and for that, I'm very appreciative," her father said.

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Bobby Cutts Jr. Ordered Held on $5M Bond for Murder of Pregnant Girlfriend Jessie Davis, Unborn Baby

CANTON, Ohio — The police officer boyfriend of a 9-months-pregnant Ohio mom whom authorities say he murdered was ordered held on a whopping $5 million bond Monday.

Bobby Cutts Jr., 30, faces two counts of murder for allegedly killing 26-year-old Jessie Davis and her nearly full-term fetus.

Cutts attended his arraignment hearing in orange prison garb and glasses and stood behind bullet-proof glass. He was arraigned at 3 p.m. EDT Monday at Canton Municipal Court. A preliminary hearing was set for July 2 at 1 p.m. EDT.

His attorney said he wasn't surprised by the high bond. He declined to comment on other details of the case.

Myisha Ferrell, a high school classmate who police say helped him cover up his crime by lying to investigators, was also arraigned at the same courthouse just after 3 p.m. for obstruction of justice.

She appeared behind the window right after Cutts was arraigned. Her bond was set at $500,000 and her preliminary hearing was set for July 2 at 2 p.m. EDT.

Members of Davis' family — including her mother, Patricia Porter, and sister, Whitney Davis, who clasped hands as they waited for the proceedings to begin — and members of Cutts' family were all in court for the arraignment.

Porter stared at Cutts behind the window as he was ordered held on bond. She said she wanted him to see her.

"Absolutely he saw me," she told reporters after the hearing. She said she "almost cheered" when bond was set at $5 million.

"We knew Bobby Cutts up until a certain point in this, and after that point we did not know him at all," Porter said.

She reiterated that the family had "prayed" Cutts wasn't involved in what happened to her daughter.

"We don't want vengeance," Porter said. "We want justice."

Whitney Davis said she was disgusted by Cutts.

Earlier, Cutts arrived at court staring straight ahead in the back of a sheriff's car as photographers pressed against the windows to snap pictures.

The sheriff department sergeant's affidavit filed Sunday indicates that Cutts killed Davis and her unborn baby girl at Davis' home in North Canton, Lake Township, on June 14. The document does not say how they were killed.

Ohio law allows a murder charge against someone accused of killing a fetus that would be able to live outside the womb.

Ferrell, 29, served as an accomplice in helping him cover his tracks and "communicated false information to investigators," according to the affidavit.

Cutts is the father of Davis' 2-year-old son Blake, who may have witnessed his mother's killing, and also the likely father of her unborn baby, due July 3.

Click here for the Jessie Davis content center from MyFoxCleveland.com.

Determining the cause of death will take weeks because of advanced decomposition, the medical examiner's office said Monday. The office will test the paternity of the fetus and for any DNA evidence, along with conducting toxicology and skeletal analyses.

Earlier Monday, Davis' father thanked the thousands of volunteers who helped search for his daughter and said he was overwhelmed by grief.

"It's been, at best, it's been very, very difficult," Ned Davis said on NBC's "Today" show. "I don't believe I can really quantify what our family's feeling."

"The loss of Jessie has been overwhelming. There are no words," he said.

Davis' body was found Saturday in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, still carrying her dead, nearly full-term fetus, a girl she planned to name Chloe.

Authorities have not said how the body was found on the edge of the park about 25 miles from Davis' home. Thousands of volunteers searched for Davis for several days in the few miles around her home.

• FOX Facts: Jessie Davis Timeline

Davis, of Lake Township near Canton, was reported missing June 15 after her mother found her 2-year-old grandson home alone, with bedroom furniture toppled and bleach spilled on the floor. The boy, Blake, gave investigators some of their first clues, saying: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug."

Ned Davis, who choked up when recalling memories of teaching a young Jessie to ride a bike, spoke of the people who helped search for her daughter: police officers, firefighters, neighbors and strangers. "I'm finding out, really, words are pretty weak vessels to say thank you," he said.

Cutts, a Canton police officer who also has a child with an estranged wife, was arrested Saturday on two counts of murder and due in court Monday. Davis' relatives have said they believed Cutts was the father of her unborn baby.

Cutts has also been involved in a custody dispute over a 9-year-old daughter he has with a third woman, Nikki Giavasis. She now is a model and actress in Los Angeles.

Giavasis said in an interview that the two were together about four months, and confrontations began after she broke off their relationship. He would try to intimidate her physically, she said.

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.

Ferrell, one of Cutts' former high school classmates, was jailed for allegedly hindering the investigation. She was also due in court Monday to face one count of obstruction of justice.

The Stark County sheriff's office said Ferrell 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.

Members of 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 Ferrell lived in the apartment downstairs with her 11-year-old daughter. He said she had parties every night.

Over the weekend, people placed flowers and red and yellow ribbons just below a sign identifying Cuyahoga Valley National 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."

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.

"Somebody found her and for that, I'm very appreciative," her father said

[maverick1862]

Man Accused of Murdering Jessie Davis Called Another Woman the Night She Was Last Heard From
Tuesday, June 26, 2007

CANTON, Ohio — The night Jessie Davis was last heard from, her police officer boyfriend, who is accused of murdering her, was at a bar calling another woman he had a sexual relationship with, FOX News has learned.

Cell phone records show that Bobby Cutts Jr. called a woman he was intimately involved with from a sports bar several times overnight on June 13-14, trying to convince her to get together shortly before police believe Davis was killed.

The woman — who hasn't been named but is married with children — apparently refused.

Cutts, 30, played softball earlier the night of June 13 and then went to a bar for about four hours and had three Coronas.

Davis' mother, Patricia Porter, has said she last spoke to her 9-months-pregnant daughter about 9:30 p.m. the night of June 13. Cutts initially told police that he last talked to Davis about 8 p.m. that same evening.

Investigators are now looking at his whereabouts between the time he spent at the bar and the next day. A neighbor reportedly told officers that a truck pulled up in Davis' driveway in the middle of the night that night, music blaring.

Porter discovered her daughter's house in disarray and her 2-year-old son Blake home alone in a dirty diaper on June 15.

Cutts has been charged with two counts of murder for allegedly killing Davis, 26, and the unborn baby that was likely his child. He is being held on $5 million bond.

• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Crime Center.

Cutts' former high school classmate, Myisha Ferrell, 29, was accused of lying to investigators and ordered held on $500,000 bond. Her attorney declined comment.

Davis was missing for about a week before her body was found in a northeast Ohio park Saturday, still carrying the unborn baby she was due to deliver July 3.

Cutts is accused of killing Davis and the fetus June 14 at her home in nearby Lake Township. Ohio law allows a murder charge against someone accused of killing a fetus that would have been able to live outside the womb.

Cutts' attorney, Bradley Iams, declined to discuss details of the charges against his client or anything Cutts said to him during the brief court appearance.

Cutts has had several children with several different women.

His oldest daughter, Taylor, was born out of wedlock to a girlfriend in 1997. A younger daughter, Breonna, was born to another woman in 2001, shortly before Cutts married her.

His son, 2-year-old Blake, was born to Davis while Cutts was separated from his wife. Relatives say Cutts and Davis were due to have another daughter, Chloe, early next month.

But now Cutts, a Canton police officer, is accused of murdering Davis and the unborn girl.

"There's a lot of little children being absolutely devastated over this," Porter said Monday outside Canton Municipal Court, where Cutts was arraigned. "We can't forget them."

Cutts' stepmother, Barbara Cutts, on Monday called her stepson a generous man who was good with kids and coached youth soccer, basketball and football. She said she and Cutts' father last saw him Saturday at his house in Plain Township outside North Canton, where he appeared drained and exhausted.

"It's very hard to accept," said Barbara Cutts, 46, a nurse's aide. "A lot of people are looking at him like a bad person, but he's not, he really isn't."

Cutts and Nikki Giavasis, Taylor's mother, met while attending nearby Walsh University. Taylor has lived with Giavasis for most of her life in California, but Cutts challenged the custody arrangement in 2005.

Hours before Cutts' arraignment, Stark County Family Court Judge David Stucki dismissed a custody case here, citing the charges against Cutts as one factor in his decision, said Jeffrey Jakmides, a lawyer representing Giavasis. Another custody dispute over Taylor is ongoing in a California court, Jakmides said.

"The family has deliberately tried not to burden her (Taylor) with this," Jakmides said, referring to the murder case. "They've tried as much as possible to keep her from the media storm."

Susan Hulit Burns, Taylor's court-appointed guardian, said she was bothered by how often Giavasis switched apartments and daycare providers, questioning the effect on Taylor. She said she was also bothered that Cutts "conceived a child during his separation" from his wife, according to a June 2006 court filing.

In 1998, Cutts was accused of breaking into Giavasis' 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.

Cutts married his wife, Kelly, in July 2001, two months after Breonna was born. They separated in 2003 while Cutts faced criminal charges after his police supervisors alleged he had given his gun to a drug-dealing cousin. Cutts was acquitted and an arbitrator ordered Canton to rehire him with back pay.

During the separation, he and Davis conceived Blake, born in December 2004. On Monday, Porter was granted temporary custody of the boy in Stark County Family Court.

It was Blake who provided investigators searching for Davis their first clues earlier this month, saying: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug." Porter found the boy home alone on June 15, with Davis missing, furniture toppled in the bedroom and a pool of bleach on the floor.

Family members have told Blake that his mother is in heaven, Porter said.

"He has an old cell phone and he calls her and talks to her," she said.

Porter said Monday she's not sure who Cutts is anymore.

"We knew Bobby Cutts up to a certain day in this and from that day on we did not know him at all," she said. "I don't think my daughter ever knew him either."

Cutts played football, wearing No. 9, at GlenOak High School, a suburban school whose most famous graduate is goth rocker Marilyn Manson.

After he became a police officer, Cutts also played semiprofessional football with the Massillon Bengals in the Ohio Valley League and in 2005 was drafted by the Canton Legends of the Atlantic Indoor Football League.

[maverick1862]

Wife of Bobby Cutts Jr., Suspect in Pregnant Woman's Murder, Files for Divorce
Wednesday, June 27, 2007

The estranged wife of an Ohio police officer being held for murdering his pregnant girlfriend has filed for divorce, FOX News has learned.

Kelly Cutts, who is separated from but still married to Bobby Cutts Jr., filed for divorce on Tuesday, claiming that her husband "has been guilty of gross neglect of duty, incompatibility and ill treatment," according to the Stark County Clerk of Courts' Web site.

Kelly Cutts is asking for custody of the couple's 6-year-old daughter and for spousal support. She also filed for a restraining order against Bobby Cutts, 30, a police officer who is being detained on $5 million bond for the murder of his 9-months-pregnant girlfriend Jessie Davis.

Kelly and Bobby Cutts married on July 28, 2001, and separated in May 2004. A divorce hearing has been scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 2 in Stark County Family Court.

Meanwhile, months before Cutts was charged with two counts of murder for allegedly killing Davis and her nearly full-term fetus, a California court suspended contact between him and another, 9-year-old daughter based on evidence that he was emotionally and physically abusive, court documents show.

Cutts is accused of killing 26-year-old Davis and her unborn daughter at her northeast Ohio home on June 14. The woman was missing for about a week before her body was found in a Summit County park Saturday, still carrying the baby she was due to deliver July 3.

Hours before Cutts' arraignment Monday in Canton Municipal Court, Stark County Family Court Judge David Stucki — the same judge who will preside over the divorce hearings — dismissed an Ohio custody case between Cutts and his former girlfriend, Nikki Giavasis, over the 9-year-old girl. Stucki cited the charges against Cutts as one factor in his decision, said Jeffrey Jakmides, an Ohio lawyer representing Giavasis.

• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Crime center.

Another custody dispute involving the 9-year-old girl is ongoing in a court in Los Angeles County, where Giavasis resides.

A Superior Court judge there on Jan. 17 granted a request by Giavasis to temporarily suspend visitation rights and telephone and e-mail contact between Cutts and the 9-year-old, citing "evidence of physical and emotional abuse perpetrated on the child."

The decision followed a report by Dr. J.H. Carter-Lourensz, which was filed in court on Jan. 11.

"The things she remembered, when put together, made a very credible story of concern," Carter-Lourensz told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "She had the demeanor of a child who was very frightened."

The 9-year-old stayed with Cutts in his home outside North Canton in April 2006 and from June to December 2006, court records show. Giavasis sought the court order after the girl traveled to California to spend Christmas with her mother, Jakmides said.

Carter-Lourensz, a UCLA child psychiatry professor and independent child abuse evaluator, interviewed the girl after Giavasis requested a review. Carter-Lourensz wrote in a follow-up report that the 9-year-old felt "sexually unsafe and threatened verbally, emotionally and physically by Mr. Cutts."

Carter-Lourensz found in her interview with the 9-year-old that Cutts would often hit or threaten his daughter, but would always laugh afterward and say he was kidding, the report said. Cutts also predicted to his daughter that she would one day work as a Las Vegas stripper, Carter-Lourensz's report said.

Carter-Lourensz also alleged abusive behavior by Cutts against the 9-year-old's half brother, who is Giavasis' son by another man and not related to Cutts. The boy, 5 at the time of the report, said he was "physically abused, mistreated and verbally abused" by Cutts when he visited his sister in Ohio, Carter-Lourensz said Tuesday.

Carter-Lourensz said the judge reviewed her report and determined it was enough to keep the 9-year-old in California.

When the judge entered the January order, a March hearing on the matter was scheduled, but documents received from the Los Angeles County court do not show whether it was held. Messages left with Cutts' attorneys were not returned.

Carter-Lourensz said Tuesday that Cutts did not travel to California to challenge the order.

The 9-year-old is Cutts' first child. His other, 6-year-old daughter with Kelly Cutts is Breonna, born in 2001 shortly before the couple married.

Cutts and Davis together had a 2-year-old son, Blake, and Davis' family members said Cutts was the father of Davis' nearly full-term fetus.

Cutts' stepmother, Barbara Cutts, on Monday called her stepson a generous man good with kids who coached youth soccer, basketball and football.

"It's very hard to accept," said Barbara Cutts, 46, a nurse's aide. "A lot of people are looking at him like a bad person, but he's not, he really isn't."

A candlelight vigil was planned for Davis Friday night.

[maverick1862]

Slain Pregnant Mom Jessie Davis Remembered
Saturday, June 30, 2007

Family members and the community that searched for her bid a tearful farewell Saturday to a pregnant woman who was killed along with her unborn baby.

"Our faith is challenged by what's going on," Bishop F. Josephus Johnson II said at the funeral service for Jessie Davis, 26.

Authorities say Davis was killed by her police officer boyfriend in her home near North Canton on June 14. Her body was found in a park nine days later after thousands of volunteers spent three days searching the area.

Family members sobbed quietly as they approached the casket in the front of the 2,200-seat House of the Lord church, which was one-third filled with about 750 mourners.

Her mother, Patricia Porter, said her daughter — even at a young age — wanted to help the needy through Christian missionary work.

"She always had a heart for God and a heart for people," Porter said.

Porter said her daughter had been a committed God-fearing person after doing overseas missionary work but at some point "she took a wrong turn somewhere."

Porter said her daughter realized in church a few weeks ago that she needed to reform her life. At the time she was unmarried and pregnant for a second time, apparently by the same married man now charged in her slaying.

According to Porter, her daughter turned to her mother in church and said, "Mom, I feel like God has really spoken to me today because I need to get my life in order." Porter, without elaborating, said she was grateful that her daughter had done that.

Davis' father, Ned Davis, who is divorced from Porter, made an emotional appeal to his family for reconciliation.

"May we strive to honor Jessie's memory through reconciliation, communication and kindness to one another," he said, addressing his comments to the couple's six surviving children.

Then, addressing his ex-wife, he said he was hoping the two could "be the parents and grandparents we were meant to be." The congregation burst into applause.

"I will remember the day," said Davis, pausing to control sobs. "I will remember the day that Jessie Marie Davis came into this world."

Canton police officer Bobby Cutts Jr., 30, has been charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Davis and her unborn baby, who was to be named Chloe. Davis was due to deliver Tuesday.

Family members said Cutts was the father of the unborn baby and Davis' 2-year-old son.

Davis was last heard from June 13. She was reported missing 1 1/2 days later when her mother went to her home and found Davis' son, Blake, in a dirty diaper.

It was Blake who provided authorities with the first clues, saying: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug."

Davis' body was found June 23 in parkland northwest of Akron, about 25 miles from her home.

Cutts was arrested on the day the body was found and has been held on $5 million bond.

Authorities have not determined the cause of death because of advanced decomposition. The Summit County Medical Examiner's office is working on numerous tests, including a paternity test and skeletal analysis.

[maverick1862]

Suspect in Murder of Pregnant Ohio Mom Jessie Davis Waives Right to Preliminary Hearing
Monday, July 02, 2007

CANTON, Ohio — A police officer accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend and her unborn daughter gave up his right to a preliminary hearing Monday because his attorney didn't want evidence to be disclosed publicly.

Forgoing the hearing for Bobby Cutts Jr. will help ensure his right to a fair trial, attorney Bradley Iams said. He plans to do everything he can in "not allowing bits and pieces of the evidence out," he said after a brief court appearance.

Cutts, 30, is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Jessie Davis and her unborn girl, who was to be named Chloe. Davis was due to deliver Tuesday. Cutts is the father of Davis' 2-year-old son, and her family says he was the father of the unborn baby.

If the hearing had gone forward, prosecutors would have been required to inform the court why Cutts was arrested in Davis's murder.

"I already know the answer to those questions," Iams said.

When Cutts entered Canton Municipal Court shackled at the wrists and ankles, his mother Renee Horne broke into tears.

He stood before a packed courtroom that included Davis' mother, Patricia Porter, and her sister, Whitney Davis. He was barely audible when he answered "yes" three times when Judge Richard Kubilus asked whether he understood what he was doing in waiving the hearing.

The case will be sent to a grand jury where prosecutors will seek an indictment.

Davis was last heard from June 13. She was reported missing 1 1/2 days later when her mother went to her home and found Davis' son, Blake, in a dirty diaper and the bedroom furniture toppled.

It was Blake who provided authorities with the first clues, saying: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug."

[maverick1862]

Davis' mother, son look to future
Aug 4, 2007

GREEN Knee-high and wide-eyed, a bright smile usually awakes in Patty Porter’s cozy but crowded, two-bedroom apartment. Every day since Blake Davis’ mother was killed, the 2-year-old makes Porter, his grandmother, smile.

Perhaps that is why Porter is able to deal with the twists of her daughter Jessie M. Davis’ murder investigation.

The Summit County medical examiner’s office phoned last week to update her on the findings of Davis’ autopsy. It was two days before the ruling — unspecified homicidal violence — was made public Wednesday. It neither irritated nor surprised Porter.

“It doesn’t change anything. She’s still gone,” Porter said. “Knowing won’t bring her back. We’ve had to learn a lot about what happens to a body when it’s left out like she was. ... Those people are doing their job. I’m doing my job, which is to care for Blake. Each person in this has their own job.”

Porter said she is unsure if the medical examiner knows more. She asked investigators to tell her only what she had to know.

“I’m afraid if I know more, I’ll say something that would jeopardize the case,” Porter said.

HARD TIMES

This has been the toughest summer in Porter’s 60 years. Before she buried her 26-year-old daughter and began raising Blake in June, her father died, she coped with the diagnosis that a grandchild will be born without an arm and a leg, worried about her 16-year-old son hospitalized with mononucleosis and put the pieces of a 25-year marriage behind her.

Despite that, Porter’s smile stands. On a wall in her apartment is a lifelike oil painting of her dead daughter.

“That’s my mommy,” Blake said, smiling.

The remains of Davis and her unborn daughter, to have been named Chloe, were found June 23. The man accused of killing them is Bobby L. Cutts Jr., the married boyfriend of Davis and father of their son Blake. Cutts sits in Stark County Jail on $5 million bond, charged with two counts of murder and waiting to find out if he will be indicted. The case is expected to go before a county grand jury, though the date is not made public.

Chloe’s middle name would have been Leann. She was named, in part, after Cutts. His middle name is Lee; Porter’s is Ann. Now, more than a name will tie them together forever.

A BUNDLE OF ENERGY

Blake laughs a lot. He tells Porter he is happy.

“When he would sleep in his mom’s bed, he would wake up in the morning, rub her face and say, ‘Good morning, sunshine!’ ” Porter said. “You can’t get up and look at him and feel sad. He is always smiling.”

Blake is a bundle of energy. During Porter’s two-hour interview, he manages to reach every part of the apartment, eventually sucking his thumb as his grandmother cradles him.

“He started calling me mom, and he goes between mom and grandma,” Porter said. “We’re just letting it go, because eventually he probably will call me mom because everybody else does. I felt like he needed a mom more now than a grandma, and he needs to feel like he’s part of the family.

“He’s an amazing little personality,” Porter says of Blake. “You can tell he thinks. He doesn’t just function.”

One morning, Blake woke up, came downstairs, then returned to bed, Porter said.

“I was like, ‘Oh, good, I have a few moments in the morning to myself,’ ” Porter said. “I wanted to make sure he wasn’t in someone’s makeup, so I crept back up the stairs.”

She paused to compose herself.

Blake was in bed, staring at a picture of his mother as he sucked his thumb.

“I know he misses his mother,” Porter said.

teaching compassion

In Porter’s home, family and friends are not allowed to speak ill of Cutts or cloud the mind of Blake, who may be the only witness to what happened to Jessie Davis.

Porter believes Blake knows what happened that night. She doesn’t want to influence Blake about his father. When Porter is asked if this is two heart-breaking stories — her loss of a daughter and grandchild and Blake’s loss of his mother — she corrects the question.

“It’s three heart-breaking stories,” she said. “Blake lost his dad as well. My job is to teach him to enjoy every day of his life and to teach him to be a child of love and compassion.

“However he feels about his father as he grows up will be more on Bobby and not on me. ... But if someone wants to speak ill of Bobby or gets frustrated, they can take it outside and beat on a tree.”

Porter has spent part of the last four years in counseling because of her divorce from Ned Davis. Her counselor has agreed to see all of her children, and Blake.

“He seems very well adjusted,” Porter said.

FAMILY RESEMBLENCE

Blake bears a striking resemblance to his father — a man described as charming and charismatic.

“When I went through the album, there were some beautiful pictures of him and Bobby together,” Porter said. “He does look like him, and he throws everything. So I wonder if he’s preparing to play football. I’m preparing for him to be a college graduate, so I don’t care much about football. He probably will have that natural (athletic) talent because my daughter was very athletic, too.”

Cutts played football at GlenOak High School and later at Walsh University. He spent a few years playing for area indoor football teams.

Jessie Davis attended one of those games, according to her sister Jane. Kelly Cutts, Bobby Cutts’ wife, was there, too.

“Jessie was with a friend of hers,” Jane Davis said, “and she told Jessie if (Bobby) was divorced like he said, his ‘ex-wife’ wouldn’t be at a game.”

Kelly Cutts’ attorney, Lorrie E. Fuchs, did not return a call seeking comment. Kelly filed for divorce two days after her husband was arrested.

prayers for cutts

The decomposed body of Jessie Davis was found in Summit County’s Hampton Hills Metro Park. Porter said the remains were in such a horrid condition that authorities wouldn’t allow the family to identify the body.

Despite that, Porter said she has forgiven the person responsible for her daughter’s death.

“It’s difficult, but ... I just shut off part of my mind,” Porter said. “I know during the trial I will be confronted with all that. For now, I choose to think my daughter is in heaven dancing around with (Chloe).

“(Blake) picks me up if I’m sad. So I choose each morning to get up and make it the best day I can for him, and for myself.”

For about three days, Porter didn’t believe Cutts could be involved. On June 16, she asked Cutts that question.

“I wanted him to scream at me, to yell at me and say, ‘No way! Are you crazy? There is no way I could do something like that,’ ” Porter said. “But all he said was, ‘No.’ ”

During the only interview Cutts granted, The Repository asked if he had anything to do with Jessie’s disappearance.

“No, I did not,” he said.

Porter prays for Cutts.

“I pray that somewhere, something good comes from this, because if Bobby Cutts were gone today, it wouldn’t bring my daughter back or that baby,” she said. “I just pray that sometime in his life, he really comes to know the Lord and is able to use his life, whatever period of time he has left, for something good.”

ANOTHER FAMILY

Porter and her daughter Jane Davis said Jessie didn’t know Cutts was married until after she was pregnant with Blake.

According to Jane, Jessie caught Cutts in a lie about his marriage. Jessie purposely left a shirt at the Cutts home, figuring Kelly would call Jessie once she found it.

Jane Davis said that Kelly Cutts did call Jessie after finding her shirt.

“Jessie was surprised,” Jane Davis said. “After she was pregnant with Blake, she found out that Bobby had another child. She called me and said, ‘You spend all this time with someone and you think you know them, and then you find out he has another child.’ ”

Porter declined to discuss the nature of Jessie’s relationship with Cutts.

“I don’t want to say anything that will come out at trial,” Porter said. “A lot of their relationship will come out.”

‘i miss mommy’

On a table in Patty’s living room is a book, “Choosing Forgiveness” by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. The book tells how forgiveness frees people from hatred and anger.

Not everyone is ready to forgive. Whitney Davis, Jessie’s youngest sister, is one.

“My mom’s a lot nicer than I am, more trusting of people,” the 20-year-old said. “It’s frustrating because she’s forgiven him, and I’m not at that point.”

Davis paused.

“But you can be as mad as you want, and you can’t do anything about it,” she said.

Initially, the family told Blake that his mom and sister were with Jesus. Blake used an old cell phone to talk with his mother in heaven.

“He stopped asking where she was,” Porter said. “Now he just says, ‘I miss mommy.’

[maverick1862]

Jessie and her Mom

GREEN Holidays won't be the same for Patty Porter and her family.

When she was surrounded by seven of her children during the holidays, they watched the movie, "What About Bob."

The same punch lines made them laugh.

No longer can Porter share almost daily phone calls with her daughter, Jessie M. Davis.

"Now," Porter said through tears, "I don't have her to call."

She cries hardest when she talks about what she misses most about Jessie. With maturity and motherhood, they grew to become friends.

"When it would seem like it's too much, even with my own kids, I'd call her and say, 'I quit! I quit! I'm not being a mom anymore.' And she'd go, 'Oh no, you don't get to quit.' "

Those kinds of phone conversations ended June 14, the last day Porter spoke to her daughter.

Porter left Jessie a message at 6:30 a.m. June 15. She knew her daughter would be readying herself for work.

"I said, 'If you're in the shower, call me the moment you get out because I'm really concerned,' " Porter said.

Then it was 7 o'clock.

Porter's phone never rang. By then, Jessie would have dropped off Blake for the day.

Porter drove to her daughter's Lake Township duplex.

"When I walked in that house, I knew she was gone," Porter said. "When you walked in that room you could feel this overwhelming sense of evil."

She didn't tell her children that she believed Jessie would never come home.

The next day, Porter met police at Jessie's house. She was asked to remain in the car. She gripped the steering wheel. In prayer, she demanded to know where her daughter was. She felt comforted.

"At that point, I said, 'I forgive whoever did this, whoever did this,' " she said. "I knew in my heart if I didn't do that, it would destroy all of us."

FATHER AND SON

A week after Porter had prayed in her daughter's driveway, Bobby L. Cutts Jr. was arrested and charged with two counts of murder. Jessie was nine-months pregnant, and Cutts is suspected of being the father. He fathered Davis' only child, Blake.

Cutts was involved in Blake's life, but not daily.

"I'd say he saw Blake, probably, not even once a week," Porter said. "It's hard for me to talk about his relationship with Blake. I have my own thoughts about that."

ferrell's role

Myisha Ferrell, who went to GlenOak High School with Cutts, was charged with obstruction of justice. The extent of her involvement is unknown. When Ferrell's attorney asked for a bond reduction at a preliminary hearing, Canton City Prosecutor Frank Forchione said Ferrell may have helped to "deposit" the body.

"My daughter did not know about Myisha," Porter said. "At first, (Bobby) said she was the baby sitter. I said, 'Oh no. There was no baby sitter. ... My daughter ... would've never let (Blake) leave with a baby sitter. It was already an issue how little time (Cutts) spent with (Blake) anyhow. If she would've thought he was taking him over there and sleeping, and having a baby sitter, she wouldn't have had that."

Prosecutors are preparing to present the case to a grand jury.

Porter says her daily prayer is that Cutts will tell the truth about what happened. She said she cries often because she believes Jessie will walk through the door, armed with a smile and a joke.

"I think about this a lot: What is it that I want?' " Porter said. "I don't know if there is justice at all. ... If you lock someone away for the rest of their life, does that bring your child back? No."

She begins to talk about prison ministries. What if Cutts gets the death penalty?

"... That's not what I want for my grandson," said Porter, a devout Christian. "It has nothing to do with Bobby. It's not what I want for Blake."

no stranger to tragedy

This isn't the first time Porter has had to bury a young family member. Twenty-five years ago, her younger brother, Mark, died in a car accident.

"He was like my child," Porter said. "He told everybody I was his mom. From the time he died, my whole way of thinking changed. When in just one afternoon a 19-year-old is gone.

"When you see somebody that young and healthy, then, just gone. With my kids, I used to tell them you never know when you walk out that door, you may never come back."

Porter hinted at this when she told a national audience that her life prepared her to handle her daughter's murder.

"I knew what that kind of pain felt like," Porter said. "It was kind of odd. Two weeks after (Mark) died, I found out I was pregnant with Jessie. ... After she was born, I didn't want anyone to hold her."

Porter found religion at 26. Since then, she believes she started living life.

Jessie was 26 when she died.

[maverick1862]

Updates on the Davis Family


Nearly two months have passed since Jessie M. Davis was reported missing June 15. After a week of searching, police arrested her boyfriend, Bobby L. Cutts Jr. According to court records and the charges against Cutts, Davis was murdered June 14. Since then, the lives of Davis' mother, son, sisters and brothers have changed.

Patty Porter: Since her daughter's death, Porter quit her job in telesales for Bank of America and stays home to raise Davis' 2-year-old son, Blake, and Porter's adopted sons. She plans to move into a home donated by Countrywide Home Loans and renovated by Design Construction.

Blake Davis: The toddler smiles a lot and enjoys playing. Porter said Blake will not return to preschool right away, but may eventually to bring a sense of normalcy to their days.

Jane Davis: Jessie's eldest sister works at All State, the same insurance agency where Jessie Davis used to work. Her desk was across from Jessie's. Jane Davis is pregnant and due to deliver a baby in October. Doctors have said the child will be born without most of an arm and leg. Jane is a diabetic.

Whitney Davis: Porter's 20-year-old daughter is returning to her job at a security software company in San Antonio. Her future plans are undecided, but she may move back to Ohio permanently in February.

Audrey Davis: Whitney's twin sister has enrolled in fall classes at the University of Akron. She plans to major in criminal psychology, a decision she made before her sister was killed.

Christopher Davis: Porter's adopted 19-year-old son came home during the search for Jessie Davis. He returned to Minnesota shortly after Davis' funeral. He is a roofer there.

Caylon Davis: Porter's adopted 16-year-old son recently returned home from a hospital stay for mononucleosis. He will remain in Coventry Local Schools, where he will be a sophomore.

David Davis: Porter's 12-year-old adopted son will be a fifth-grader at Irwin Middle School in Coventry.

[LadyBlue]

[glow=red,2,300]Another Arrest In Davis Case[/glow]
www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3Qu07g0fPM

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY_rnjb7m94

[maverick1862]

Bobby Cutts Jr. Indicted on Murder Charges in Deaths of Jessie Davis, Unborn Child
Thursday, August 23, 2007

A grand jury brought seven indictments against a former police officer accused of killing pregnant Ohio mom Jessie Davis, including three counts of aggravated murder, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Bobby Cutts Jr. will face one count of murder for Davis' death and two counts of murder for the death of her unborn child, called "baby Chloe," when he is arraigned Friday morning, Stark County Prosecutor John D. Ferrero said at a news conference.

"There's not much that we can say regarding the facts of this case. I hope the media can respect that," Ferrero said Thursday. "We fully intend for this case to go to trial and at that point in time you will be able to hear the circumstances behind this case."

The grand jury also leveled felony charges of aggravated burglary, two counts of abuse of a corpse and one misdemeanor count of child endangerment against the former Canton police officer. The murder charges could bring the death penalty, Ferrero said.

Cutts' attorney, Myron Watson, said he would comment after he had a chance to review the indictment. Cutts maintains his innocence, he said Wednesday.

Myisha Ferrell, Cutts' former high school classmate, faces two charges at her Friday arraignment: obstructing justice and complicity to the abuse of a corpse. The first charge carries a maximum of 5 years in prison; the second, 18 months. Prosecutors accuse her of helping dispose of Davis' body.

"They were friends and somehow she got involved," Ferrero said. "We will show that, again, at the trial."

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 surrounding 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.

Ferrero said the grand jury's indictment came back Wednesday afternoon.

The 30-year-old Cutts is the father of Davis' 2 1/2-year-old son, Blake, and her family says he was the father of "baby Chloe" 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.

Cutts has been secluded from the general inmate population, officials said.

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."

Davis' mother, Patricia Porter, was informed of the indictment Thursday morning.

"As long as he gets a fair trial and she can explain what happened one day, that's all she cares about," said attorney Rick Pitinii, the family's spokesman.

Porter has custody of Blake and is focused on raising him, Pitinii said.

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 determining a cause difficult.