Murder of Jessie Davis: Difference between revisions
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====History of violent behavior==== |
====History of violent behavior==== |
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Nikki Giavasis, ex-girlfriend of Bobby Cutts, has said that for 11 years she tormented by Bobby Cutts by violence, intimidation, threats. In 1998, Cutts was arrested for breaking into Giavasis home. Giavasis has said that she had numerous physical |
Nikki Giavasis, ex-girlfriend of Bobby Cutts, has said that for 11 years she tormented by Bobby Cutts by violence, intimidation, threats. In 1998, Cutts was arrested for breaking into Giavasis home. Giavasis has said that she had numerous physical altercations with Cutts, where he would pin her down or pick her up, the most recent being in 2003, where she suffered a pinched vertebrae. [[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19372157/]] |
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Further allegations have been leveled against Cutts in regards to his daughter with |
Further allegations have been leveled against Cutts in regards to his daughter with Nikki Giavasis. According to the report filed in Stark county, Cutts was accused of hitting, biting, and throwing objects at his 9 year old daughter. A physician who examined the girl found evidence to suspect both abuse and neglect on the part of Bobby Cutts. Additionally. the physician had discovered in an interview with the girl that Cutts had subjected the girl to "multiple, disturbing events of verbal, emotional and physical abuse" as well as making "sexually inappropriate comments" towards the 9 year old. |
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<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3320952&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312] ABC news </ref> |
<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3320952&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312] ABC news </ref> |
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Revision as of 05:16, 14 July 2007
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (June 2007) |
 | This article is currently being heavily edited because its subject has recently died. Information about their death and related events may change significantly and initial news reports may be unreliable. The most recent updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
Jessie Marie Davis (1981, Waco[1] — June 14,[2] 2007, Lake Township) was the murdered, near-term pregnant 26-year-old Ohio woman first reported missing from her Lake Township home on June 13, 2007. The case drew an extraordinary response from the American media. On June 23, 2007, Bobby Lee Cutts, Jr., the father of her 2½-year-old son and unborn daughter was charged in the case. A high-school friend of Cutts, Myisha Lynne Ferrell, was also later charged.
Disappearance, recovery of body and funeral
Davis was last seen shopping at Acme Fresh Market, a local grocery store. Her mother reported her missing on June 13, 2007, when she found her 2-year-old grandson home alone, with bleach spilled on the floor and furniture broken and overturned. In televised reports, Davis' mother reported that the 2-year old kept stating, "Mommy broke the table" and "Mommy's in the rug".[3] At the time of her disappearance, Davis was a resident of Lake Township in Stark County, Ohio.[4]
A search of the area involving "thousands of volunteers"[5] including members of Texas EquuSearch, was launched. On June 23. Davis' body was recovered in a wooded area in neighboring Summit County, in Hampton Hills Metro Park, a park surrounded by but distinct from Cuyahoga Valley National Park[6], in the vicinity of Cuyahoga Falls.[4][7][8]
The first reliable website to pin down the widely reported rumor that Cutts had assisted in locating the body of Davis was that of America's Most Wanted: "AMW sources have confirmed that Bobby Cutts Jr., Jessie's boyfriend and the father of her 2-year-old son Blake, led law enforcement to the body."[9]
The post-mortem was performed by the Summit County authorities (as this is where the body was recovered).[10] Her body was reported to be in an "advanced state of decomposition".[11] The autopsy was performed the following day, confirming her identity.[12] Investigators believe Davis was murdered on June 14, but confirmation of this as well as the precise means of death await the results of forensic tests.[13] Bob Budgake, director of the Stark-Summit County crime lab indicated that the lab was "working overtime and weekends to process evidence from the Jessie Davis case, two other recent murders and other investigations."[14]
A single-casket funeral was held June 30 at the House of the Lord, a regional megachurch, with subsequent interment at Greenlawn Memorial Park, both in the Akron area; the arrangements were handled by the Silva-Hostetler Funeral Home.[15][16] Members of the Cutts family attended; Davis' son, Blake, however, did not as the "family felt the toddler had already been through enough."[17] Approximately 750 people attended the service.[18]
Her mother, Patricia Porter, said at the service that 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.[19]
Prior to the funeral, hundreds paid their final respects for Davis with a candlelight vigil held outside her Lake Township duplex and during calling hours at the House of the Lord Church.[20]
Arrests and arraignment
Bobby Lee Cutts, Jr.
Davis' boyfriend, Bobby Lee Cutts, Jr., was arrested and charged with two counts of murder.[21] Cutts was a police officer in the Canton, Ohio Police Department, and the father of Davis' son and unborn daughter.
Cutts (b. May 21, 1977 in Canton[22]) is the son of Renee Horne[19] and Bobby Cutts, Sr. He was married to another woman at the time, from whom he was separated. According to Cutts, the couple had discussed a divorce.[23] His wife formally filed for divorce four days after his arrest.[24][25]
For much of the period leading to the discovery of the body, local law enforcement told the news media that Cutts was not a suspect, nor even a "person of interest".[26] At the time of his arrest, Cutts was a resident of Plain Township in Stark County.[4]
In the only interview Cutts has granted to the press to date was published in The Repository. This was with Todd Porter, a sportswriter with whom Cutts had previous contact. Cutts denied he was involved. Porter writes: "Cutts looked tired, sullen and depressed. He openly wept during an exclusive interview with The Repository from his home."[27] (an audio/video copy of this interview, posted on YouTube is available from the linked page in the preceding footnote)
Bobby Cutts Jr. is believed to have been active on a dating site during the time Davis was missing and allegedly logged in just days before his arrest on June 23.[28]
History of violent behavior
Nikki Giavasis, ex-girlfriend of Bobby Cutts, has said that for 11 years she tormented by Bobby Cutts by violence, intimidation, threats. In 1998, Cutts was arrested for breaking into Giavasis home. Giavasis has said that she had numerous physical altercations with Cutts, where he would pin her down or pick her up, the most recent being in 2003, where she suffered a pinched vertebrae. [[2]]
Further allegations have been leveled against Cutts in regards to his daughter with Nikki Giavasis. According to the report filed in Stark county, Cutts was accused of hitting, biting, and throwing objects at his 9 year old daughter. A physician who examined the girl found evidence to suspect both abuse and neglect on the part of Bobby Cutts. Additionally. the physician had discovered in an interview with the girl that Cutts had subjected the girl to "multiple, disturbing events of verbal, emotional and physical abuse" as well as making "sexually inappropriate comments" towards the 9 year old. [29]
Myisha Lynne Ferrell
Bobby Cutts and Myisha Ferrell graduated together in 1995 from GlenOak High School.
The police raided Ferrell's apartment on June 23, where they seized cleaning supplies and duct tape, among other things.[22] The Canton Repository reported that:
A source close to Cutts told The Repository Saturday that Cutts said he asked a female friend help him remove Davis’ body from her home. Cutts reportedly said Davis’ death was not his doing, but he thought no one would believe him and decided to hide the body.[30]
The impression that Ferrell was involved in moving the body is reinforced by the statements made at the court hearing of July 2.[10]
Ferrell was arrested and charged with obstruction of justice.[31] At the time of her arrest, she was employed part time at a local Denny's; she was also undergoing eviction proceedings from her apartment.[32]
Arraignment
Cutts and Ferrell were arraigned on June 25. Judge John Poulos set Cutts' bond at $5,000,000; Ferrell's bail was set at $500,000. That same day, Cutts was suspended without pay from the Canton Police Department;[33] previously, he had been on paid administrative leave.
Subsequent court proceedings
Each appeared at separate court hearings on July 2, before Judge Richard J. Kubilus. These preliminary hearings were meant for the prosecution to present sufficient probable cause to hold the accused. The complexity of the case, and the time frame of the arrests made this necessary as insufficient time existed to obtain an indictment.[25] However, both defendants waived the preliminary hearing, and the case will indeed go to a grand jury after all.[10]. Cutts is represented by lawyer Bradley Iams, while Ferrell is represented John Alexander, Jr. of Akron.[10] A request for bail reduction was made on behalf of Ferrell, but this was refused after the prosecutor said "Myisha Ferrell 'helped deposit the body' and lied to police officers several times throughout the investigation."[10]
References
- ^ Melissa Griffy Seeton , "'That's just Jessie'", Canton Repository, June 21, 2007
- ^ Robert Wang and Kelli Young, "Cause of Davis death not announced", Canton Repository, June 30, 2007
- ^ "Missing woman's toddler son may offer clues", MSNBC, June 19, 2007.
- ^ a b c "Pregnant woman's body identified", Akron Beacon Journal, June 24, 2007.
- ^ "Slain woman's mom says 'nothing' in alleged killer's eyes", CNN, June 26, 2007
- ^ Stephanie Kist, "Local Metro Park cast into national spotlight", Akron Leader, June 28, 2007
- ^ Edd Pritchard, "Canton cop faces murder charges", Canton Repository, June 24, 2007.
- ^ "Medical examiner still investigating the cause of death", Canton Repository, June 27, 2007.
- ^ "Cutts Preliminary Hearing Waived; Case Goes To Grand Jury", America's Most Wanted, retrieved July 02, 2007
- ^ a b c d e "Cutts friend `helped deposit body'", Akron Beacon Journal, July 2, 2007
- ^ "Second person arrested in Ohio woman’s death", MSNBC, June 24, 2007.
- ^ Joe Milicia, "Woman arrested in Davis case", Akron Beacon Journal, June 24, 2007.
- ^ Phil Trexler and Stephanie Warsmith, "Cause of death still unknown", Akron Beacon Journal, June 27, 2007.
- ^ "Evidence in Jessie Davis case overloads crime lab", WKYC-TV, July 3, 2007
- ^ Laura Johnston, "Davis funeral scheduled for Saturday in Akron", Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 28, 2007
- ^ Lisa Davis, "Ashtabula native handling funeral for Jessie Davis", Ashtabula Star Beacon June 29, 2007
- ^ Jewell Cardwell, "Memories, tears flow at Jessie Davis' funeral", Akron Beacon Journal, July 1, 2007
- ^ "Man Accused Of Killing Pregnant Mom In Court", OhioNewsNow.com, July 2, 2007
- ^ a b "Defense Wants To Keep Evidence Quiet In Pregnant Woman Slaying", WBNS-TV, July 02, 2007
- ^ Jeffrey Zupanic, "Mourners say fond farewell to Jessie Davis", Alliance Review, June 29, 2007
- ^ "Police: Pregnant woman's body found; cop arrested", CNN, June 23, 2007.
- ^ a b "Bobby Cutts Jr.", Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 24, 1977
- ^ "Policeman tells Canton reporter his side of story", Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 21, 2007.
- ^ "Cutts' wife seeks divorce", Canton Repository, June 27, 2007.
- ^ a b Edd Pritchard, "Cutts case won't go directly to grand jury", Canton Repository, June 27, 2007.
- ^ "Sheriff: Found Baby Isn't Missing Mom's", CBS News, June 22, 2007.
- ^ Todd Porter, "Cutts: I did not have anything to do with Davis' disappearance", Canton Repository, June 19, 2007
- ^ Jeffrey Zupanic, "Cutts on dating site until time of arrest", Alliance The Review, June 28,2007
- ^ [1] ABC news
- ^ Todd Porter, "Deputies raid home in search of evidence", Canton Repository, June 24, 2007.
- ^ "2nd Person Arrested After Missing Woman's Body Identified", WEWS-TV, June 24, 2007.
- ^ Karen Farkas and John Horton, "Suspect's classmate kept very low profile", Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 26, 2007
- ^ Shane Hoover, "Family confronts Cutts in courtroom", Canton Repository, June 26, 2007.
External links
News coverage
- Special Report - Cleveland Plain Dealer
- Jessie Marie Davis Coverage - Canton Repository
- Obituary, from Akron Beacon Journal
- Jessie Marie Davis Coverage - Alliance Review
Criminal complaints
- Ohio v. Bobby Lee Cutts, Jr. (pdf at CNN)
- Ohio v. Bobby Lee Cutts, Jr. (at FindLaw)
- Ohio v. Myisha Lynne Ferrell (pdf at CNN)
- Ohio v. Myisha Lynne Ferrell (at FindLaw)