Bobby Cutts Jr. says he killed Jessie Davis by accident

Bobby Cutts Jr. says he killed Jessie Davis by accident - Read Below

Canton- Bobby Cutts Jr. told jurors Monday afternoon that he killed Jessie Davis but never meant to.

They struggled during an argument at her Plain Township home, he said, and he hit her in the throat with his elbow.

"She hit the ground," he said. "Harder than I expected."

The former police officer said he tried to perform CPR on her and tried to revive her with the odor of bleach. When that didn't work, he took the body from her home so their then-2-year-old son, Blake, would not discover her when he awoke.

Cutts, 30, said he panicked because he felt no one would believe his version of events. That led him to dump Davis' body in a Summit County park 20 miles from her home.

Cutts was the final witness in his aggravated-murder trial, testifying all afternoon and into the early evening. He choked back sobs as he told his version of the events that led to the death of his 26-year-old pregnant lover and his reasons for trying to cover it up. It was the first time he had ever told authorities what happened, he said.

Stark County prosecutors questioned both his display of emotion and the truthfulness of his testimony.

Cutts portrayed himself as a man who would never hurt anyone.

He spoke in a quiet, raspy voice and became tearful as he described the slaying. Common Pleas Judge Charles E. Brown Jr. at times had to remind him to speak into the microphone so jurors could hear him.

The defendant said that about 5:45 a.m. on June 14, he went to pick up Blake, but Davis was asleep on the floor of her bedroom and was slow to rouse.

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