Post by LadyBlue on Jul 8, 2007 13:32:05 GMT -5
CANTON, Ohio - Supporters of a police officer accused of killing a woman and her unborn child huddled Sunday at a closed prayer service scheduled before police found what they believe is her body and arrested him.
A massive search for the nearly nine months pregnant woman ended Saturday when authorities announced they found a body they believed to be that of 26-year-old Jesse Davis. Bobby Cutts Jr., a police officer they suspect is the father of the unborn child, was arrested on two counts of murder.
A church service to show support for Cutts that was scheduled before the body was found was closed to the media. Cutts' pastor, the Rev. C.A. Richmond, declined to comment on his way into the service.
Davis was due to deliver a baby girl on July 3 but 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.
An autopsy was being performed Sunday, the Summit County Medical Examiner's office said. The medical examiner's office said it would try to use dental records to identify the body, but that it might be difficult to determine the cause of death because of the advanced state of decomposition.
Thousands of volunteers had searched for Davis over several days, while investigators continued to question Cutts, 30, who is the father of Davis' son but is married to another woman.
Sheriff's deputies on Saturday 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 Saturday, 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.
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 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.
About 30 volunteers gathered around a TV at the Greentown Volunteer Fire Department Saturday evening as news of the discovery and Cutts' arrest was announced.
"The mood just dropped," said Andrea Humphrey, 47, of Akron. "It was very sad and somber. People were crying."
An attorney for Davis' mother said Sunday the family had no comment. A woman answering a cell phone belonging to Ned Davis, the father of the missing woman, said he wasn't taking calls.
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.
An attorney for Davis' mother said the family had a roller coaster ride of emotions and had no comment.
Cutts, a Canton police officer since 2000, has said he and his wife are separated and that she knew about the affair with Davis. His attorney, Bradley Iams, did not return a telephone message left at his office, and his home number is unlisted. Iams was not at his home or office Sunday morning.
Chief Deputy Rick Perez said the case was still being investigated. He would not comment on whether there were any other suspects.
A massive search for the nearly nine months pregnant woman ended Saturday when authorities announced they found a body they believed to be that of 26-year-old Jesse Davis. Bobby Cutts Jr., a police officer they suspect is the father of the unborn child, was arrested on two counts of murder.
A church service to show support for Cutts that was scheduled before the body was found was closed to the media. Cutts' pastor, the Rev. C.A. Richmond, declined to comment on his way into the service.
Davis was due to deliver a baby girl on July 3 but 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.
An autopsy was being performed Sunday, the Summit County Medical Examiner's office said. The medical examiner's office said it would try to use dental records to identify the body, but that it might be difficult to determine the cause of death because of the advanced state of decomposition.
Thousands of volunteers had searched for Davis over several days, while investigators continued to question Cutts, 30, who is the father of Davis' son but is married to another woman.
Sheriff's deputies on Saturday 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 Saturday, 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.
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 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.
About 30 volunteers gathered around a TV at the Greentown Volunteer Fire Department Saturday evening as news of the discovery and Cutts' arrest was announced.
"The mood just dropped," said Andrea Humphrey, 47, of Akron. "It was very sad and somber. People were crying."
An attorney for Davis' mother said Sunday the family had no comment. A woman answering a cell phone belonging to Ned Davis, the father of the missing woman, said he wasn't taking calls.
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.
An attorney for Davis' mother said the family had a roller coaster ride of emotions and had no comment.
Cutts, a Canton police officer since 2000, has said he and his wife are separated and that she knew about the affair with Davis. His attorney, Bradley Iams, did not return a telephone message left at his office, and his home number is unlisted. Iams was not at his home or office Sunday morning.
Chief Deputy Rick Perez said the case was still being investigated. He would not comment on whether there were any other suspects.