Post by maverick1862 on Aug 8, 2007 10:42:39 GMT -5
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.
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.