This report has been compiled by Sprocket and donchais.
Cutts enter the courtroom and is speaking with his attorneys. The jury is not present yet. Right from the start, the attorneys request a sidebar. Patty and Audrey look very serious and tense. Now, the Judge is back on the bench.
In just a minute, the court is going to instruct the bailiff to bring the jurors back into the courtroom. The Judge speaks to the gallery. "I do not know what that verdict is. However I do need to anticipate, if the verdict is death, then the sentencing hearing will be evoked tomorrow afternoon, in Stark County courthouse. IF the verdict is not death, then the court will immediately move to sentence."
The Judge continues. "When the jury comes in, we’re going to have a departure from the normal procedures. We are going to change the procedure, only the judge will rise. No one, even the defendant will rise. If the sentence is not death, as I said we will move immediately to sentencing. I realize there be member of the family who may what t address the court according to sentencing. You will have to opportunity to do that."
"Anything that you may want to say will be limited to sentencing. If anyone wanders from that they will be cut off immediately. I won't listen to anything and you won't be in the courtroom. We will follow the same rule as at time. No one stands up or leaves, until I say soy. If anyone coughs, or anything you will be escorted out of the courtroom. At the conclusion of this again, I don't know the sentence, I would apparently be aware o the media if the sentence is not death, because if it is death, because what you may talk about is in full force and effect. Effectively what is referred to as a gag order. Is still in effect."
"At the conclusion of the sentencing I will feel sure that the family of Mr. Cuts and the family of Miss Davis and will want to talk to the media and the media will want to talk to you. There will not be any media in the courthouse or any photographs. Other than the cameras and the still cameras in the courtroom. Deputies will escort both families out of the courthouse."
"Will appreciate the cooperation of the media and the families. You all did an excellent job and should all be commended for that, and I'm sure the same thing will happen this afternoon."
Nothing else to be put on the record.
donchais and I speculate on why the judge is not letting anyone stand while the jurors come in.
The camera is focused on Cutts' face. Then the jury is being brought in.
Wonder if Bobby is going to perform his crocodile tears routine?
Judge ensures that no one has influenced them and that they have been sequestered and no outside influences. And he reads them four questions. The jurors all answer individually to each of these questions.
1. Have you been sequestered during your deliberations during the trial and the sentencing phase, so that you are free from any outside influences that may in any way influence your verdict.
2. Has anyone associated with the court had any communications with you, concerning this case, during the proceedings except here in open court, on the record?
3. Has any one except in the deliberations said anything, done anything, that tried to to attempt to influence your verdict in any way?
4. Has anyone else except the twelve main jurors participated in any way? In your deliberations?
Cuts is stoic, and stares straight ahead.
I can hear donchais is very tense and breathing heavily over the phone. She's' on the edge of her seat.
The judge reiterates that the jury has reached a verdict and they went outside for a short while with the court officers. donchais would have gone out and smoked a whole pack of cigarettes.
The judge verifies that their sequestration, they had no media access, to TV, media.
Are these verdicts all signed by all twelve of your members?
Mr. Davidson please hand me the verdict form.
donchais is ill. She's ready to throw up.
Aggravated Murder, Jessie - Life without parole for 30 full years.
Aggravated Murder, Baby Chloe Life without parole for 30 full years.
Aggravated Murder, Viable fetus Life without parole for 30 full years.
Count four: Aggravated burglary! Guilty 3-10 years.
Count five: Gross abuse of a corpse! (Jessie) Guilty 6-12 months
Count six: Gross abuse of a corpse! (Baby Chloe) Guilty 6-12 months.
Count seven: Endangering children! (Blake) 180 days.
Mack addresses the court: We understand that you have sat through both phases of this trial and heard all the mitigation evidence, you heard him express remorse. You heard he has a family. We believe aggravated charges should be run concurrently as it was a single act. All the counts should run concurrently.
Watson~ I agree with the comment and the remorse Mr. Cutts expressed is sincere. We are not trying to demean the family of Jessie and our hearts go out to them,
Ranke~ All sentences should run concurrently.
Cutts has no statement for the court. Nor does his family.
Letter read by a friend on behalf of one of Jessie's sisters~Bobby Cutts took my sister from me; you took a chink out of my heart. Jessie meant everything to me. I was adopted into the family at a very young age. I stayed with her and Blake many times. She took me to school everyday. I still wait for her, but only the bus comes.
How could you do this to Jessie and our family? How could you do this to Blake? How could you help with the search? You have destroyed so many peoples lives and especially Blake. I hope when he is older he can ask you questions and you can answer them.
Audrey~Weeping so hard she can barely speak. She went to a funeral a few days before Jessie dies and remembers saying to her I can’t imagine losing any of my brothers and sisters. I was the one who sat for hours on the porch holding Blake while he was crying and asking for his mommy and she was never coming home.
You sat there and lied. I hope one day you can look at your son and tell him the truth. I’ll just never understand that.
Ned Davis~ Don’t even look at me, just put your head down. Your honor, he violently murdered her…5’4”. Baby Chloe could have been saved. You won't give me time, (meaning the Judge) but I'd like to have so quality time with you (meaning Cutts).
Patty Porter~ I have had the conversation with you in my head a million times. This is a day I will never forget. When I walked into that room the presence of evil was so strong, I knew Jessie never walked out of that room. I serve an amazing God that forgives and restores people. I forgive you and I hope you find faith and someday tell the truth.
Patty asks that the judge allows Bobby to be free someday.
Just wow!
Dennis Barr~ 30 years to life is along time, but Bobby will have the opportunity to visit with his family. The Davis and Porter families won’t have that opportunity. They lost a daughter, a sister and a mother. Barr wants the counts to run consecutively.
Judge imposes:
Murder charge 1 - 15 years
Murder charge 2 and 3 are merged - 30 years
Count four: Aggravated burglary! -10 years.
Count five: Gross abuse of a corpse! (Jessie) -12 months
Count six: Gross abuse of a corpse! (Baby Chloe) -12 months.
Count seven: Endangering children! (Blake) 180 days concurrently served with the felonies.
57 years to run consecutively totally.
Cutts is also responsible for court costs and fines.
I have followed this case since the day Jessie went missing. I believe Cutts should rot in hell for the rest of his days. I openly wept as Jessie’s family spoke and can’t imagine how Patty had the strength to offer Cutts forgiveness; she is a far better person than I.
I accept the Judge’s sentencing and hope and pray that Jessie and Chloe are finally at peace. donchais
CNN.Crime
CNN In Session Sidebar Commentary by Beth Karas
Showing posts with label Blake Davis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blake Davis. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Bobby Cutts Sentencing Phase – Day 2
Very bad weather in Ohio today.
Jessie and Cutts’ families are all present.
Juror 631, an alternate has been excused due to a family illness.
Prosecutors will close with Barr reserving time. Defense closing will be shared by Ranke and Mack. Each side will have 45 minutes to present closing. Then jury instructions will be given.
Judge polls the jury as to whether or not they have abided by the admonishment.
Wow, none of Jessie’s family or friends is called to comment!
Mr. Barr closing. You folks are the most qualified people to render a fair sentencing. We do not take it lightly and you have taken an oath to render a fair and appropriate verdict in this case.
Yesterday you heard the mitigating factors. Your final act is to render a fair and appropriate verdict based on the law the Judge gives you.
You agreed that you would consider a death sentence on the case. You found aggravating charges beyond a reasonable doubt in this case.
You found that Bobby Cutts was the principal offender and committed murders of Jessie and Chloe.
June 14th when Bobby Cutts began his conduct that led to the death of Jessie and Chloe, he made not a single effort to save the life of his daughter.
Bobby went to college, became a police officer to serve and protect the public, not to hurt it. Renee said Bobby grew up normal; he wasn’t affected by the violence in the home. There was no child abuse.
We know he was evaluated by Dr. Fabian. He took everyone at their word. He didn’t investigate anything. How much faith can you put into Dr. Fabian's report? He only spoke to people who loved Bobby.
You saw Bobby sit in the witness stand, not under oath and beg for his life. He said he would do anything to bring Jessie and Chloe back. Really? Did you Bobby? You could have walked away, but you didn’t.
You have the mitigating factors you now will go into that room and weig those against the aggravating circumstances.
You have found beyond a reasonable doubt that he took Jessie’s life and the life of his innocent daughter, who never drew a breath outside of her mother’s womb.
Bobby Cutts deserves the maximum sentence under the law of Ohio and that would be death.
Attorney Mack: During jury selection you heard me discuss the challenge of this case and the process you went through.
You concluded that Bobby Cutts did not commit aggravated murder of Jessie Davis. But, you did find he committed aggravated murder against the fetus.
Death is inappropriate in this case. Ironically the State of Ohio is asking you to do the same thing with a death sentence.
This is not about signing a piece of paper it’s about putting someone to death.
This is not about Timothy McVeigh, Saddam Hussein, Ted Bundy, the worse of the worse.
The evidence is clear this is a situation that got out of hand. And the actions taken after made it worse.
Leaving Blake unattended is not an aggravating circumstance. Bobby is still Blake’s father.
This prosecutor wants you to put Blake’s father to death. Think about Blake. What if he has questions about his father?
Yes, Bobby told lies, but these aren’t aggravating circumstances.
You have to take all of this in context. The coroner said there was no injury to the fetus.
You know up until this point, Bobby has led a significantly law abiding life.
I hope you were moved by his apology yesterday and you had a right to hear that apology and his remorse. He acknowledges and accepts the responsibility of taking the life of Jessie and Chloe. If that doesn’t move you, than nothing will.
Good people make bad decisions and a couple of minutes redefine 30 years of being a good person.
The prosecution keeps bringing up the fact that Bobby was a police officer. He and the mother of his children got into an altercation. That is not about being a police officer.
You heard his life has meaning. You heard from his family, how the depend and rely on him. It’s not about sympathy; it’s a fact.
There no sense in shattering more lives. If you think he doesn’t feel bad about what happened, then you’re wrong.
25 years to life is appropriate here. He’ll be 55 before the parole board will even look at him. This was an isolated occurrence. There is no reason to believe this type of incident would occur again.
We respect your verdict and how difficult it was to reach.
We are asking you to find the appropriate sentence.
Attorney Ranke: Thank you for your time and effort. It’s a difficult case and we ask that you consider all of what you have heard during this case.
Your task is to weigh the mitigating factors against the aggravated circumstances.
What happened in June was awful, but that’s not all there is to Bobby Cutts. The full picture of Bobby, you didn’t know before. That’s why you heard from his family.
Bobby can still be there from Brianna, and his sister and his nephew. He can’t go check on sister but he can still provide support in a limited way.
Dr. Fabian tried to give you a full picture of Bobby. He said there was no violent tendencies. Did Dr. Fabian have to go out and verify what everybody said to him? No, you heard about it from Bobby’s family.
The absence of violence of his lifetime is something you need to consider regarding those awful events in June. There was no pattern of prior violent behavior before those horrible days in June. And we are asking that you consider that.
Your role is to determine whether those 10 days outweigh thirty years of life. We are asking you to consider that.
What does he mean to his family, his children, his friends? I’m asking you to consider that.
You heard Bobby’s remorse and how sorry he is about what happened. I am asking you to consider that and to spare his life.
Mr. Barr: It’s not about 10 days in June. It’s about a lifetime of missed opportunities for Jessie and Chloe.
Mr. Mack told your there is no reason this will happen again. No kidding, Bobby fixed that when he killed Jessie and Chloe.
He sat here and cried. He didn’t have a problem taking a life, but he wants you to save his life.
After what Blake saw, when he grows up do you think he will want Bobby as a father?
Bobby Cutts had a trial, he had a jury. Jessie and Chloe didn’t have that.
The death penalty is not reserved for the likes of “Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy. It can be Bobby Cutts.”
What is worse than killing a mother and your own unborn child who was 2 weeks away from being born?
Despite a good background and growing up in a good family, he chose to kill Jessie and baby Chloe and for that, you should choose a sentence of death.
Judge instructs the jury. The sentence must be unanimous and the sentence may be:
Life in prison with parole in 25 years.
Life in prison with parole in 30 years.
Life in prison with no parole.
Death penalty.
Well, it’s now in the juror’s hands.
CNN.Crime
Jessie and Cutts’ families are all present.
Juror 631, an alternate has been excused due to a family illness.
Prosecutors will close with Barr reserving time. Defense closing will be shared by Ranke and Mack. Each side will have 45 minutes to present closing. Then jury instructions will be given.
Judge polls the jury as to whether or not they have abided by the admonishment.
Wow, none of Jessie’s family or friends is called to comment!
Mr. Barr closing. You folks are the most qualified people to render a fair sentencing. We do not take it lightly and you have taken an oath to render a fair and appropriate verdict in this case.
Yesterday you heard the mitigating factors. Your final act is to render a fair and appropriate verdict based on the law the Judge gives you.
You agreed that you would consider a death sentence on the case. You found aggravating charges beyond a reasonable doubt in this case.
You found that Bobby Cutts was the principal offender and committed murders of Jessie and Chloe.
June 14th when Bobby Cutts began his conduct that led to the death of Jessie and Chloe, he made not a single effort to save the life of his daughter.
Bobby went to college, became a police officer to serve and protect the public, not to hurt it. Renee said Bobby grew up normal; he wasn’t affected by the violence in the home. There was no child abuse.
We know he was evaluated by Dr. Fabian. He took everyone at their word. He didn’t investigate anything. How much faith can you put into Dr. Fabian's report? He only spoke to people who loved Bobby.
You saw Bobby sit in the witness stand, not under oath and beg for his life. He said he would do anything to bring Jessie and Chloe back. Really? Did you Bobby? You could have walked away, but you didn’t.
You have the mitigating factors you now will go into that room and weig those against the aggravating circumstances.
You have found beyond a reasonable doubt that he took Jessie’s life and the life of his innocent daughter, who never drew a breath outside of her mother’s womb.
Bobby Cutts deserves the maximum sentence under the law of Ohio and that would be death.
Attorney Mack: During jury selection you heard me discuss the challenge of this case and the process you went through.
You concluded that Bobby Cutts did not commit aggravated murder of Jessie Davis. But, you did find he committed aggravated murder against the fetus.
Death is inappropriate in this case. Ironically the State of Ohio is asking you to do the same thing with a death sentence.
This is not about signing a piece of paper it’s about putting someone to death.
This is not about Timothy McVeigh, Saddam Hussein, Ted Bundy, the worse of the worse.
The evidence is clear this is a situation that got out of hand. And the actions taken after made it worse.
Leaving Blake unattended is not an aggravating circumstance. Bobby is still Blake’s father.
This prosecutor wants you to put Blake’s father to death. Think about Blake. What if he has questions about his father?
Yes, Bobby told lies, but these aren’t aggravating circumstances.
You have to take all of this in context. The coroner said there was no injury to the fetus.
You know up until this point, Bobby has led a significantly law abiding life.
I hope you were moved by his apology yesterday and you had a right to hear that apology and his remorse. He acknowledges and accepts the responsibility of taking the life of Jessie and Chloe. If that doesn’t move you, than nothing will.
Good people make bad decisions and a couple of minutes redefine 30 years of being a good person.
The prosecution keeps bringing up the fact that Bobby was a police officer. He and the mother of his children got into an altercation. That is not about being a police officer.
You heard his life has meaning. You heard from his family, how the depend and rely on him. It’s not about sympathy; it’s a fact.
There no sense in shattering more lives. If you think he doesn’t feel bad about what happened, then you’re wrong.
25 years to life is appropriate here. He’ll be 55 before the parole board will even look at him. This was an isolated occurrence. There is no reason to believe this type of incident would occur again.
We respect your verdict and how difficult it was to reach.
We are asking you to find the appropriate sentence.
Attorney Ranke: Thank you for your time and effort. It’s a difficult case and we ask that you consider all of what you have heard during this case.
Your task is to weigh the mitigating factors against the aggravated circumstances.
What happened in June was awful, but that’s not all there is to Bobby Cutts. The full picture of Bobby, you didn’t know before. That’s why you heard from his family.
Bobby can still be there from Brianna, and his sister and his nephew. He can’t go check on sister but he can still provide support in a limited way.
Dr. Fabian tried to give you a full picture of Bobby. He said there was no violent tendencies. Did Dr. Fabian have to go out and verify what everybody said to him? No, you heard about it from Bobby’s family.
The absence of violence of his lifetime is something you need to consider regarding those awful events in June. There was no pattern of prior violent behavior before those horrible days in June. And we are asking that you consider that.
Your role is to determine whether those 10 days outweigh thirty years of life. We are asking you to consider that.
What does he mean to his family, his children, his friends? I’m asking you to consider that.
You heard Bobby’s remorse and how sorry he is about what happened. I am asking you to consider that and to spare his life.
Mr. Barr: It’s not about 10 days in June. It’s about a lifetime of missed opportunities for Jessie and Chloe.
Mr. Mack told your there is no reason this will happen again. No kidding, Bobby fixed that when he killed Jessie and Chloe.
He sat here and cried. He didn’t have a problem taking a life, but he wants you to save his life.
After what Blake saw, when he grows up do you think he will want Bobby as a father?
Bobby Cutts had a trial, he had a jury. Jessie and Chloe didn’t have that.
The death penalty is not reserved for the likes of “Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy. It can be Bobby Cutts.”
What is worse than killing a mother and your own unborn child who was 2 weeks away from being born?
Despite a good background and growing up in a good family, he chose to kill Jessie and baby Chloe and for that, you should choose a sentence of death.
Judge instructs the jury. The sentence must be unanimous and the sentence may be:
Life in prison with parole in 25 years.
Life in prison with parole in 30 years.
Life in prison with no parole.
Death penalty.
Well, it’s now in the juror’s hands.
CNN.Crime
Monday, February 25, 2008
Bobby Cutts Sentencing Phase – Day 1
Jessie’s family is in court. Attorneys and Cutts are present and some of the Cutts family is in the Courtroom. Judge Brown is on the bench.
It is assumed that Cutts family members will speak on his behalf and that Cutts himself will take the stand again to plead for his life being spared.
Judge Brown is giving Cutts the charges that he was found guilty of. Cutts is stoned-faced and shows no emotion.
You have the right to appeal. Counsel will be provided without cost if you are indigent. The defense says Cutts is not indigent.
The Judge describes the procedures that will be followed. Pre-sentence report not requested by defense and no request for a mental evaluation both, could be used by the jury.
Jury is being brought into court.
Each juror has a folder that contains Preliminary Instructions, a pen and paper.
Judge polls the jury if they followed his admonishments.
Chryssa Hartnett is addressing the jury. We are here to continue our work. She is describing proof beyond a reasonable doubt. We are not retrying the case. You have already heard the testimony and seen the evidence.
You will hear much about the life of Bobby Cutts from his family. Maybe, about his upbringing. You must weigh that against the aggravating circumstances.
Hartnett calls for the death penalty.
Attorney Watson for the defense addresses the jury and asks if they can be fair in this case. Evaluate the evidence and determine the appropriate sentence in this case.
We accept and respect your verdict in this case.
We ask you to hold the state to it's burden of proof. The law itself asks for compassion and wisdom and mercy.
You need to evaluate his good deeds, his positive impact on his family.
You will hear from those who were closest to Mr. Cutts. His family, friends and colleagues.
He was gifted and talented in school. He was a good father. He was a good police officer.
You need to evaluate what is the proper sentence in this case. You will find his life is worth saving.
Very long sidebar…
State submits an exhibit and rests! Didn’t see that coming.
Cutts looking pretty pensive.
Defense calls Renee Jones. This is Bobby's mom.
She also has a daughter. She identified Cutts at the table.
Jones looks at 3 photographs and identifies them 1) Senior in high school 2) her grandchildren 3) Blake
When Bobby was a child he loved sports. He used to teach about sports. He loved to play sports and used to be the clown and have kids laughing. He was always happy.
He went to a gifted school. He got A's and B's. He was on honor roll.
He and his sister were very close. They did everything together.
He was real close to his dad. They had a falling out. Then they got close again.
During high school he played football and baseball. Everybody loved him and had a lot of friends. He sang in the church choir.
He was an ordinary kid.
After high school he had a scholarship to Walsh College. He didn't finish college because his 1st daughter was born.
There was a custody fight over Taylor. Cutts was given temporary custody.
With Blake and Brianna, he was a good father. He took them everywhere and played sports together. He was good with Blake.
Bobby was happy he had a boy.
Bobby is crying. Do we believe it's for real?
He became a police officer and I was very proud. He loved being a cop.
He used to help people. He'd take kids home at night rather than arrest them.
What impact did Bobby have on other family members? He always took charge of the situations. Nieces and nephews were crazy about him. Everybody is close to him.
Bobby became aware of the problems in your marriage. Bobby said he would never be like his father. He would never abandon his children.
Dennis Barr for the state.
You divorced your husband when Bobby was how old? 5.
Bobby didn't see any violence between you and your husband? No.
Growing up, Bobby had no mental of emotional problems?
Objection, sidebar
You took Bobby to counseling after the divorce? Yes.
He went for a couple of months.
Bobby did well in high school? Yes.
You aware he flunked algebra twice? No.
You love your grandchildren? Yes.
You love Blake? Yes.
You would have loved Chloe? If she was my grandbaby.
You heard in court that she was Bobby's. Objection...Sustained.
No further questions.
Watson: Prosecutors asked about your relationship with your husband? Yes.
Bobby never saw any of the violence.
Witness excused.
Defense attorney Mack calls Kathleen Purdy. She works for the public school as a teacher and taught Bobby Cutts.
She identifies Cutts in the court.
She taught Bobby in 4th grade. He was a very responsive student. He was optimistic and a hard worker. He enjoyed recess. I was quite impressed.
His attitude to authority was always good. His nickname was "Gobble".
He peers saw him as a buddy and a friend. If he had to tell on them they were fine with that.
Academically, he could achieve high grades.
She went to a baseball game and met his father and mother at the game.
She saw him through the other 3 years at that school.
She attended his graduation.
She maintained a relationship with him through college and after he became a police officer, he came and spoke to her class.
Once he became a police officer he would come back to the school? Yes. He would also come back to drop off tickets for sports events for kids who were well in class.
Would he take students to see certain court proceedings? No.
Her husband had leukemia and he passed away. Bobby called her and left a message to she how she adjusting and getting along. Even Bobby's folks sent a card.
Sidebar
Tell me are you aware of how significant you have been in Mr. Cutts' life? Yes, I believe in teaching the whole person. I believe I have been a mentor.
Done, state has no questions.
Witness excused.
Next defense witness is Next witness Devonna Cutts, Bobby's sister.
She identifies Cutts.
She and Bobby are 4 years apart. As kids, Bobby would tell her what to do. She played basketball and ran track. Bobby would come to her games. He would push her in sports and school.
After your parents divorce what was your relationship with your father? It wasn't really a relationship. Bobby stepped up and acted like a dad.
She talked about problems with Bobby. He wasn't happy when she got pregnant. Her son is named Robert. Bobby was disappointed that she was pregnant and was upset with her. He wanted more for her, but then he came around and bought the first "everything" for the baby.
Bobby is a good dad to his 2 daughters. They have a good relationship with him.
She says Bobby is a good dad to Blake. Blake always wanted to be with Bobby. She would have to bribe him with food to get him to stay with her.
Bobby helped her with Robert because her husband was in jail. If Robert was misbehaving, Bobby would straighten him out.
Robert talks to Bobby on the phone and has seen him in jail a couple times.
When she lived on her own, Bobby used to come by and check on them.
Bobby has always been there for me. We've always been close. He's always been concerned about me.
No further questions. No questions from the state.
Witness excused.
Next witness is Lamar Sharp? (missed the name)
They met 9 years ago. They both took the police exam together. They are good friends.
He says Bobby is a very silly guy. Real funny and full of life. They played semi pro ball together.
As a police officer Bobby never took any real serious. There was always a lighter side to it.
He saved someone's life who was about to jump off a bridge.
He says Cutts is a good police officer.
Bobby is the type of person who would be there for you.
Their kids know each other. He was a good father to his children.
Their families would socialize.
Watson, joking with Sharp, asked if Bobby ever beat him in X-Box video games. Sharp, reluctantly, says yes. Watson laughed._Sharp say it not uncommon for police officers to visit other people to play video games or relax on lunch breaks.
Bobby is a good guy, we always joke with each other.
We kinda have a bond.
Did Bobby save your life? We confronted a suspect who was shooting a gun in the air. He tried to leave in the car and Bobby got him out of the way of the guy’s car.
Bobby always does a lot of coaching in the community for kids.
No further questions.
Hartnett says you said it’s not uncommon to go to somebody's house at lunchtime? Right.
It is uncommon to stay for several hours though, right? You have to check in and ask for lunch break.
You weren't there when Bobby stopped the person from jumping off the bridge? No, I wasn't
Where you aware that Mr. Cutts got reprimanded for putting his hand over someone's mouth?
Objection!
Disregard.
No further questions.
Witness dismissed.
Next witness is Larry Davidson. Cutts is his cousin. He identifies Cutts in court.
Larry says Bobby is like his brother. They attended school together. They had a lot of fun growing up. They remain close as adults.
Larry closer to Bobby than anybody else. They spoke 4-5 times a week.
Larry says Bobby is a good father. The kids loved their dad. They always listened to him.
Mother and sister love and look up to Bobby.
Carlotta is Larry's sister and she is close to Bobby also.
Since June you haven't been able to do some of things you used to do? Yes its like a big piece of my heart is gone. I try to find other things to do. Things haven’t been the same. It hurts.
All done; witness dismissed.
Witness up next is Jennifer Peterson. She identifies Cutts in the court.
They were coworkers at the Home Energy Assistance Program. Cutts worked there in the winter when he was off-duty.
She told him that she likes football and knew he played ball. She met Bobby's mom.
She is still friends with Bobby; she was sending cards to Bobby's family and had them delivered to Bobby. She writes to Bobby in jail once a week. Was sending words of encouragement.
She was hit by a drunk driver who drove her to another town and dumped her in a field. She suffered multiple, severe, permanent injuries. She was bedridden so he pleaded out because she couldn't attend the hearings.
She was angry with the drunk driver, but has since forgiven him.
She told that story with Bobby so he would understand she could see both sides of the incident. He was appreciative that she told him. She shared that story with Bobby 4 days ago.
She wanted Bobby to understand how powerful forgiveness is.
She says Bobby misses his family very much. He has caused them pain. He knows he made a mistake.
No further questions.
State has no questions.
Witness dismissed.
Judge asks to see counsel for sidebar.
Defense calls Bobby Cutts, Sr.
He identifies his son in court.
His relationship with Bobby as a child was great. He was a wonderful child.
The divorce was because he was drinking and gambling. Bobby probably was aware of some of the violence. He didn't like it.
Bobby was active in sports. The dad coached baseball for 12 years and took Bobby to the games.
As Bobby got older he became his own man, but if he needed advice, he knew I was there.
All the kids looked up to him and his accomplishments.
Bobby means the world to me. His heart is so open. He would give you the shirt off his back.
State asks about the problems between he and Renee. There was domestic violence. Yes.
Child abuse? Never.
Witness released.
Next witness Kelly Schaub. This is Bobby's ex-wife.
She met Bobby the summer of 2000. They'd she each other out and started talking and it grew into a relationship. She was pregnant and owned a house. So Bobby moved in.
She was worried about her parents because of the race issue, Kelly is white and they weren't married.
Bobby met Kelly's parents and they got along very well.
They married right after Brianna was born.
Kelly knew about Taylor before they started dating.
Bobby was a good father with Taylor. He spent as much time with her as he could.
Taylor's mother left the state to escape Bobby. She says Bobby has a darker side.
When Brianna was born, he took care of her when Kelly was working. He'd get her up and feed and bathe her.
He was a good father to both girls. Taylor was older and Bobby was always asking about what she was doing in school.
2001, he started as a police officer. That led to side jobs.
Did you have fights about how much he worked?
Did he take good care of you financially? Yes.
Brianna? Yes.
Taylor? Yes when he could.
As a family, he would always want to take trips to the park.
Bobby was great with the kids in the community. He did a lot of coaching. He played sports with the kids.
Bobby was proud to be Blake's father.
She remains friends with Bobby today. She and Brianna visit Bobby in jail. Brianna misses her dad. She is very close to Bobby.
Even in jail he fathers her. He asks what she learned at school. Who she plays with? Yes.
He stills smiles and laughs with her.
Kelly says she still wants Cutts to be in Brianna's life.
Her relationship with Bobby has grown during this time. They talk about faith and church together.
No further questions.
Hartnett asks how Bobby likes to spend time with Brianna and he did everything you asked with her. He never left Brianna alone for long periods of time, like he did with Blake? No.
Your heard Bobby's testimony of the sequence of events? Yes.
And isn't it true...Objection, sidebar.
No further questions.
Mack asks what were her thoughts about Bobby leaving Blake alone. I thought he would never do something like that.
So in all those years of parenting, he never did anything like that? No.
Witness dismissed.
Defense calls Dr. John Fabian. He is a clinical psychologist as well as a forensic psychologist.
He is giving his CV.
This ought to be a pip when he gets to Cutts' evaluation.
Fabian has served as a mitigation witness 40-50 times to offer testimony.
Mitigation usually works for the defense because the prosecution has aggravated circumstances to their benefit. Mitigation is part of the state statute.
He is not here to support Cutts, but to provide the jury with facts about Cutts' background, the crime and Cutt's state of mind in order to help the jury reach their sentencing.
Cutts had a prior evaluation for the custody case. Both he and Nikki were evaluated in Taylor's case.
He interviewed Cutts and his family and reviewed the type of violence in this case and put Bobby through some tests.
Do you have an opinion as to mitigating factors...Objection, sidebar
BTW, this day is all about Cutts. Jessie's family will only get to speak once the jury makes a decision as to the sentence.
Cutts Sr. had gambling and drinking issues and abuse of his wife that led to divorce and estrangement from the children.
Those issues affect the children who have witnessed them.
Bobby struggled with the estranged relationship with his father. Today the relationship is still damaged.
Bobby disclosed that he didn't want to be like his father. He didn't want to divorce and he wanted to be active in his children's lives more than his father was in his.
There is no prior history of violent behavior.
The testing that was done on Bobby showed no history of mental illness.
There was no indication of mental impairment.
He does have elevated level anxiety scale and violence or aggressive behavior level scale. Neither were that high.
He testifies that there is no prior violent history in Cutts.
Based on all of his findings Fabian does not believe Cutts presents any likely hood of violent behavior.
Fabian says that Bobby doesn't present with a future violent behavior activity issue.
Bobby is not considered anti-social or a psychopathic from his history.
He is considered to be reactive in terms of what happened with Jessie. It is not chronic.
Barr on cross...
You provide the tests and a report? Yes.
You don't provide mitigating factors, that's up to the jury? Correct.
Did you verify the police reports? No.
Do you have the ability to do that? That's provided by counsel.
Cutts was pretty successful up to this point in his life? Yes.
Reactive violence can lead to murder? Yes.
Is part of your report based on his positive behavior in the jail? That would be part of it.
You are aware that Cutts is not the general public of the jail, that he is segregated? Yes.
Wouldn't you say that would affect his behavior in jail? Yes.
Barr is tearing Fabian up on the lies Cutts told, the fact that he participated in the search and didn't tell police where the body was. That he is a liar yet; he believed what Bobby told him in interviews.
You saw his personnel file from the police department? Yes.
Your report says he has an unblemished personnel record. Yes.
He is shown a document that shows the incident where Cutts was reprimanded.
So that could be considered a blemish on his record? It could be.
Inflated self-esteem, grandiosity and high opinion of self-abilities are shown in the report. Yikes!
Wow, Barr really did his homework on Fabian's report!
No further questions.
Ranke~ Cutts doesn't have any personality disorders? Correct.
Reactive violence isn't just related to murder, it could be manslaughter, right? Yes.
Cutts told you what he did in this case? Yes. Most homicides the person doesn't admit to the murder until further along.
Do you believe Mr. Cutts has been untruthful with you? No, he has admitted to this all along.
Did you make a finding that Mr. Cutts would be a low risk for future violent behavior? Correct.
No further questions.
Barr wants to know if Fabian knew of other sexual partners. He knew of Stephanie, but you have no others in your report? No, I don't
The job of a police officer is stressful? Correct. They get called names? Yes.
You knew Bobby lied to the police? Yes.
Did you ever buy a house? Yes.
Did you take the home oweners word on everything? No.
Because it's good to verify things? Yes.
Ranke~ Did you believe Bobby was deceptive to you? No. I think he was being pretty honest with me.
Witness dismissed.
Cutts on the stand!
Cutts apologizes for reading a statement. He doesn't want to loose his words. He wanted to go to college. He wanted to be mayor.
He had a child so he decided to take responsibility. He instilled that in Brianna and in Blake.
He always loved being around and working with kids.
He cannot explain what happened in June. It's a nightmare that will haunt me all of my days. Words can't explain the death of Jessie and my unborn daughter.
I am so sorry for Patty and Mr. Davis and ask forgiveness for the pain I caused you and the rest of your family.
I apologize to the community.
I apologize and ask forgiveness for what I did to Blake. I thank god for taking care of Blake all those long hours.
He apologizes to his family and friends. To Myisha and her family.
I hope to maintain a relationship with my family and my children.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I'm asking you to spare my life.
I have absolutely no compassion for this pond scum. He's really playing to the jury. He must have a cold again because I don't see any tears.
Jury is given a packet similar to the package to the one when deliberations began. They need to bring their luggage tomorrow. The prosecution will offer their closing tomorrow and you will then begin sentencing deliberation.
Jury needs to be in the jury area at 8:15am.
Judge reads the admonishment and releases the jury for day.
Well that’s it till tomorrow!
It is assumed that Cutts family members will speak on his behalf and that Cutts himself will take the stand again to plead for his life being spared.
Judge Brown is giving Cutts the charges that he was found guilty of. Cutts is stoned-faced and shows no emotion.
You have the right to appeal. Counsel will be provided without cost if you are indigent. The defense says Cutts is not indigent.
The Judge describes the procedures that will be followed. Pre-sentence report not requested by defense and no request for a mental evaluation both, could be used by the jury.
Jury is being brought into court.
Each juror has a folder that contains Preliminary Instructions, a pen and paper.
Judge polls the jury if they followed his admonishments.
Chryssa Hartnett is addressing the jury. We are here to continue our work. She is describing proof beyond a reasonable doubt. We are not retrying the case. You have already heard the testimony and seen the evidence.
You will hear much about the life of Bobby Cutts from his family. Maybe, about his upbringing. You must weigh that against the aggravating circumstances.
Hartnett calls for the death penalty.
Attorney Watson for the defense addresses the jury and asks if they can be fair in this case. Evaluate the evidence and determine the appropriate sentence in this case.
We accept and respect your verdict in this case.
We ask you to hold the state to it's burden of proof. The law itself asks for compassion and wisdom and mercy.
You need to evaluate his good deeds, his positive impact on his family.
You will hear from those who were closest to Mr. Cutts. His family, friends and colleagues.
He was gifted and talented in school. He was a good father. He was a good police officer.
You need to evaluate what is the proper sentence in this case. You will find his life is worth saving.
Very long sidebar…
State submits an exhibit and rests! Didn’t see that coming.
Cutts looking pretty pensive.
Defense calls Renee Jones. This is Bobby's mom.
She also has a daughter. She identified Cutts at the table.
Jones looks at 3 photographs and identifies them 1) Senior in high school 2) her grandchildren 3) Blake
When Bobby was a child he loved sports. He used to teach about sports. He loved to play sports and used to be the clown and have kids laughing. He was always happy.
He went to a gifted school. He got A's and B's. He was on honor roll.
He and his sister were very close. They did everything together.
He was real close to his dad. They had a falling out. Then they got close again.
During high school he played football and baseball. Everybody loved him and had a lot of friends. He sang in the church choir.
He was an ordinary kid.
After high school he had a scholarship to Walsh College. He didn't finish college because his 1st daughter was born.
There was a custody fight over Taylor. Cutts was given temporary custody.
With Blake and Brianna, he was a good father. He took them everywhere and played sports together. He was good with Blake.
Bobby was happy he had a boy.
Bobby is crying. Do we believe it's for real?
He became a police officer and I was very proud. He loved being a cop.
He used to help people. He'd take kids home at night rather than arrest them.
What impact did Bobby have on other family members? He always took charge of the situations. Nieces and nephews were crazy about him. Everybody is close to him.
Bobby became aware of the problems in your marriage. Bobby said he would never be like his father. He would never abandon his children.
Dennis Barr for the state.
You divorced your husband when Bobby was how old? 5.
Bobby didn't see any violence between you and your husband? No.
Growing up, Bobby had no mental of emotional problems?
Objection, sidebar
You took Bobby to counseling after the divorce? Yes.
He went for a couple of months.
Bobby did well in high school? Yes.
You aware he flunked algebra twice? No.
You love your grandchildren? Yes.
You love Blake? Yes.
You would have loved Chloe? If she was my grandbaby.
You heard in court that she was Bobby's. Objection...Sustained.
No further questions.
Watson: Prosecutors asked about your relationship with your husband? Yes.
Bobby never saw any of the violence.
Witness excused.
Defense attorney Mack calls Kathleen Purdy. She works for the public school as a teacher and taught Bobby Cutts.
She identifies Cutts in the court.
She taught Bobby in 4th grade. He was a very responsive student. He was optimistic and a hard worker. He enjoyed recess. I was quite impressed.
His attitude to authority was always good. His nickname was "Gobble".
He peers saw him as a buddy and a friend. If he had to tell on them they were fine with that.
Academically, he could achieve high grades.
She went to a baseball game and met his father and mother at the game.
She saw him through the other 3 years at that school.
She attended his graduation.
She maintained a relationship with him through college and after he became a police officer, he came and spoke to her class.
Once he became a police officer he would come back to the school? Yes. He would also come back to drop off tickets for sports events for kids who were well in class.
Would he take students to see certain court proceedings? No.
Her husband had leukemia and he passed away. Bobby called her and left a message to she how she adjusting and getting along. Even Bobby's folks sent a card.
Sidebar
Tell me are you aware of how significant you have been in Mr. Cutts' life? Yes, I believe in teaching the whole person. I believe I have been a mentor.
Done, state has no questions.
Witness excused.
Next defense witness is Next witness Devonna Cutts, Bobby's sister.
She identifies Cutts.
She and Bobby are 4 years apart. As kids, Bobby would tell her what to do. She played basketball and ran track. Bobby would come to her games. He would push her in sports and school.
After your parents divorce what was your relationship with your father? It wasn't really a relationship. Bobby stepped up and acted like a dad.
She talked about problems with Bobby. He wasn't happy when she got pregnant. Her son is named Robert. Bobby was disappointed that she was pregnant and was upset with her. He wanted more for her, but then he came around and bought the first "everything" for the baby.
Bobby is a good dad to his 2 daughters. They have a good relationship with him.
She says Bobby is a good dad to Blake. Blake always wanted to be with Bobby. She would have to bribe him with food to get him to stay with her.
Bobby helped her with Robert because her husband was in jail. If Robert was misbehaving, Bobby would straighten him out.
Robert talks to Bobby on the phone and has seen him in jail a couple times.
When she lived on her own, Bobby used to come by and check on them.
Bobby has always been there for me. We've always been close. He's always been concerned about me.
No further questions. No questions from the state.
Witness excused.
Next witness is Lamar Sharp? (missed the name)
They met 9 years ago. They both took the police exam together. They are good friends.
He says Bobby is a very silly guy. Real funny and full of life. They played semi pro ball together.
As a police officer Bobby never took any real serious. There was always a lighter side to it.
He saved someone's life who was about to jump off a bridge.
He says Cutts is a good police officer.
Bobby is the type of person who would be there for you.
Their kids know each other. He was a good father to his children.
Their families would socialize.
Watson, joking with Sharp, asked if Bobby ever beat him in X-Box video games. Sharp, reluctantly, says yes. Watson laughed._Sharp say it not uncommon for police officers to visit other people to play video games or relax on lunch breaks.
Bobby is a good guy, we always joke with each other.
We kinda have a bond.
Did Bobby save your life? We confronted a suspect who was shooting a gun in the air. He tried to leave in the car and Bobby got him out of the way of the guy’s car.
Bobby always does a lot of coaching in the community for kids.
No further questions.
Hartnett says you said it’s not uncommon to go to somebody's house at lunchtime? Right.
It is uncommon to stay for several hours though, right? You have to check in and ask for lunch break.
You weren't there when Bobby stopped the person from jumping off the bridge? No, I wasn't
Where you aware that Mr. Cutts got reprimanded for putting his hand over someone's mouth?
Objection!
Disregard.
No further questions.
Witness dismissed.
Next witness is Larry Davidson. Cutts is his cousin. He identifies Cutts in court.
Larry says Bobby is like his brother. They attended school together. They had a lot of fun growing up. They remain close as adults.
Larry closer to Bobby than anybody else. They spoke 4-5 times a week.
Larry says Bobby is a good father. The kids loved their dad. They always listened to him.
Mother and sister love and look up to Bobby.
Carlotta is Larry's sister and she is close to Bobby also.
Since June you haven't been able to do some of things you used to do? Yes its like a big piece of my heart is gone. I try to find other things to do. Things haven’t been the same. It hurts.
All done; witness dismissed.
Witness up next is Jennifer Peterson. She identifies Cutts in the court.
They were coworkers at the Home Energy Assistance Program. Cutts worked there in the winter when he was off-duty.
She told him that she likes football and knew he played ball. She met Bobby's mom.
She is still friends with Bobby; she was sending cards to Bobby's family and had them delivered to Bobby. She writes to Bobby in jail once a week. Was sending words of encouragement.
She was hit by a drunk driver who drove her to another town and dumped her in a field. She suffered multiple, severe, permanent injuries. She was bedridden so he pleaded out because she couldn't attend the hearings.
She was angry with the drunk driver, but has since forgiven him.
She told that story with Bobby so he would understand she could see both sides of the incident. He was appreciative that she told him. She shared that story with Bobby 4 days ago.
She wanted Bobby to understand how powerful forgiveness is.
She says Bobby misses his family very much. He has caused them pain. He knows he made a mistake.
No further questions.
State has no questions.
Witness dismissed.
Judge asks to see counsel for sidebar.
Defense calls Bobby Cutts, Sr.
He identifies his son in court.
His relationship with Bobby as a child was great. He was a wonderful child.
The divorce was because he was drinking and gambling. Bobby probably was aware of some of the violence. He didn't like it.
Bobby was active in sports. The dad coached baseball for 12 years and took Bobby to the games.
As Bobby got older he became his own man, but if he needed advice, he knew I was there.
All the kids looked up to him and his accomplishments.
Bobby means the world to me. His heart is so open. He would give you the shirt off his back.
State asks about the problems between he and Renee. There was domestic violence. Yes.
Child abuse? Never.
Witness released.
Next witness Kelly Schaub. This is Bobby's ex-wife.
She met Bobby the summer of 2000. They'd she each other out and started talking and it grew into a relationship. She was pregnant and owned a house. So Bobby moved in.
She was worried about her parents because of the race issue, Kelly is white and they weren't married.
Bobby met Kelly's parents and they got along very well.
They married right after Brianna was born.
Kelly knew about Taylor before they started dating.
Bobby was a good father with Taylor. He spent as much time with her as he could.
Taylor's mother left the state to escape Bobby. She says Bobby has a darker side.
When Brianna was born, he took care of her when Kelly was working. He'd get her up and feed and bathe her.
He was a good father to both girls. Taylor was older and Bobby was always asking about what she was doing in school.
2001, he started as a police officer. That led to side jobs.
Did you have fights about how much he worked?
Did he take good care of you financially? Yes.
Brianna? Yes.
Taylor? Yes when he could.
As a family, he would always want to take trips to the park.
Bobby was great with the kids in the community. He did a lot of coaching. He played sports with the kids.
Bobby was proud to be Blake's father.
She remains friends with Bobby today. She and Brianna visit Bobby in jail. Brianna misses her dad. She is very close to Bobby.
Even in jail he fathers her. He asks what she learned at school. Who she plays with? Yes.
He stills smiles and laughs with her.
Kelly says she still wants Cutts to be in Brianna's life.
Her relationship with Bobby has grown during this time. They talk about faith and church together.
No further questions.
Hartnett asks how Bobby likes to spend time with Brianna and he did everything you asked with her. He never left Brianna alone for long periods of time, like he did with Blake? No.
Your heard Bobby's testimony of the sequence of events? Yes.
And isn't it true...Objection, sidebar.
No further questions.
Mack asks what were her thoughts about Bobby leaving Blake alone. I thought he would never do something like that.
So in all those years of parenting, he never did anything like that? No.
Witness dismissed.
Defense calls Dr. John Fabian. He is a clinical psychologist as well as a forensic psychologist.
He is giving his CV.
This ought to be a pip when he gets to Cutts' evaluation.
Fabian has served as a mitigation witness 40-50 times to offer testimony.
Mitigation usually works for the defense because the prosecution has aggravated circumstances to their benefit. Mitigation is part of the state statute.
He is not here to support Cutts, but to provide the jury with facts about Cutts' background, the crime and Cutt's state of mind in order to help the jury reach their sentencing.
Cutts had a prior evaluation for the custody case. Both he and Nikki were evaluated in Taylor's case.
He interviewed Cutts and his family and reviewed the type of violence in this case and put Bobby through some tests.
Do you have an opinion as to mitigating factors...Objection, sidebar
BTW, this day is all about Cutts. Jessie's family will only get to speak once the jury makes a decision as to the sentence.
Cutts Sr. had gambling and drinking issues and abuse of his wife that led to divorce and estrangement from the children.
Those issues affect the children who have witnessed them.
Bobby struggled with the estranged relationship with his father. Today the relationship is still damaged.
Bobby disclosed that he didn't want to be like his father. He didn't want to divorce and he wanted to be active in his children's lives more than his father was in his.
There is no prior history of violent behavior.
The testing that was done on Bobby showed no history of mental illness.
There was no indication of mental impairment.
He does have elevated level anxiety scale and violence or aggressive behavior level scale. Neither were that high.
He testifies that there is no prior violent history in Cutts.
Based on all of his findings Fabian does not believe Cutts presents any likely hood of violent behavior.
Fabian says that Bobby doesn't present with a future violent behavior activity issue.
Bobby is not considered anti-social or a psychopathic from his history.
He is considered to be reactive in terms of what happened with Jessie. It is not chronic.
Barr on cross...
You provide the tests and a report? Yes.
You don't provide mitigating factors, that's up to the jury? Correct.
Did you verify the police reports? No.
Do you have the ability to do that? That's provided by counsel.
Cutts was pretty successful up to this point in his life? Yes.
Reactive violence can lead to murder? Yes.
Is part of your report based on his positive behavior in the jail? That would be part of it.
You are aware that Cutts is not the general public of the jail, that he is segregated? Yes.
Wouldn't you say that would affect his behavior in jail? Yes.
Barr is tearing Fabian up on the lies Cutts told, the fact that he participated in the search and didn't tell police where the body was. That he is a liar yet; he believed what Bobby told him in interviews.
You saw his personnel file from the police department? Yes.
Your report says he has an unblemished personnel record. Yes.
He is shown a document that shows the incident where Cutts was reprimanded.
So that could be considered a blemish on his record? It could be.
Inflated self-esteem, grandiosity and high opinion of self-abilities are shown in the report. Yikes!
Wow, Barr really did his homework on Fabian's report!
No further questions.
Ranke~ Cutts doesn't have any personality disorders? Correct.
Reactive violence isn't just related to murder, it could be manslaughter, right? Yes.
Cutts told you what he did in this case? Yes. Most homicides the person doesn't admit to the murder until further along.
Do you believe Mr. Cutts has been untruthful with you? No, he has admitted to this all along.
Did you make a finding that Mr. Cutts would be a low risk for future violent behavior? Correct.
No further questions.
Barr wants to know if Fabian knew of other sexual partners. He knew of Stephanie, but you have no others in your report? No, I don't
The job of a police officer is stressful? Correct. They get called names? Yes.
You knew Bobby lied to the police? Yes.
Did you ever buy a house? Yes.
Did you take the home oweners word on everything? No.
Because it's good to verify things? Yes.
Ranke~ Did you believe Bobby was deceptive to you? No. I think he was being pretty honest with me.
Witness dismissed.
Cutts on the stand!
Cutts apologizes for reading a statement. He doesn't want to loose his words. He wanted to go to college. He wanted to be mayor.
He had a child so he decided to take responsibility. He instilled that in Brianna and in Blake.
He always loved being around and working with kids.
He cannot explain what happened in June. It's a nightmare that will haunt me all of my days. Words can't explain the death of Jessie and my unborn daughter.
I am so sorry for Patty and Mr. Davis and ask forgiveness for the pain I caused you and the rest of your family.
I apologize to the community.
I apologize and ask forgiveness for what I did to Blake. I thank god for taking care of Blake all those long hours.
He apologizes to his family and friends. To Myisha and her family.
I hope to maintain a relationship with my family and my children.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I'm asking you to spare my life.
I have absolutely no compassion for this pond scum. He's really playing to the jury. He must have a cold again because I don't see any tears.
Jury is given a packet similar to the package to the one when deliberations began. They need to bring their luggage tomorrow. The prosecution will offer their closing tomorrow and you will then begin sentencing deliberation.
Jury needs to be in the jury area at 8:15am.
Judge reads the admonishment and releases the jury for day.
Well that’s it till tomorrow!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Bobby Cutts Murder Trial: Verdict Reached!
Newsnet5 is reporting a verdict has been reached and will be read at 10:40 am. I will be blogging about it in real time.
We see movement in the courtroom, and we have sound. I'm hoping my connection stays stable. Nope. It's still the wonky camera operators. We can see that a still photographer is setting up his tripod, and there is sound in the background.
I ask donchas how she is feeling and she says her stomach is in knots.
We hear the Judge is concerned that, "The sound is still on," and then we lose sound.
What a way to end the week. Last night, there was a guest on the Cleveland paper "shoutout" chat room who said a verdict had been reached. I didn't know whether or not to believe it. Anyone can say anything anonymously and they did not have to identify themselves in the chat room. The individual just posted as "Guest," which many do.
donchais here!
These are the charges against Cutts:
AGGRAVATED MURDER
2929.04(A)(5) DEATH PENALTY SPECIFICATION
2929.04(A)(7) DEATH PENALTY SPECIFICATION
2903.01 (B) AGGRAVATED MURDER
2929.04(A)(5) DEATH PENALTY SPECIFICATION
2929.04(A)(7) DEATH PENALTY SPECIFICATION
2929.04(A)(9) DEATH PENALTY SPECIFICATION
2903.01(C) AGGRAVATED MURDER
2929.04(A)(5) DEATH PENALTY SPECIFICATION
2929.04(A)(7) DEATH PENALTY SPECIFICATION
2929.04(A)(9) DEATH PENALTY SPECIFICATION
2911.11 (A) (1) AGGRAVATED BURGLARY F1
2927.01 (B) GROSS ABUSE OF A CORPSE F5
2927.01 (B) GROSS ABUSE OF A CORPSE F5
2919.22 (A) ENDANGERING CHILDREN M1
D: The families have entered the court!
S: The courtroom has filled up! It appears that the Judge addressed the families. And, it looks like there are complicated seating arrangements. Looks like the press was just let in.
D: Oh, my gosh! It's really happening.
S: Cutts has just been brought in. There is now a sound overlay reporting. The jurors took a smoke break, and then there was a verdict. Looks like Newsnet5 switched to live cameras, and not the computer run camera.
S: They will go live in the courtroom as soon as the Judge hits the sound I expect. Patty looks wiped out.
S: We are live! The Judge is speaking, everyone is there. Cutts is looking nervous. If anyone makes a cough, they will be removed. Judge is going to great lengths to try to maintain order. No interviews or photographs inside the Start County courthouse. Families will be escorted outside the courthouse so they can meet with the media.
S: The camera moves back and forth from Cutts to Patty Davis. The jurors are going to be let in now. Donchais says, "Wow! Look how many sheriffs they have."
S: Judge will ask the jurors some questions, and he put some information on the record. The jurors were sequestered under the supervision of his bailiffs. Jurors had no TV, radios, etc., and they were on a separate floor. Their telephone calls were monitored.
S: Have each one of you been sequestered during the duration of the trial. Have any of you NOT been sequestered during the trial. No affirmative response. During that time, were you under the influence of outside influences. Or were any of you, having outside influences that affected your verdict. No affirmitave response. Has anyone had any communication with you from the court, except when you were here in the court on the record? Or have any one of you received any information? There is not an affirmative response. More questions along this lines. Has anyone tried to influence your verdict in the jury room. No affirmative response.
S: A question is put to the alternates. No affirmative answer.
S: Juror # 492 was the foreperson. It's a male voice.
S: The Judge leafs through the verdict forms. More questions to the forperson about sequestration.
S: Donchais says, "Cutts isn't looking so cocky today. This better be guilty." I guess you can tell where she stands!
Count one: NOT GUILTY!
GUILTY on lesser count!
Count two: GUILTY!
Specification one to count two: Guilty! Unlawful termination of pregnancy.
Specification two to count two: Guilty! With aggravated burglary.
Specification three to count two: Guilty! Causing the death of unborn fetus under 13 years of age.
Count three: GUILTY! Aggravated murder!
Specification one to count three: Guilty!
Specification two to count three: Guilty!
Specification three to count three: Guilty!
Count four: GUILTY! Aggravated burglary!
Count five: GUILTY! Gross abuse of a corpse! (Jessie)
Count six: GUILTY! Gross abuse of a corpse! (Baby Chloe)
Count seven: GUILTY! Endangering children! (Blake)
S: So the question is, is Cutts eligible for the death penalty?
Trial now moves forward to the sentencing phase. And yes, he is still eligible for the death penalty. He doesn't avoid it.
Judge is speaking. Anything anyone wants to put on the record? The Judge is going to poll the jurors on each count.
Oh man, this will take awhile.
Many of the verdict forums were dated February 14th.
Donchais says, "The fact that he still faces death, I'm happy." I've never been a proponent of the death penalty, so I will be watching to see how the penalty phase plays out.
Wow. Newsnet5 cut their live camera feed, and we are now back to the computer camera feed.
Cutts is quite still. He has hardly moved or made an expression through all this polling of the jury. Cutts's attorneys whisper and confer during the jury polling.
Donchais and I wonder if new evidence can be presented at the penalty phase.
The jury has exited the courtroom. State, defense, anything you wish to put on the record at this time? The attorneys and Judge are conferring. Cutts was just looking over at his family. Now Cutts is looking over at the gallery again.
Attorney's are now sitting down. Defense now has a matter to bring to the Judge's attention. Judge asks Ranke to go to the podium.
We believe the jury's finding is inconsistent. Has to do with the specification of the findings, and the defense is requesting a mistrial. The jury has lost it's way, and we are asking to find a mistrial.
Mack now addresses the court. It appears that the jury is very confused. Because of the dates of the signings of the jury forms, the jury is very confused as to the aggravated burglary.
CRAP! Both donchias and I lost our feed. It froze. Back live. The Judge is quoting some cases about inconsistencies in verdict counts. The courtroom sound is terrible. They switched to outside the courtroom live and then switched back. We are back on the Judge.
Judge rules that they are NOT legally inconsistent verdicts.
Judge now asking the family of Cutts and the family of Davis to leave at this time. Everyone else asking to leave. And the feed to the courtroom has been cut, to go to an on air live report.
Donchais and I believe that Newsnet5 doesn't know WTF their doing.
There is now a live feed to outside the courtroom that they are feeding to TV.
Cutts's family chooses not to speak to the media at this time. Cutts's mother had a scarf over her face.
Crap. No sound. Don't forget that Newsnet5 is "pioneering" this live coverage.
Jessie's family will get to testify during the sentencing phase.
Defense attorney Mack: They are still under gag order. Once mitigation is over, then he can talk. Mack can't comment. Ranke, "We are all remaining strong and continuing our fight for Mr. Cutts." Mack, "....need to comply with the gag order at this time."
There were some tears on Bobby Cutts's side, but most were very silent, no emotion when the verdicts were read.
We are waiting to see if Jessie's family will speak to the press.
Donchais and I are not getting any pictures from Newsnet5, so maybe her family decided not to speak. If there's any news, we will try to bring it to you asap.
CNN.Crime
Newsnet5.com
We see movement in the courtroom, and we have sound. I'm hoping my connection stays stable. Nope. It's still the wonky camera operators. We can see that a still photographer is setting up his tripod, and there is sound in the background.
I ask donchas how she is feeling and she says her stomach is in knots.
We hear the Judge is concerned that, "The sound is still on," and then we lose sound.
What a way to end the week. Last night, there was a guest on the Cleveland paper "shoutout" chat room who said a verdict had been reached. I didn't know whether or not to believe it. Anyone can say anything anonymously and they did not have to identify themselves in the chat room. The individual just posted as "Guest," which many do.
donchais here!
These are the charges against Cutts:
AGGRAVATED MURDER
2929.04(A)(5) DEATH PENALTY SPECIFICATION
2929.04(A)(7) DEATH PENALTY SPECIFICATION
2903.01 (B) AGGRAVATED MURDER
2929.04(A)(5) DEATH PENALTY SPECIFICATION
2929.04(A)(7) DEATH PENALTY SPECIFICATION
2929.04(A)(9) DEATH PENALTY SPECIFICATION
2903.01(C) AGGRAVATED MURDER
2929.04(A)(5) DEATH PENALTY SPECIFICATION
2929.04(A)(7) DEATH PENALTY SPECIFICATION
2929.04(A)(9) DEATH PENALTY SPECIFICATION
2911.11 (A) (1) AGGRAVATED BURGLARY F1
2927.01 (B) GROSS ABUSE OF A CORPSE F5
2927.01 (B) GROSS ABUSE OF A CORPSE F5
2919.22 (A) ENDANGERING CHILDREN M1
D: The families have entered the court!
S: The courtroom has filled up! It appears that the Judge addressed the families. And, it looks like there are complicated seating arrangements. Looks like the press was just let in.
D: Oh, my gosh! It's really happening.
S: Cutts has just been brought in. There is now a sound overlay reporting. The jurors took a smoke break, and then there was a verdict. Looks like Newsnet5 switched to live cameras, and not the computer run camera.
S: They will go live in the courtroom as soon as the Judge hits the sound I expect. Patty looks wiped out.
S: We are live! The Judge is speaking, everyone is there. Cutts is looking nervous. If anyone makes a cough, they will be removed. Judge is going to great lengths to try to maintain order. No interviews or photographs inside the Start County courthouse. Families will be escorted outside the courthouse so they can meet with the media.
S: The camera moves back and forth from Cutts to Patty Davis. The jurors are going to be let in now. Donchais says, "Wow! Look how many sheriffs they have."
S: Judge will ask the jurors some questions, and he put some information on the record. The jurors were sequestered under the supervision of his bailiffs. Jurors had no TV, radios, etc., and they were on a separate floor. Their telephone calls were monitored.
S: Have each one of you been sequestered during the duration of the trial. Have any of you NOT been sequestered during the trial. No affirmative response. During that time, were you under the influence of outside influences. Or were any of you, having outside influences that affected your verdict. No affirmitave response. Has anyone had any communication with you from the court, except when you were here in the court on the record? Or have any one of you received any information? There is not an affirmative response. More questions along this lines. Has anyone tried to influence your verdict in the jury room. No affirmative response.
S: A question is put to the alternates. No affirmative answer.
S: Juror # 492 was the foreperson. It's a male voice.
S: The Judge leafs through the verdict forms. More questions to the forperson about sequestration.
S: Donchais says, "Cutts isn't looking so cocky today. This better be guilty." I guess you can tell where she stands!
Count one: NOT GUILTY!
GUILTY on lesser count!
Count two: GUILTY!
Specification one to count two: Guilty! Unlawful termination of pregnancy.
Specification two to count two: Guilty! With aggravated burglary.
Specification three to count two: Guilty! Causing the death of unborn fetus under 13 years of age.
Count three: GUILTY! Aggravated murder!
Specification one to count three: Guilty!
Specification two to count three: Guilty!
Specification three to count three: Guilty!
Count four: GUILTY! Aggravated burglary!
Count five: GUILTY! Gross abuse of a corpse! (Jessie)
Count six: GUILTY! Gross abuse of a corpse! (Baby Chloe)
Count seven: GUILTY! Endangering children! (Blake)
S: So the question is, is Cutts eligible for the death penalty?
Trial now moves forward to the sentencing phase. And yes, he is still eligible for the death penalty. He doesn't avoid it.
Judge is speaking. Anything anyone wants to put on the record? The Judge is going to poll the jurors on each count.
Oh man, this will take awhile.
Many of the verdict forums were dated February 14th.
Donchais says, "The fact that he still faces death, I'm happy." I've never been a proponent of the death penalty, so I will be watching to see how the penalty phase plays out.
Wow. Newsnet5 cut their live camera feed, and we are now back to the computer camera feed.
Cutts is quite still. He has hardly moved or made an expression through all this polling of the jury. Cutts's attorneys whisper and confer during the jury polling.
Donchais and I wonder if new evidence can be presented at the penalty phase.
The jury has exited the courtroom. State, defense, anything you wish to put on the record at this time? The attorneys and Judge are conferring. Cutts was just looking over at his family. Now Cutts is looking over at the gallery again.
Attorney's are now sitting down. Defense now has a matter to bring to the Judge's attention. Judge asks Ranke to go to the podium.
We believe the jury's finding is inconsistent. Has to do with the specification of the findings, and the defense is requesting a mistrial. The jury has lost it's way, and we are asking to find a mistrial.
Mack now addresses the court. It appears that the jury is very confused. Because of the dates of the signings of the jury forms, the jury is very confused as to the aggravated burglary.
CRAP! Both donchias and I lost our feed. It froze. Back live. The Judge is quoting some cases about inconsistencies in verdict counts. The courtroom sound is terrible. They switched to outside the courtroom live and then switched back. We are back on the Judge.
Judge rules that they are NOT legally inconsistent verdicts.
Judge now asking the family of Cutts and the family of Davis to leave at this time. Everyone else asking to leave. And the feed to the courtroom has been cut, to go to an on air live report.
Donchais and I believe that Newsnet5 doesn't know WTF their doing.
There is now a live feed to outside the courtroom that they are feeding to TV.
Cutts's family chooses not to speak to the media at this time. Cutts's mother had a scarf over her face.
Crap. No sound. Don't forget that Newsnet5 is "pioneering" this live coverage.
Jessie's family will get to testify during the sentencing phase.
Defense attorney Mack: They are still under gag order. Once mitigation is over, then he can talk. Mack can't comment. Ranke, "We are all remaining strong and continuing our fight for Mr. Cutts." Mack, "....need to comply with the gag order at this time."
There were some tears on Bobby Cutts's side, but most were very silent, no emotion when the verdicts were read.
We are waiting to see if Jessie's family will speak to the press.
Donchais and I are not getting any pictures from Newsnet5, so maybe her family decided not to speak. If there's any news, we will try to bring it to you asap.
CNN.Crime
Newsnet5.com
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Bobby Cutts Murder Trial: Deliberations
The jurors in the Bobby Cutts murder trial deliberated until 9:50 pm ET without reaching a verdict. CNN's In Session corespondent on the scene, Beth Karas, was kind enough to give me this brief update via email:
In California courthouses ~ at least in Los Angeles County ~ building security is managed by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. For a jury to be able to deliberate past 4:00 pm, the County would have to compensate quite a few sheriffs via overtime pay to maintain security for the building. I just can't see that happening, at least, not at the downtown courthouse. Maybe in some of the other outlying courthouses, but no way in downtown LA.
Latest CNN In Session Sidebar report from Beth Karas.
AHN.com
CNN.Crime
The jury went to the hotel to "freshen up" from 4:30-6:00. They intended to return at 6 and deliberate while eating dinner. Dinner was ordered but when jurors returned to the courthouse, they decided to eat downstairs (and not deliberate). They resumed deliberations at 7:00 pm. At 9:30 pm, we were told they were still hard at work. No notes.I have to say that I am impressed with this jury and the Ohio court in Stark County for letting this jury deliberate late into the evening. I'm actually quite surprised by this, but maybe that's because we do things differently here in Cali. I was in the courtroom for a day or two of deliberations in the Spector trial. Those jurors couldn't wait to get out of that jury room when 4:00 pm came around!
In California courthouses ~ at least in Los Angeles County ~ building security is managed by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. For a jury to be able to deliberate past 4:00 pm, the County would have to compensate quite a few sheriffs via overtime pay to maintain security for the building. I just can't see that happening, at least, not at the downtown courthouse. Maybe in some of the other outlying courthouses, but no way in downtown LA.
Latest CNN In Session Sidebar report from Beth Karas.
AHN.com
CNN.Crime
Bobby Cutts Murder Trial: Jury reaches a verdict on one count!
Updated4
According to Ohio.com:
Jurors late tonight asked a series of questions and in one they indicated they had reached a verdict on the first count of aggravated murder relating to the death of Jessie Marie Davis. The jury also asked if there was a lesser offense to consider on a charge of aggravated burglary.
Judge Charles E. Brown Jr. referred them to their instructions. They also asked about a list of contents of Davis' purse and to listen to a tape statement from a witness.
Update: 10:07 pm
I just don't know what to believe anymore. I can't find any source that is verifying this latest development. According to the WKYC.com blog, nothing happened today, and Patty Davis may not come back to court tomorrow to wait.
Update: February 14th, 6:40 am
The Ohio.com has changed their story last night to read:
Jurors in the Bobby Cutts Jr. trial indicated in a question Wednesday night to the judge that they might have reached a verdict on an aggravated murder charge.snip
Jurors late Wednesday asked a series of questions, and in one they insinuated they had reached a verdict on the first count of aggravated murder relating to the death of Jessie Marie Davis.Update: February 14th, 7:40 am
Newsnet5.com is reporting:
Jurors also asked Judge Brown if they had a verdict on Count 1 (Aggravated Murder of Jessie Davis), and then a juror had to be excused tomorrow, would they have to start deliberations again. The Judge told them that no juror may be replaced during deliberations.This is so confusing. What do you have alternates for? Donchais and I are totally puzzled over this latest development. Donchais was wondering, could it be that one of the jurors has come up with a ridiculous reason to be removed from serving verses a legitimate one? Or, could it be that a juror has had a change of heart on whether or not they can reach a verdict that could result in Cutts receiving the death penalty? Regardless, with the information we are getting, we don't have a clue as to what the Ohio guidelines are for when a juror can or cannot be dismissed during deliberations, or what Judge Brown meant by his answer.
From the trials that we've covered we can easily see how jurors get confused. We would be. Jury instructions are written by lawyers with all the legal speak they commonly use. Even Alan Jackson in his closing argument in the Spector trial, talked about how confusing jury instructions can be. In 2007, the entire California CALCRIM was rewritten to try to make them more understandable by the lay public. I don't know if they were that successful or not. However, where I think the Spector trial got stuck were the "additional" instructions that the defense requested, which I believe was a tactical move on their part. It's hard to ignore the fact that Riordan was one of the attorneys involved in rewriting CALCRIM.
Where donchais and I are currently in the dark is because we could not hear the majority of the jury instructions that were read in this trial. Apparently, the volume was turned down quite low on the sound system. Perhaps Judge Brown throwing that kitchen sink into the instructions is what has the jury confused.
Update: February 14th, 8:00 am
For a complete list of the jury questions submitted to the Judge, check the AHN.com.
We just realized one of the things we don't know is, what type of time frame all parties were given to get to court once all the verdicts have been reached. Is that something we just missed? Does anyone know?
CNN.Crime
In Session Beth Karas report. Beth also noticed like we did, the unusual configuration of the courtroom and where the jury box is situated. Beth has been in quite a few courtrooms over the years and she said she's never seen a courtroom like this before.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Bobby Cutts Murder Trial: Deliberations
After an excruciatingly long set of jury instructions, the jury was given the case yesterday at approximately 3 pm. Regarding the instructions, Judge Brown commented the day before that they threw everything in there including the kitchen sink. It took three hours for the instructions to be read into the record and Brown had to give the entire courtroom a break to stand and stretch their legs half way through the reading. The jury deliberated until 6 pm, which they will do each day until a verdict is reached. We are hoping they will reach one today.
Very little information has been released about the individual jurors. However, the Canton Repository has a synopsis of all the players in the case. From the Repository, donchais and I found this bit of information very interesting about Judge Brown:
Charles E. Brown Jr. has been a Stark County Common Pleas judge for seven years, gaining a reputation for his methodical approach to cases and formal courtroom demeanor.
Brown was a military prosecutor while in the U.S. Marine Corps. He also was the longtime chief of the Stark County Republican Party and ran a successful civil practice before being appointed a judge in 2001.
In retrospect, Brown does have a military demeanor about him and he ran his courtroom like a very tight ship. I personally can't get over the fact that the closing arguments were only one hour each. donchais has been searching all over the net and hasn't been able to find anything in the media that explains this. All we can come up with is our own speculation that Brown reviewed the case and felt it was so "cut" and dried that he could impose the one hour limit. Are there any Ohio attorneys out there who have been before Judge Brown and can tell us if this is how he consistently runs his courtroom? I know donchais was quite impressed with how efficiently this trial was run.
So what did you think of Bobby Cutts's testimony? Was he truthful on the stand? Do you think that was an accurate description of the events that unfolded on the morning of June 14th? WKYC had a body language expert review Cutts's testimony and give their opinion on whether Cutts was truthful or not.
One of our readers from Decatur, Georgia, was wondering about three murder charges when there were only two victims. Cutts was charged with three counts of aggravated murder because of the allegation that he killed two people during a burglary and because one of them was under thirteen - his unborn daughter. That's a kind of quirky law they have in Ohio.
Anyone have any guesses as to how long this jury will be out?
CNN.Crime
Very little information has been released about the individual jurors. However, the Canton Repository has a synopsis of all the players in the case. From the Repository, donchais and I found this bit of information very interesting about Judge Brown:
Charles E. Brown Jr. has been a Stark County Common Pleas judge for seven years, gaining a reputation for his methodical approach to cases and formal courtroom demeanor.
Brown was a military prosecutor while in the U.S. Marine Corps. He also was the longtime chief of the Stark County Republican Party and ran a successful civil practice before being appointed a judge in 2001.
In retrospect, Brown does have a military demeanor about him and he ran his courtroom like a very tight ship. I personally can't get over the fact that the closing arguments were only one hour each. donchais has been searching all over the net and hasn't been able to find anything in the media that explains this. All we can come up with is our own speculation that Brown reviewed the case and felt it was so "cut" and dried that he could impose the one hour limit. Are there any Ohio attorneys out there who have been before Judge Brown and can tell us if this is how he consistently runs his courtroom? I know donchais was quite impressed with how efficiently this trial was run.
So what did you think of Bobby Cutts's testimony? Was he truthful on the stand? Do you think that was an accurate description of the events that unfolded on the morning of June 14th? WKYC had a body language expert review Cutts's testimony and give their opinion on whether Cutts was truthful or not.
One of our readers from Decatur, Georgia, was wondering about three murder charges when there were only two victims. Cutts was charged with three counts of aggravated murder because of the allegation that he killed two people during a burglary and because one of them was under thirteen - his unborn daughter. That's a kind of quirky law they have in Ohio.
Anyone have any guesses as to how long this jury will be out?
CNN.Crime
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Bobby Cutts Murder Trial: Day Seven
Jessie’s entire family is all in court. Her brother is leaning forward with his hands over his face.
Judge and attorneys are going through the jury instructions.
I notice Bobby still has a lot of nice clothes. The camera is showing a close up of the family. Now an image of Bobby's father.
I imagine that closing argument will begin shortly after this task.
I notice what donchais has been saying all along. With the Judge standing on the court reporters platform, it makes him appear taller than everyone else.
Defense wants voluntary manslaughter added. Prosecution objects to that. Judge will not include.
Involuntary manslaughter, defense wants instruction. The judge tosses this instruction also.
No lesser count on the 3rd charge to be included.
So, Cutts is facing all 3 murders charges!
No rebuttal witnesses to be called!
Something else brought to his attention before the jury comes in? And the side bar starts.
The Jeopardy theme song starts to wind through my head, just waiting. Donchais points out to me the Stark Co. Prosecutor, John Ferrero. He's been at the prosecution table most of the time. The jury is now called. They sure do this a lot faster in Ohio. In Cali, we'd be still on cross-examination of Cutts!
Yeah Barr do the closing!
Barr is thanking the jury for their time and attention. Reasonable doubt is a concept. Is it reasonable to believe the evidence in this case? Barr does a good job explaining reasonable doubt to the jury.
To be fair, means to be fair to both the defense and to the State of Ohio. To apply the law to the evidence in this case, and to not consider the possible punishment. It means proof beyond a reasonable doubt. It's a high burden of proof, but it's not impossible. Unless you were there, and unless you saw with your own two eyes, there will be doubt. You have to distinguish between doubt and imaginary doubt. An application between reasonable and what could.
Barr gives an example of comparing it to crossing the street looking both ways and not considering the possibility of the Wizard of Oz characters coming into view. This defendant committed three counts of aggravated murder. If you use reason you, the twelve of you, will be firmly convinced of the defendants guilt.
This case isn't about the state of Ohio's burden to prove, that when he left Stephanie's house, if he had the idea to commit murder, it's if he formed that intent when he was actually in the house.
For 9 days, Cutts deceived everybody. LE, new reporters, his wife, and he pretended to search for a body when he knew exactly where it was.
There is no doubt that Bobby Cutts committed the crimes, the death of Jessie and her child.
The only reasonable explanation of what happened in that house was strangulation. Strangulation is personal. You have to be up close to strangle someone.
What does your reason and common sense tells you what happened in that house? It is that Bobby strangled Jessie. The law says you can't look into the defendants mind. Bobby strangles her, wraps her body in a comforter. It's 6, 6:30 in the morning, Think he was trying to hide that body from the neighbors? He immediately constructs an alibi. He drops her body in tall grass. After he dumps the body and after nine days, a police officer would know the body would decompose, he leads the police to it. You don't hide the body unless you are trying to hide evidence.
Cutts was already in debt. He knew that his wife wasn’t coming back and he would have to pay support for his daughter. He knew he had to pay support for Chloe.
Aggravated burglary, even though they are invited into the house, if they commit an assault, he becomes a trespasser at that point.
The state even allows you to infer, that the minute he starts to murder her, he then commits aggravated burglary. Reason and common sense tells us that Jessie doesn't say, okay Bobby you can stay in my house, the minute he tries to strangle her.
Barr says Cutts knew when he was strangling Jessie that not only was he killing her, he was killing Chloe. Barr said that if medical attention had come, the baby may have survived.
Child endangerment…Cutts left Blake alone for over 24 hours, substantial risk.
We have seen two very different stories here. You heard Myisha’s story and you have the evidence. He was able to sit here and formulate his story to fit the evidence.
For nine days he went about his normal life. Worked, slept, coached, bought his daughter a toy.
Bobby’s story is unbelievable. A man trained to handle emergencies. His reaction is the reaction of a person who has committed a crime and is trying to cover it up.
Blake couldn’t have poured it. He had no shoes on. Blake would have walked through it. He would have had chemical burns on his feet.
Bobby showed you how he opened the bleach, how he held it. There is no doubt that Bobby held the bottle. He told you he did.
Barr said that Cutts said that he didn't want Blake so "see his mom that way," so why didn't he close the bedroom door and take Blake with him? Reason and common sense would say that's the appropriate thing to do. NOT take the body, cover it up and put it in an open field, unless, he's trying to get way with murder. It's not reasonable. It doesn't make sense.
Jessie was 5’4”. Bobby is 6’. There is no way his elbow hit Jessie in the throat. She would have been struck in the face or the head.
His story about the phone. It's not reasonable. We know he got there around 5:30 am. The phone was turned off at 5:30. Not reasonable to think that Jessie turned that phone off when she got up. It comes down to, Myisha, whose version of the events differs so much from Bobby's.
"I have never see him like that. He was dysfunctional." I think anyone would be dysfunctional. Adrina corroborates Myisha; Bobby corroborates Myisha.
"He would start to speak in spurts. something bad happened. My baby's mom. In the back. She’s in the back. He used his arm."
Barr demonstrates Myisha's testimony about the arm movement on the witness stand.
This movement could cause strangulation after seven minutes. He called Jessie's phone at 7 am! When he lied to the police on two occasions, he certainly could remember what he said. But it's hard to remember the lies that you said.
"I was kind do mad. You could of at lest called, I could have gotten more sleep." He leaves a message when she's in the back of the truck, why? Because he's 'beginning to cover up. He's got Myisha's, now he's got phone calls. Better leave a message. He's upset. "Why didn't she bring him over?" At some point he called coach Garcia. You heard Garcia who said, Bobby said he was going to be a little bit late.
Barr is really doing a great job!
Again, hard to keep your stories straight. He stopped at some point and Myisha sees feet, wrapped in bedding Bobby tells her that he wrapped her up. What corroborates Myisha? Blake's statement. "Mommy's in the rug. Mommy broke the table." Not Bobby's statement that he fell on the bed. But Mommy did. "Mommy's crying." As Bobby's arm was around her neck and squeezing the life out of her I'm sure she was crying. Now how does Blake make this up?
What corroborates further that Blake saw what he saw. Buns in his bed. This wonderful father left Blake so food. A couple hamburger buns and some water. Do you think Blake got those out himself and put the plastic package back on the counter?
Maybe it was to appease him, because he just saw mommy murdered. That's not a reasonable conclusion that that Blake got those buns out himself.
Bobby has and explanation for everything, how convenient!
Barr keeps hammering on “an attempt to conceal” and Cutts’ action aren’t reasonable.
He didn't leave that body out on the road where it could be found. He sits there on the stand and tells you he had no intention to hide that body! Unreasonable!
What did he intend? The inference is was to destroy the evidence of this crime. Myisha said, Bobby said that "She bit me." Bobby explained it away with the fire pit. Not reasonable explanations. And then, after you've murdered this woman and her baby, thrown the body in the back of the truck, you've taken it and dumped it in a remote location where it cant' be found, he's worried about bugs on his windshield!!! Is that reasonable? He's worried about getting rid of evidence! Is that reasonable, or is it another attempt to hide the evidence?
Is that reasonable that he then sees this pillow in the back of his truck and then decides to throw it away? There were two white bags. Myshia said it was in that other white bag. A burgundy item with a pattern on it, she could see through the plastic. Somehow some way, Bobby got something on that, maybe it was blood and he needed to destroy that evidence too. So he took it with him in a plastic bag, and he threw that out. Again, attempt to conceal the evidence in the commission of a crime.
Myisha said he gave her 100 dollars. And then he wished he could give her more. He couldn't get to his bank. And then he stops and buys mulch. And that's what we find in the back of his truck. It all corroborates Myisha.
Bobby leaves another message on Jessie’s phone. Evidence of an alibi to conceal that fact of a cover-up.
Barr tells the jury that on June 16th (Saturday), Cutts called Jessie's mother and asked if Blake saw anything. Barr said, "Yeah, he did Bobby, he saw Mommy in a rug and he saw you mad."
This is so difficult on Jessie’s family. They all look so sad.
Only after LE told him they know he lied about where he was when he made the phone calls. Then he led the to the body.
Actions speak louder than words. In this case, Bobby's actions speak of consciousness of guilt. Let's look at consciousness of guilt. 11:58 on Friday, Stephanie sends him a text message and says, "you must be really going though a lot today."
Bobby says in a text message back, "I think my phone is tapped!"
Consciousness of guilt. Not only did he hide the body, but he kept the location secret for nine days. A close up of Jessie's Father is leaning forward, breaking down. Trying to compose himself.
Reason and common sense apply to all of this that Bobby Cutts completed three counts of aggravated murder. Don't let him benefit by his continued deception. Find him guilty as charged.
Very powerful closing. I am impressed!
Mack for the defense~
He thanks the jury for their attention to the case.
Are you outraged yet? Is it because you’ve seen the photos of the decomposing body? Is it the fact that Blake was left alone? The women they paraded through that he was having extramarital affairs? He a liar? That doesn’t make him a murderer. You have to be outraged. It doesn’t tell you the facts and circumstances around Jessie’s death.
Mack says that the jury may be outraged at what they've seen but that outrage does not mean that aggravated murder was committed.
Mack says there was no nice and clean evidence presented by the prosecution.
This whole bit about strangulation? Name one witness that came in here and said, “I can tell you with some certainty that Bobby strangled Jessie”.
The prosecution is playing to your emotions.
The prosecution took the low road bringing in all these women. They brought them in to prove his a liar and cheat and isn’t worth anything.
Richard Mitchell said Booby said something to the effect that, “I’m going to kill the bitch and throw in the woods.”
He couldn’t provide the context or the circumstance in which it was said. Mack is questioning the reliability of Richard Mitchell.
There was never a problem between Bobby and Jessie. He said that Jessie would have said something to her mother on the night of June 13th if there was a problem and that never happened.
Mack is recounting Cutts' testimony about what happened on the morning of June 14th - repeating that Bobby went to the house, announced his presence and went upstairs.
Mack tells the jury that after Bobby struck Jessie, he made the effort to go over to see if she was okay. He said that Bobby checked for a pulse and then began to panic. Mack said he still tried CPR on Jessie.
Bobby did not go to Jessie's house to commit murder. Mack said that in order for the State to prove aggravated murder, they have to prove that Bobby went to Jessie's with the intent to kill her and there's no evidence of that.
Mack said that people who commit murder do not take the authorities to the body. Mack said that Bobby gave in to his conscience -- he made a wrong decision and then a right decision.
Ranke is now finishing closing.
Saying that Cutts had no financial burden. He paid his bills on time. There is no financial pressure to commit murder.
Child support as motive for killing somebody is not reasonable.
She is intimating that Blake dumped the purse on the floor.
Bobby was treated as a suspect from the very beginning. He was the only interviewed and taped numerous times.
Ranke just said Cutts and Mitchell talked together a lot because they were friends! Cutts denied that yesterday, he said the golfed and coached but, they weren’t best friends!
Ranke is also saying that Blake was responsible for spilling all the bleach.
Ranke says there was no purposeful murder of the fetus.
Ranke is finished.
Sidebar before rebuttal…
Dennis Barr, will have 13 minutes left after the sidebar.
Barr says obviously Ms. Ranke blames Blake for a lot of this.
It’s not about the fact he didn’t clean up the house and pick the table up. It’s about aggravated murder.
Cutts had a pang of conscience after nine days? C’mon!
Barr says Bobby didn't voluntarily lead them to the body, he knew the gig was up and tried to make himself look better.
It’s not about us playing to your emotions its about using your common sense. Thank you!
Judge is released jury for lunch. They will return at 12:30 and when they return, he will give them the instructions, which will be lengthy.
The jury will begin deliberations this afternoon.
Mack and Ranke are asking the Judge to include manslaughter again. Denied!
The judge is now reading the 100 page instructions to the jury.
Awww, Bobby is yawning, obviously the jury instructions are boring him and putting him to sleep!
Holy cow, we have been reading for an hour and half and the Judge just said we have another hour or so. They are only on page 50!
3:05 pm - Well, that’s it. We are now on Verdict Watch!
Our minds are made up! How ‘bout yours?
If a verdict is reached before the end of this week, there will be no mitigation next week, the earliest that sentencing would begin to be decided is on Monday, February 25th. It's expected that the jury will deliberate until 6pm each evening.
Thanks Sprocket for getting up at 5am to help me!
Wow, Ohio is really strict with the amount of time you are allowed for closing arguments. Is that just this Judge or is this how it works in all Ohio courts? Does anyone have an answer to this question?
CNN In Session Commentary
Judge and attorneys are going through the jury instructions.
I notice Bobby still has a lot of nice clothes. The camera is showing a close up of the family. Now an image of Bobby's father.
I imagine that closing argument will begin shortly after this task.
I notice what donchais has been saying all along. With the Judge standing on the court reporters platform, it makes him appear taller than everyone else.
Defense wants voluntary manslaughter added. Prosecution objects to that. Judge will not include.
Involuntary manslaughter, defense wants instruction. The judge tosses this instruction also.
No lesser count on the 3rd charge to be included.
So, Cutts is facing all 3 murders charges!
No rebuttal witnesses to be called!
Something else brought to his attention before the jury comes in? And the side bar starts.
The Jeopardy theme song starts to wind through my head, just waiting. Donchais points out to me the Stark Co. Prosecutor, John Ferrero. He's been at the prosecution table most of the time. The jury is now called. They sure do this a lot faster in Ohio. In Cali, we'd be still on cross-examination of Cutts!
Yeah Barr do the closing!
Barr is thanking the jury for their time and attention. Reasonable doubt is a concept. Is it reasonable to believe the evidence in this case? Barr does a good job explaining reasonable doubt to the jury.
To be fair, means to be fair to both the defense and to the State of Ohio. To apply the law to the evidence in this case, and to not consider the possible punishment. It means proof beyond a reasonable doubt. It's a high burden of proof, but it's not impossible. Unless you were there, and unless you saw with your own two eyes, there will be doubt. You have to distinguish between doubt and imaginary doubt. An application between reasonable and what could.
Barr gives an example of comparing it to crossing the street looking both ways and not considering the possibility of the Wizard of Oz characters coming into view. This defendant committed three counts of aggravated murder. If you use reason you, the twelve of you, will be firmly convinced of the defendants guilt.
This case isn't about the state of Ohio's burden to prove, that when he left Stephanie's house, if he had the idea to commit murder, it's if he formed that intent when he was actually in the house.
For 9 days, Cutts deceived everybody. LE, new reporters, his wife, and he pretended to search for a body when he knew exactly where it was.
There is no doubt that Bobby Cutts committed the crimes, the death of Jessie and her child.
The only reasonable explanation of what happened in that house was strangulation. Strangulation is personal. You have to be up close to strangle someone.
What does your reason and common sense tells you what happened in that house? It is that Bobby strangled Jessie. The law says you can't look into the defendants mind. Bobby strangles her, wraps her body in a comforter. It's 6, 6:30 in the morning, Think he was trying to hide that body from the neighbors? He immediately constructs an alibi. He drops her body in tall grass. After he dumps the body and after nine days, a police officer would know the body would decompose, he leads the police to it. You don't hide the body unless you are trying to hide evidence.
Cutts was already in debt. He knew that his wife wasn’t coming back and he would have to pay support for his daughter. He knew he had to pay support for Chloe.
Aggravated burglary, even though they are invited into the house, if they commit an assault, he becomes a trespasser at that point.
The state even allows you to infer, that the minute he starts to murder her, he then commits aggravated burglary. Reason and common sense tells us that Jessie doesn't say, okay Bobby you can stay in my house, the minute he tries to strangle her.
Barr says Cutts knew when he was strangling Jessie that not only was he killing her, he was killing Chloe. Barr said that if medical attention had come, the baby may have survived.
Child endangerment…Cutts left Blake alone for over 24 hours, substantial risk.
We have seen two very different stories here. You heard Myisha’s story and you have the evidence. He was able to sit here and formulate his story to fit the evidence.
For nine days he went about his normal life. Worked, slept, coached, bought his daughter a toy.
Bobby’s story is unbelievable. A man trained to handle emergencies. His reaction is the reaction of a person who has committed a crime and is trying to cover it up.
Blake couldn’t have poured it. He had no shoes on. Blake would have walked through it. He would have had chemical burns on his feet.
Bobby showed you how he opened the bleach, how he held it. There is no doubt that Bobby held the bottle. He told you he did.
Barr said that Cutts said that he didn't want Blake so "see his mom that way," so why didn't he close the bedroom door and take Blake with him? Reason and common sense would say that's the appropriate thing to do. NOT take the body, cover it up and put it in an open field, unless, he's trying to get way with murder. It's not reasonable. It doesn't make sense.
Jessie was 5’4”. Bobby is 6’. There is no way his elbow hit Jessie in the throat. She would have been struck in the face or the head.
His story about the phone. It's not reasonable. We know he got there around 5:30 am. The phone was turned off at 5:30. Not reasonable to think that Jessie turned that phone off when she got up. It comes down to, Myisha, whose version of the events differs so much from Bobby's.
"I have never see him like that. He was dysfunctional." I think anyone would be dysfunctional. Adrina corroborates Myisha; Bobby corroborates Myisha.
"He would start to speak in spurts. something bad happened. My baby's mom. In the back. She’s in the back. He used his arm."
Barr demonstrates Myisha's testimony about the arm movement on the witness stand.
This movement could cause strangulation after seven minutes. He called Jessie's phone at 7 am! When he lied to the police on two occasions, he certainly could remember what he said. But it's hard to remember the lies that you said.
"I was kind do mad. You could of at lest called, I could have gotten more sleep." He leaves a message when she's in the back of the truck, why? Because he's 'beginning to cover up. He's got Myisha's, now he's got phone calls. Better leave a message. He's upset. "Why didn't she bring him over?" At some point he called coach Garcia. You heard Garcia who said, Bobby said he was going to be a little bit late.
Barr is really doing a great job!
Again, hard to keep your stories straight. He stopped at some point and Myisha sees feet, wrapped in bedding Bobby tells her that he wrapped her up. What corroborates Myisha? Blake's statement. "Mommy's in the rug. Mommy broke the table." Not Bobby's statement that he fell on the bed. But Mommy did. "Mommy's crying." As Bobby's arm was around her neck and squeezing the life out of her I'm sure she was crying. Now how does Blake make this up?
What corroborates further that Blake saw what he saw. Buns in his bed. This wonderful father left Blake so food. A couple hamburger buns and some water. Do you think Blake got those out himself and put the plastic package back on the counter?
Maybe it was to appease him, because he just saw mommy murdered. That's not a reasonable conclusion that that Blake got those buns out himself.
Bobby has and explanation for everything, how convenient!
Barr keeps hammering on “an attempt to conceal” and Cutts’ action aren’t reasonable.
He didn't leave that body out on the road where it could be found. He sits there on the stand and tells you he had no intention to hide that body! Unreasonable!
What did he intend? The inference is was to destroy the evidence of this crime. Myisha said, Bobby said that "She bit me." Bobby explained it away with the fire pit. Not reasonable explanations. And then, after you've murdered this woman and her baby, thrown the body in the back of the truck, you've taken it and dumped it in a remote location where it cant' be found, he's worried about bugs on his windshield!!! Is that reasonable? He's worried about getting rid of evidence! Is that reasonable, or is it another attempt to hide the evidence?
Is that reasonable that he then sees this pillow in the back of his truck and then decides to throw it away? There were two white bags. Myshia said it was in that other white bag. A burgundy item with a pattern on it, she could see through the plastic. Somehow some way, Bobby got something on that, maybe it was blood and he needed to destroy that evidence too. So he took it with him in a plastic bag, and he threw that out. Again, attempt to conceal the evidence in the commission of a crime.
Myisha said he gave her 100 dollars. And then he wished he could give her more. He couldn't get to his bank. And then he stops and buys mulch. And that's what we find in the back of his truck. It all corroborates Myisha.
Bobby leaves another message on Jessie’s phone. Evidence of an alibi to conceal that fact of a cover-up.
Barr tells the jury that on June 16th (Saturday), Cutts called Jessie's mother and asked if Blake saw anything. Barr said, "Yeah, he did Bobby, he saw Mommy in a rug and he saw you mad."
This is so difficult on Jessie’s family. They all look so sad.
Only after LE told him they know he lied about where he was when he made the phone calls. Then he led the to the body.
Actions speak louder than words. In this case, Bobby's actions speak of consciousness of guilt. Let's look at consciousness of guilt. 11:58 on Friday, Stephanie sends him a text message and says, "you must be really going though a lot today."
Bobby says in a text message back, "I think my phone is tapped!"
Consciousness of guilt. Not only did he hide the body, but he kept the location secret for nine days. A close up of Jessie's Father is leaning forward, breaking down. Trying to compose himself.
Reason and common sense apply to all of this that Bobby Cutts completed three counts of aggravated murder. Don't let him benefit by his continued deception. Find him guilty as charged.
Very powerful closing. I am impressed!
Mack for the defense~
He thanks the jury for their attention to the case.
Are you outraged yet? Is it because you’ve seen the photos of the decomposing body? Is it the fact that Blake was left alone? The women they paraded through that he was having extramarital affairs? He a liar? That doesn’t make him a murderer. You have to be outraged. It doesn’t tell you the facts and circumstances around Jessie’s death.
Mack says that the jury may be outraged at what they've seen but that outrage does not mean that aggravated murder was committed.
Mack says there was no nice and clean evidence presented by the prosecution.
This whole bit about strangulation? Name one witness that came in here and said, “I can tell you with some certainty that Bobby strangled Jessie”.
The prosecution is playing to your emotions.
The prosecution took the low road bringing in all these women. They brought them in to prove his a liar and cheat and isn’t worth anything.
Richard Mitchell said Booby said something to the effect that, “I’m going to kill the bitch and throw in the woods.”
He couldn’t provide the context or the circumstance in which it was said. Mack is questioning the reliability of Richard Mitchell.
There was never a problem between Bobby and Jessie. He said that Jessie would have said something to her mother on the night of June 13th if there was a problem and that never happened.
Mack is recounting Cutts' testimony about what happened on the morning of June 14th - repeating that Bobby went to the house, announced his presence and went upstairs.
Mack tells the jury that after Bobby struck Jessie, he made the effort to go over to see if she was okay. He said that Bobby checked for a pulse and then began to panic. Mack said he still tried CPR on Jessie.
Bobby did not go to Jessie's house to commit murder. Mack said that in order for the State to prove aggravated murder, they have to prove that Bobby went to Jessie's with the intent to kill her and there's no evidence of that.
Mack said that people who commit murder do not take the authorities to the body. Mack said that Bobby gave in to his conscience -- he made a wrong decision and then a right decision.
Ranke is now finishing closing.
Saying that Cutts had no financial burden. He paid his bills on time. There is no financial pressure to commit murder.
Child support as motive for killing somebody is not reasonable.
She is intimating that Blake dumped the purse on the floor.
Bobby was treated as a suspect from the very beginning. He was the only interviewed and taped numerous times.
Ranke just said Cutts and Mitchell talked together a lot because they were friends! Cutts denied that yesterday, he said the golfed and coached but, they weren’t best friends!
Ranke is also saying that Blake was responsible for spilling all the bleach.
Ranke says there was no purposeful murder of the fetus.
Ranke is finished.
Sidebar before rebuttal…
Dennis Barr, will have 13 minutes left after the sidebar.
Barr says obviously Ms. Ranke blames Blake for a lot of this.
It’s not about the fact he didn’t clean up the house and pick the table up. It’s about aggravated murder.
Cutts had a pang of conscience after nine days? C’mon!
Barr says Bobby didn't voluntarily lead them to the body, he knew the gig was up and tried to make himself look better.
It’s not about us playing to your emotions its about using your common sense. Thank you!
Judge is released jury for lunch. They will return at 12:30 and when they return, he will give them the instructions, which will be lengthy.
The jury will begin deliberations this afternoon.
Mack and Ranke are asking the Judge to include manslaughter again. Denied!
The judge is now reading the 100 page instructions to the jury.
Awww, Bobby is yawning, obviously the jury instructions are boring him and putting him to sleep!
Holy cow, we have been reading for an hour and half and the Judge just said we have another hour or so. They are only on page 50!
3:05 pm - Well, that’s it. We are now on Verdict Watch!
Our minds are made up! How ‘bout yours?
If a verdict is reached before the end of this week, there will be no mitigation next week, the earliest that sentencing would begin to be decided is on Monday, February 25th. It's expected that the jury will deliberate until 6pm each evening.
Thanks Sprocket for getting up at 5am to help me!
Wow, Ohio is really strict with the amount of time you are allowed for closing arguments. Is that just this Judge or is this how it works in all Ohio courts? Does anyone have an answer to this question?
CNN In Session Commentary
Monday, February 11, 2008
Bobby Cutts Murder Trial: Day Six
I didn't mean to hurt her!
Defense presents their case this morning. Witnesses for the defense should take up most of the day. Closing arguments should start tomorrow morning. Will Cutts take the stand today?
Defense calls Kylie Graham, a criminalist at the Stark County Crime Lab. She works with biological stains and DNA typing.
Ranke: Did you work on the Jessie Davis case?
A: Yes I was called to the Davis home.
Q: Were items from taken from any other location?
A: Yes
Q: Did you test items from the Cutts home?
A: Yes, clothing articles and shoes.
Graham tested the clothing for blood specifically. No blood was detected so no DNA typing was done.
Q: Did you find any bleach on those articles?
A: No.
There were some presumptive tests that showed up positive for blood but later tests could not confirm that blood was there.
No further questions.
Harnett asks Graham that the items from the Cutts house was collected on the 20th, a week after Jessie disappeared.
A: Yes
Q: Some of the items were collected from a washing machine?
A; Yes, I was aware of that.
Q: Washing would impede detecting blood or bleach?
A: Correct
Ranke: Some of the items weren’t clean, correct?
A: Correct.
No further questions. No jury questions.
Witness excused.
Next witness, Gary Rini, independent forensic scientist.
He is a former Denver police officer and has also received specialized training in blood analysis and luminol. Very extensive CV.
Rini says he normally testifies for the prosecution.
He gives an extensive definition in the use of luminol.
Rini says that even with bleach, luminol could still detect the presence of blood. Even if a full bottle of bleach was spilled, blood would be detected because the bleach would cause the blood to spread.
Rini is shown photos of the rug and asks if it appears someone was trying to clean up. He says no, the pattern doesn’t appear to indicate a cleanup.
Q: Does bleach speed up the decomposition of a body?
A: No, I’ve never heard that.
Q: If machine-washed, would you still be able to detect blood on clothing?
A: Yes, if you know what you are doing.
No further questions.
Hartnett asks as an independent, you get hired by defense teams? Yes, both defense and prosecution.
Q: The photos of the carpet that were shown to you, you have no idea why the bleach was poured on the carpet?
A: No I don’t.
No further questions. Jury has questions.
I have to say, I still don’t feel the defense is very effective!
Q: In your experience have you ever seen blood at the scene where a person has been killed by asphyxiation?
A: No, I wouldn’t expect to unless there was blood letting at the time.
Witness is excused.
Next witness is Officer Rick Stauffer. Deputy with Stark County Sheriffs Office.
Mack: What did you do in this investigation?
A: He became involved around the 19th.
Q: Did you conduct an interview a Michelle Foreman?
A: Yes, I think she was the ex-wife of Richard Mitchell.
Q: You were trying to locate Mitchell to interview him?
A: Yes.
Q: Who did you interview at Allstate? (Jessie’s employer)
A: Yes, I did 4-5 phone interviews.
Q: Who did you speak with?
A: I can’t tell without looking at my report.
Q Did you interview a Terrell Davis?
A: Yes, I believe he had a former relationship to Jessie.
Q: When did you interview Mr. Mitchell?
A: I think a week after the initial report,
Wow, this deputy says he reviewed his report yesterday and today and he can’t remember squat!
Mack is giving Stauffer a copy of his report to refresh his memory.
Q: He did you interview in connection with the disappearance of Jessie Davis?
Sidebar…
Q: After reviewing your report can you tell us who you interviewed from All State?
Stauffer is again going through his statement, sheesh.
Q: What was the relationship of Michelle Foreman with Richard Mitchell?
Another sidebar…
Disregard the last question!
Q: Was he a person of interest or a suspect?
A: A person of interest is anyone you want to talk to for information.
Another sidebar…
Q: Is it possible you got the name of Michelle Forman through phone records?
A: It’s possible, I don’t recall.
Q: Did you find that Michelle Forman had a child with Mr. Mitchell?
A: Yes, I believe so.
Boy, this guy isn’t the brightest crayon in the box! Have no idea what the defense thinks this guy brings to their case.
Yet another sidebar…
No further questions.
Hartnett: You interviewed Richard Mitchell because you found out his was one of Bobby Cutts’ best friends?
A: Yes.
Witness excused.
Next witness is Sergeant Eric Weisburn again.
Q: You went through phone records in this case.
A: Yes I did.
Q: You got a number of phone records in this case.
A: Yes.
Q: What was the original source of the phone records?
A: Numbers given to me by Cutts from his cell phones and home phone
Q: Then you went out and got his records?
A: That’s correct.
Weisburn said that he also used Jessie Davis' cell phone records to put names on a list.
Q: You spoke to Richard Mitchell?
A: Yes.
Q: Did you subpoena phone records for Richard Mitchell?
A: Yes we did.
There are two phone lists. A list of the people who owned phones and another list of people who spoke on those phones.
No further questions.
Hartnett: Are you aware that when you call this number, Richard Mitchell answers or his voicemail does?
A: Yes
No more questions. No jury questions.
Witness is excused, but may be recalled.
Sidebar called…jury sent to early lunch so the court can settle some matters. Court resumes at 12:45
Just heard there are only 2 more witnesses for the defense! His former partner at the police department? So, will the other one be Cutts himself?
There is approval by all parties of all the jury sequestering documents the court has prepared.
Next witness called, Bobby Cutts, OMG!
Cutts met Jessie, February or Mach 2004 at a nightclub. They spent the evening together and had sexual relations. Cutts was married but separated at the time. Cutts found out from a friend that Jessie was pregnant with Blake. He found out about Blake a few days after the birth. Cutts was happy to have a son. He always wanted a son. His nickname for Blake is Thunder.
Once Blake was born, he took a paternity test in April 2005. Claims he gave Jessie money for Blake before the paternity test and he saw him weekly.
Kelly accepted Blake into the family. There was no friction about Blake’s birth.
Jessie and Kelly had problems? Yes.
Jessie had placed her underwear in Kelly’s drawer.
Did you confront Jessie about the underwear? No.
Kelly and he separated again in 2005 and Bobby went back to Jessie. Jessie lost a baby in 2005.
Jessie contacted Kelly several times about having sex with Cutts. Cutts told Jessie to stop calling Kelly because it was causing problems at home.
In November 2006 Kelly and he had problems again and he was intimate with Jessie again. He said there were no expectations for him to leave his family with Kelly. He said that Jessie told him that she was seeing other people. He said that after Jessie called Kelly again, Kelly told him that Jessie was pregnant again. He said that based on the time frame, that the child could have been his. He said he told Jessie that he would take care of the child if it was his, just like he took care of Blake. He said he wasn't sure at the time if it was his since he believed she was having other relationships.
Kelly left in February because she no longer wanted to deal with Jessie and another child of Bobby’s. He was still seeing Blake at least once a week.
Any fights between you and Jessie between February and June 2007?
Was Richard Mitchell your best friend? No we golfed and coached together, but he was not my best friend.
Cutts said that he never represented to anyone that he would ever cause harm to anyone. He said that Richard Mitchell's statement had no base behind it. He said he would never joke about killing someone and throwing them in the woods.
Did you hear the statement by Mr. Mitchell? Yes.
Did you wonder why Mitchell…objection, sustained.
When Mitchell made the statement..objection
Sidebar…
Do you consider him your best friend? No I do not.
Bobby said that in the eight months that he's been in jail, Richard Mitchell never visited him.
In June 2007, what was your relationship with Jessie? The same as always.
Did you get a text message from Jessie on June 10th? Yes, she said that she may need me to watch Blake. She was maybe going to the hospital because she thought she might me going into labor. He went to the house for about 20 minutes; she was not in labor.
He said that he decided that he could watch Blake on Wednesday, June 13th or on Thursday, June 14th. He said that he and Jessie had decided that on Monday the 11th.
On the 10th, Myisha asked to borrow $100 because she had to move. Cutts told her she could have $20 for watching Blake on the 14th because he remembered he had to football practice, but had to repay the $80.
Cutts said he called Jessie after the 2nd game to tell her that he was going to Champs bar and that if he had anything to drink, he would wait until the next morning to get Blake. He said he then went to Champs and got there around 8:30-9:00pm. He said that Ladson was already there.
Cutts said that after going inside, he ordered food and a Corona. He said he had 4 or 5 beers in the four hours that he was there. He was at Champs till 1am.
After he left Champs on June 14th, he went to Stephanie Hawthorne’s. They watched TV in her room. They both fell asleep. He woke up around 2 am and he decided to go home because he had a lot to do and had to pick up Blake early in the morning.
He says he got up at 5:20 am to get ready to pick Blake up at 6am. He went to Jessie’s’, he went through the garage and into the house.
He saw her purse on the floor, but didn’t think anything of it. He called Jessie’s name. She said I’m up here. He asked her to get Blake ready to go.
She took her time to get up. He helped her get up off the floor. She’s kind of standing around getting her bearings. He told her to hurry up. She said if you weren’t out with your friends all night, you wouldn’t be hurrying me now. She said quit rushing me.
He said you know what, I can get Blake this weekend and started to leave and Jessie grabbed him by the shirt and said you can’t leave.
She stepped in front of him twice to prevent him from leaving. He said Jessie pushed him back. He put his finger up his nose and pointed at her face and she bit him. I couldn’t believe she bit me so hard. It was a joke; I wasn’t going to wipe my nose on her.
She grabbed me and I pulled my arm back and…Cutts just very dramatically burst into a crying jag. He said he just wanted to leave. He swung his elbow so she couldn’t grab him anymore.
Oh what a bunch of crap.
He was trying to get her arms off of him.
She's 9 months pregnant! If someone believes that they've got a big ol' hole in their head!
His elbow connected with Jessie’s throat area and she hit the ground. Harder, than he expected her to fall. He is still crying and Judge calls a sidebar.
Cutts has removed his glasses and is holding a tissue over his eyes.
He’s doing a great acting job here, but he has had months to practice.
Cutts said he didn’t see Jessie fall; he was walking to the door. He heard her fall and he went over to her and asked if she was all right. She didn’t respond. I shook her and she didn’t respond to that.
He checked for a pulse in her neck.
Sidebar…
He tried to administer CPR. She didn’t respond.
Was she bleeding anywhere from what you could see? No.
The crying act seems to be a bit forced to me.
He thought maybe she was just knocked out. He knew she didn’t have smelling salts so he looked for alcohol, but found the bottle of bleach. He poured bleach in the cap and put it under her nose.
What’s going through your head at this time? I thought what’s going on? I stand up and start crying and I collapsed onto her bed. I thinking, “how am I going to explain this?” I can’t believe anything like this could happen.
What’s the next thing you did? I decided to leave and get out of there.
Was Blake awake at anytime during all this? No not that I know. I decided I couldn’t leave Blake to find his mom that way. I checked on Blake and he was asleep.
I was pacing and trying to think what to do. That’s when I thought about getting Myisha to watch Blake. He wrapped Jessie and placed her in the truck. He concluded she was dead.
Why didn’t you call 911? I couldn’t get her cell phone to work.
“This can’t be happening, I’ve never hurt anyone.”
Why did you place Jessie in the bed of the truck? I just did.
He didn’t remember putting Jessie’s phone in the truck.
Was all of the bleach spilled out of the bottle? No.
Why didn’t you call the police? I didn’t know what to think. Like how the hell am I going to explain this?
Did you secure the home before you left? Yeah, I closed the garage and left through the back door so I had a way to get back in.
He got to Myisha’s and he told her to come with him now and she got in the truck. Is she aware that Jessie is in the truck? No.
If you had planed on killing Jessie, would you have involved Myisha? Objection!
Disregard the last question.
Why did you pick up Myisha? To watch Blake.
We ended up driving north on 77 to go back to Jessie’s house. I thought, I just moved her body, how the hell am I going to explain that. I just kept driving.
He tells Myisha, man, something bad happened. I just keep driving north. I looked at the clock and saw it was 7:10. 7:10 was the time Jessie had to leave. I called her phone. I don’t know why I called her phone.
Were you trying to conceal what happened? Objection! Overruled.
No, I wasn’t trying to conceal what happened. I wouldn’t have picked up Myisha if I was trying to conceal something.
He says he turns south to head back home. Myisha had to use the restroom so he stopped. They are about to get back on the highway when a State Trooper drove by and he panicked.
They are driving around back roads trying to get back to Canton. He tells Myisha he can’t keep driving around with Jessie’s body in the truck.
He sees a dirt road and drives into the park. He dumped Jessie’s body.
Myisha asked him what he was going to do? He says I don’t know. As he got into the truck, Jessie’s phone fell out of his pocket. He tries to throw the phone out the window.
Why? It doesn’t work, why would I need it?
He had Myisha throw the phone out of the truck.
He stopped so Myisha could get cigarettes at a store with a car wash and he sprayed his truck off because there were bugs and dirt on it.
He said he kept saying, "This is not real, this cannot be happening, this is a bad dream."
Cutts said when he went to turn around, he got out to see how much room he had and saw a pillow from Jessie's house still in the truck. He saw a dumpster and threw the pillow and a bag of trash that was in his truck into the dumpster. He said then he headed back toward Canton.
Cutts said he said to himself, if he just went on with his normal day, it would all go away. He said that when he looked at the clock, it said 8:40am and he realized he was going to be late for football practice. He left the coach a message that he'd be late. He then called Stephanie Hawthorne, since her son's on his team. He said he wanted to let someone know he'd be late. He kept heading toward home with Myisha still in the truck.
Cutts said he stopped to pick up mulch because he remembered that he was supposed to mulch that day. Then he went home and got in the shower and washed and washed and washed and washed. He said that he was trying to wash everything away.
Cutts said that while getting out of the shower, a bandage fell off his finger. The finger had been cut the previous day while doing yard work. He said it’s on the opposite hand from the one that Jessie bit. He said he noticed scratches on his chest from where Jessie had grabbed him.
He left his house after showering. Cutts said he went to coach basketball and then went to work at 10pm. His regular shift was 10pm - 8am.
What’s going on in your mind about Blake at this time? In ten years time I never didn’t think about being a parent.
He went to the bank and signed papers. He went and picked up Brianna and went back home to mulch.
Cutts said that he took Myisha home and went back to his house to start mulching with his daughter. She didn't want to mulch so he bought her a Sno Cone maker so that she would help him. He said they went back and started to mulch. He said Kelly came by around 3:30pm to pick up Brianna.
Cutts said that was the first time that he was at home. He said he was replaying the morning in his head. He said he was supposed to coach basketball later that day and also go to work. He said while he was home alone, he kept telling himself, "this isn't real." He said if he called Jessie, everything would be all right. He said he called her phone and left her a message and didn't remember what he said. He said he was hoping that when she answered, "this whole thing would be over" and it wasn't.
Myisha called and asked if he was all right. He said, no I’m not all right. I need to get my son. He said he left work early that day, about 7:45am on June 15th. He said he was heading to Jessie's house to pick up Blake. He said on the way there, he got a call from her (Jessie's) sister. She said, "Jessie's missing, hurry up, get here."
Cutts said that when he got there, Jessie's mom and sister Audrey were there along with a Stark County Deputy and Blake. He said when he went inside, he was hoping to see Jessie and it would all be over. He went with the Deputy into the house and saw bleach all over the bedroom. He said he presumed that Blake was the one who put the bleach there.
Cutts said he didn’t tell the truth to the deputy because of the way the deputy was responding to him. He didn't tell him the rest of what happened because he didn't want Myisha to be in trouble.
He called Myisha up a told her to tell LE that he brought her straight to the house till he could figure out what to do.
He called Myisha up a few times to see if she was ok.
But, he sure as hell didn’t think about Blake, did he?
Cutts said that on Saturday, the 16th, the news media started showing up at his house and he started getting phone calls from a bunch of people. He said Myisha came over that day - Bobby's cousin Larry picked her up to bring her over. Cutts said she came by to see if he was okay.
Cutts’ mother went and talked to Patty. She told Bobby that while she was there, Jessie’s dad called and said he was going to kill him.
Disregard the witness’s last statement.
Did you at some time decide to lead the authorities to Jessie? That Friday night after I spoke with the FBI. He said because both families had been through so much, he had to end it. On Saturday, he and his attorney went to the FBI office and told them where the body was. He said he wanted them to find the body and for, "this all to be over."
Cutts has continued to cry most of the time. Cross ought to be a pip!
No further questions.
He couldn't remember exactly where it was but after searching, he saw the location and told them to stop. He said that he had no idea that Jessie's body would end up looking the way that it did. He said that one of the reasons that he wanted to show the body was to show that he didn't do it on purpose.
Barr asks, Mr. Cutts do you have a cold? No.
Because I don’t see any tears! Bam!
Objection. Disregard.
Did you cry this much when you dumped Jessie’s body? Yes, I did cry.
Cutts said that he did have sexual relations with other people while he was still with Kelly (and not while they were separated).
Cutts said that between the 16th and 22nd of June, Richard Mitchell was at his house a few times and set up the interview with the Canton Repository without his knowledge. Cutts also said that he listed Mitchell as a reference on two loan applications
Barr is really chewing Cutts up!
Barr gets into how much money Cutts owed. You knew you would have to pay child support for Brianna. I don’t know that.
And there was a chance you would have to pay for Chloe also? I guess so.
Uh oh, Cutts just said that when he went to Jessie’s, she was in pink pajamas. She was found in a camisole top and Capri pants!
She stepped in front of you 3 times? Yes, 3 times.
She grabbed you where? My arm.
Barr is tripping Cutts up as to how Jessie got hit. Now Cutts say she grabbed him again. Barr says, “oh now she grabbed you 4 times?
She have a cut on her head or anything? No.
I heard her hit the floor. You went over and asked her if she was ok? Yes.
You got no response? No.
You felt for a pulse? Yes.
You did CPR? For a couple minutes.
You couldn’t turn Jessie’s phone on? No, I couldn’t figure out how to turn it on. It’s not like my phone.
When you a charge your phone do you turn it off? Yes.
How did you spill the bleach? When I went to stand up, I kicked it over.
How much spilled out? I don’t remember but there was still a good amount in it. Cutts say he didn’t spill as much bleach as show in the picture.
Why did you put the comforter around here before you put her in the truck? It made it easier to carry her.
Or was it because you didn’t want the neighbors to see you carrying a body? I didn’t care bout the neighbors.
Why didn’t you call the police? I didn’t think about it.
Blake is sleeping all this time? Yes.
How does Blake know mommy is in the rug?
Disregard the last question.
You drive around in the truck with Jessie in the back and the pillow and a bag of garbage? Yes.
You said Sergeant Wiesburn was kind of mean? I don’t recall what I said about Sergeant Wiesburn.
Barr asks about the 7:11 call to Jessie, he phone was in your pocket? Whose phone, Jessie?
You touched the bleach bottle twice? Yes.
Were you wearing gloves? No!
There were no prints on the bottle!!!!
You took Jessie out of truck and left her out in the open? Yes.
In the sun and the heat? Yes.
You’ve seen a dead animal by the road and what happens to its body day by day? Yes.
The bugs are so bad you have to suddenly stop to wash your truck. And Blake is sitting home all alone? Yes.
You sprayed the truck bed out? I didn’t purposely spray out the bed.
You bought mulch; you picked up your daughter you went to the store. You didn’t care about Blake being alone. Cutts said that at that time, Blake was not the top priority!
You told Myisha to lie to LE? Yes!
You helped search for Jessie’s body and all the time you knew they were looking in the wrong area for her? Yes.
Nine days after you dumped Jessie’s body, you decided to tell where her body was? Yes.
Twice you had the opportunity to tell LE where Jessie’s body and you didn’t? Yes.
During that week you played a lot of Playstation. I was moping around and people told me I should do something.
On Thursday you called Jessie’s phone again, the one you through out the window. Yes.
You knew she couldn’t answer the phone.
Do you know what happens to babies in the womb when the mother dies? No.
Do you think Chloe died when Jessie died? I don’t know
No further questions.
Mack: Did you intend to harm Jessie’s fetus? No.
Once you couldn’t revive Jessie, what was going through your mind? That she was dead.
Did you express to anyone that you wouldn’t take care of the new baby? No.
Were you up to date with paying your bills? Yes.
Step down and give us a demonstration of what happened in that room. This time, Cutts looks like he has his story straight.
Did Jessie have a full head of hair? Yes.
Would you have known if she hit her head without feeling her scalp? No.
Did you ever check her scalp? No.
At what point did you conclude that Jessie was not living? When she didn’t respond.
Why didn’t you just drive her to the location and bury her? Because I didn’t think.
What was Myisha supposed to do, help you? Myisha got involved because I needed her to watch Blake.
Any time you were bleeding? No.
Did you get any bleach on you?
On the 14th, you went to the bank? Yes.
How much money were you given? $4000.
Did you offer it to Myisha? No.
No further questions.
How long would it have taken you to run downstairs and grab your phone and call 911? Maybe 10 seconds.
And you didn’t do it? No.
You didn’t leave her body in the road or the short grass because you didn’t want anyone to see it? I wasn’t hiding it.
You never told anyone for all those days where Jessie was? I made a bad, week long decision.
That was 9 days Mr. Cutts, thank you.
The jury has questions.
As I’m sure we all do!
Why didn’t you take Myisha to Jessie’s home to watch Blake? That was my intent but I panicked.
You said in wasn’t your intention to dump Jessie’s body?
Did you have a key to Jessie’s? No.
Is Richard your friend? No
Is Myisha your friend today? Yes.
Did you ever tell Myisha it was an accident or anyone else? I believe she said that in several of her statements.
What color was Jessie’s phone? Silver.
Why didn’t you just tell the truth? I didn’t think anyone would believe me.
No further questions.
Jurors are being give the sequester packages.
Sprocket and I will report on the Closing statements tomorrow!
Defense presents their case this morning. Witnesses for the defense should take up most of the day. Closing arguments should start tomorrow morning. Will Cutts take the stand today?
Defense calls Kylie Graham, a criminalist at the Stark County Crime Lab. She works with biological stains and DNA typing.
Ranke: Did you work on the Jessie Davis case?
A: Yes I was called to the Davis home.
Q: Were items from taken from any other location?
A: Yes
Q: Did you test items from the Cutts home?
A: Yes, clothing articles and shoes.
Graham tested the clothing for blood specifically. No blood was detected so no DNA typing was done.
Q: Did you find any bleach on those articles?
A: No.
There were some presumptive tests that showed up positive for blood but later tests could not confirm that blood was there.
No further questions.
Harnett asks Graham that the items from the Cutts house was collected on the 20th, a week after Jessie disappeared.
A: Yes
Q: Some of the items were collected from a washing machine?
A; Yes, I was aware of that.
Q: Washing would impede detecting blood or bleach?
A: Correct
Ranke: Some of the items weren’t clean, correct?
A: Correct.
No further questions. No jury questions.
Witness excused.
Next witness, Gary Rini, independent forensic scientist.
He is a former Denver police officer and has also received specialized training in blood analysis and luminol. Very extensive CV.
Rini says he normally testifies for the prosecution.
He gives an extensive definition in the use of luminol.
Rini says that even with bleach, luminol could still detect the presence of blood. Even if a full bottle of bleach was spilled, blood would be detected because the bleach would cause the blood to spread.
Rini is shown photos of the rug and asks if it appears someone was trying to clean up. He says no, the pattern doesn’t appear to indicate a cleanup.
Q: Does bleach speed up the decomposition of a body?
A: No, I’ve never heard that.
Q: If machine-washed, would you still be able to detect blood on clothing?
A: Yes, if you know what you are doing.
No further questions.
Hartnett asks as an independent, you get hired by defense teams? Yes, both defense and prosecution.
Q: The photos of the carpet that were shown to you, you have no idea why the bleach was poured on the carpet?
A: No I don’t.
No further questions. Jury has questions.
I have to say, I still don’t feel the defense is very effective!
Q: In your experience have you ever seen blood at the scene where a person has been killed by asphyxiation?
A: No, I wouldn’t expect to unless there was blood letting at the time.
Witness is excused.
Next witness is Officer Rick Stauffer. Deputy with Stark County Sheriffs Office.
Mack: What did you do in this investigation?
A: He became involved around the 19th.
Q: Did you conduct an interview a Michelle Foreman?
A: Yes, I think she was the ex-wife of Richard Mitchell.
Q: You were trying to locate Mitchell to interview him?
A: Yes.
Q: Who did you interview at Allstate? (Jessie’s employer)
A: Yes, I did 4-5 phone interviews.
Q: Who did you speak with?
A: I can’t tell without looking at my report.
Q Did you interview a Terrell Davis?
A: Yes, I believe he had a former relationship to Jessie.
Q: When did you interview Mr. Mitchell?
A: I think a week after the initial report,
Wow, this deputy says he reviewed his report yesterday and today and he can’t remember squat!
Mack is giving Stauffer a copy of his report to refresh his memory.
Q: He did you interview in connection with the disappearance of Jessie Davis?
Sidebar…
Q: After reviewing your report can you tell us who you interviewed from All State?
Stauffer is again going through his statement, sheesh.
Q: What was the relationship of Michelle Foreman with Richard Mitchell?
Another sidebar…
Disregard the last question!
Q: Was he a person of interest or a suspect?
A: A person of interest is anyone you want to talk to for information.
Another sidebar…
Q: Is it possible you got the name of Michelle Forman through phone records?
A: It’s possible, I don’t recall.
Q: Did you find that Michelle Forman had a child with Mr. Mitchell?
A: Yes, I believe so.
Boy, this guy isn’t the brightest crayon in the box! Have no idea what the defense thinks this guy brings to their case.
Yet another sidebar…
No further questions.
Hartnett: You interviewed Richard Mitchell because you found out his was one of Bobby Cutts’ best friends?
A: Yes.
Witness excused.
Next witness is Sergeant Eric Weisburn again.
Q: You went through phone records in this case.
A: Yes I did.
Q: You got a number of phone records in this case.
A: Yes.
Q: What was the original source of the phone records?
A: Numbers given to me by Cutts from his cell phones and home phone
Q: Then you went out and got his records?
A: That’s correct.
Weisburn said that he also used Jessie Davis' cell phone records to put names on a list.
Q: You spoke to Richard Mitchell?
A: Yes.
Q: Did you subpoena phone records for Richard Mitchell?
A: Yes we did.
There are two phone lists. A list of the people who owned phones and another list of people who spoke on those phones.
No further questions.
Hartnett: Are you aware that when you call this number, Richard Mitchell answers or his voicemail does?
A: Yes
No more questions. No jury questions.
Witness is excused, but may be recalled.
Sidebar called…jury sent to early lunch so the court can settle some matters. Court resumes at 12:45
Just heard there are only 2 more witnesses for the defense! His former partner at the police department? So, will the other one be Cutts himself?
There is approval by all parties of all the jury sequestering documents the court has prepared.
Next witness called, Bobby Cutts, OMG!
Cutts met Jessie, February or Mach 2004 at a nightclub. They spent the evening together and had sexual relations. Cutts was married but separated at the time. Cutts found out from a friend that Jessie was pregnant with Blake. He found out about Blake a few days after the birth. Cutts was happy to have a son. He always wanted a son. His nickname for Blake is Thunder.
Once Blake was born, he took a paternity test in April 2005. Claims he gave Jessie money for Blake before the paternity test and he saw him weekly.
Kelly accepted Blake into the family. There was no friction about Blake’s birth.
Jessie and Kelly had problems? Yes.
Jessie had placed her underwear in Kelly’s drawer.
Did you confront Jessie about the underwear? No.
Kelly and he separated again in 2005 and Bobby went back to Jessie. Jessie lost a baby in 2005.
Jessie contacted Kelly several times about having sex with Cutts. Cutts told Jessie to stop calling Kelly because it was causing problems at home.
In November 2006 Kelly and he had problems again and he was intimate with Jessie again. He said there were no expectations for him to leave his family with Kelly. He said that Jessie told him that she was seeing other people. He said that after Jessie called Kelly again, Kelly told him that Jessie was pregnant again. He said that based on the time frame, that the child could have been his. He said he told Jessie that he would take care of the child if it was his, just like he took care of Blake. He said he wasn't sure at the time if it was his since he believed she was having other relationships.
Kelly left in February because she no longer wanted to deal with Jessie and another child of Bobby’s. He was still seeing Blake at least once a week.
Any fights between you and Jessie between February and June 2007?
Was Richard Mitchell your best friend? No we golfed and coached together, but he was not my best friend.
Cutts said that he never represented to anyone that he would ever cause harm to anyone. He said that Richard Mitchell's statement had no base behind it. He said he would never joke about killing someone and throwing them in the woods.
Did you hear the statement by Mr. Mitchell? Yes.
Did you wonder why Mitchell…objection, sustained.
When Mitchell made the statement..objection
Sidebar…
Do you consider him your best friend? No I do not.
Bobby said that in the eight months that he's been in jail, Richard Mitchell never visited him.
In June 2007, what was your relationship with Jessie? The same as always.
Did you get a text message from Jessie on June 10th? Yes, she said that she may need me to watch Blake. She was maybe going to the hospital because she thought she might me going into labor. He went to the house for about 20 minutes; she was not in labor.
He said that he decided that he could watch Blake on Wednesday, June 13th or on Thursday, June 14th. He said that he and Jessie had decided that on Monday the 11th.
On the 10th, Myisha asked to borrow $100 because she had to move. Cutts told her she could have $20 for watching Blake on the 14th because he remembered he had to football practice, but had to repay the $80.
Cutts said he called Jessie after the 2nd game to tell her that he was going to Champs bar and that if he had anything to drink, he would wait until the next morning to get Blake. He said he then went to Champs and got there around 8:30-9:00pm. He said that Ladson was already there.
Cutts said that after going inside, he ordered food and a Corona. He said he had 4 or 5 beers in the four hours that he was there. He was at Champs till 1am.
After he left Champs on June 14th, he went to Stephanie Hawthorne’s. They watched TV in her room. They both fell asleep. He woke up around 2 am and he decided to go home because he had a lot to do and had to pick up Blake early in the morning.
He says he got up at 5:20 am to get ready to pick Blake up at 6am. He went to Jessie’s’, he went through the garage and into the house.
He saw her purse on the floor, but didn’t think anything of it. He called Jessie’s name. She said I’m up here. He asked her to get Blake ready to go.
She took her time to get up. He helped her get up off the floor. She’s kind of standing around getting her bearings. He told her to hurry up. She said if you weren’t out with your friends all night, you wouldn’t be hurrying me now. She said quit rushing me.
He said you know what, I can get Blake this weekend and started to leave and Jessie grabbed him by the shirt and said you can’t leave.
She stepped in front of him twice to prevent him from leaving. He said Jessie pushed him back. He put his finger up his nose and pointed at her face and she bit him. I couldn’t believe she bit me so hard. It was a joke; I wasn’t going to wipe my nose on her.
She grabbed me and I pulled my arm back and…Cutts just very dramatically burst into a crying jag. He said he just wanted to leave. He swung his elbow so she couldn’t grab him anymore.
Oh what a bunch of crap.
He was trying to get her arms off of him.
She's 9 months pregnant! If someone believes that they've got a big ol' hole in their head!
His elbow connected with Jessie’s throat area and she hit the ground. Harder, than he expected her to fall. He is still crying and Judge calls a sidebar.
Cutts has removed his glasses and is holding a tissue over his eyes.
He’s doing a great acting job here, but he has had months to practice.
Cutts said he didn’t see Jessie fall; he was walking to the door. He heard her fall and he went over to her and asked if she was all right. She didn’t respond. I shook her and she didn’t respond to that.
He checked for a pulse in her neck.
Sidebar…
He tried to administer CPR. She didn’t respond.
Was she bleeding anywhere from what you could see? No.
The crying act seems to be a bit forced to me.
He thought maybe she was just knocked out. He knew she didn’t have smelling salts so he looked for alcohol, but found the bottle of bleach. He poured bleach in the cap and put it under her nose.
What’s going through your head at this time? I thought what’s going on? I stand up and start crying and I collapsed onto her bed. I thinking, “how am I going to explain this?” I can’t believe anything like this could happen.
What’s the next thing you did? I decided to leave and get out of there.
Was Blake awake at anytime during all this? No not that I know. I decided I couldn’t leave Blake to find his mom that way. I checked on Blake and he was asleep.
I was pacing and trying to think what to do. That’s when I thought about getting Myisha to watch Blake. He wrapped Jessie and placed her in the truck. He concluded she was dead.
Why didn’t you call 911? I couldn’t get her cell phone to work.
“This can’t be happening, I’ve never hurt anyone.”
Why did you place Jessie in the bed of the truck? I just did.
He didn’t remember putting Jessie’s phone in the truck.
Was all of the bleach spilled out of the bottle? No.
Why didn’t you call the police? I didn’t know what to think. Like how the hell am I going to explain this?
Did you secure the home before you left? Yeah, I closed the garage and left through the back door so I had a way to get back in.
He got to Myisha’s and he told her to come with him now and she got in the truck. Is she aware that Jessie is in the truck? No.
If you had planed on killing Jessie, would you have involved Myisha? Objection!
Disregard the last question.
Why did you pick up Myisha? To watch Blake.
We ended up driving north on 77 to go back to Jessie’s house. I thought, I just moved her body, how the hell am I going to explain that. I just kept driving.
He tells Myisha, man, something bad happened. I just keep driving north. I looked at the clock and saw it was 7:10. 7:10 was the time Jessie had to leave. I called her phone. I don’t know why I called her phone.
Were you trying to conceal what happened? Objection! Overruled.
No, I wasn’t trying to conceal what happened. I wouldn’t have picked up Myisha if I was trying to conceal something.
He says he turns south to head back home. Myisha had to use the restroom so he stopped. They are about to get back on the highway when a State Trooper drove by and he panicked.
They are driving around back roads trying to get back to Canton. He tells Myisha he can’t keep driving around with Jessie’s body in the truck.
He sees a dirt road and drives into the park. He dumped Jessie’s body.
Myisha asked him what he was going to do? He says I don’t know. As he got into the truck, Jessie’s phone fell out of his pocket. He tries to throw the phone out the window.
Why? It doesn’t work, why would I need it?
He had Myisha throw the phone out of the truck.
He stopped so Myisha could get cigarettes at a store with a car wash and he sprayed his truck off because there were bugs and dirt on it.
He said he kept saying, "This is not real, this cannot be happening, this is a bad dream."
Cutts said when he went to turn around, he got out to see how much room he had and saw a pillow from Jessie's house still in the truck. He saw a dumpster and threw the pillow and a bag of trash that was in his truck into the dumpster. He said then he headed back toward Canton.
Cutts said he said to himself, if he just went on with his normal day, it would all go away. He said that when he looked at the clock, it said 8:40am and he realized he was going to be late for football practice. He left the coach a message that he'd be late. He then called Stephanie Hawthorne, since her son's on his team. He said he wanted to let someone know he'd be late. He kept heading toward home with Myisha still in the truck.
Cutts said he stopped to pick up mulch because he remembered that he was supposed to mulch that day. Then he went home and got in the shower and washed and washed and washed and washed. He said that he was trying to wash everything away.
Cutts said that while getting out of the shower, a bandage fell off his finger. The finger had been cut the previous day while doing yard work. He said it’s on the opposite hand from the one that Jessie bit. He said he noticed scratches on his chest from where Jessie had grabbed him.
He left his house after showering. Cutts said he went to coach basketball and then went to work at 10pm. His regular shift was 10pm - 8am.
What’s going on in your mind about Blake at this time? In ten years time I never didn’t think about being a parent.
He went to the bank and signed papers. He went and picked up Brianna and went back home to mulch.
Cutts said that he took Myisha home and went back to his house to start mulching with his daughter. She didn't want to mulch so he bought her a Sno Cone maker so that she would help him. He said they went back and started to mulch. He said Kelly came by around 3:30pm to pick up Brianna.
Cutts said that was the first time that he was at home. He said he was replaying the morning in his head. He said he was supposed to coach basketball later that day and also go to work. He said while he was home alone, he kept telling himself, "this isn't real." He said if he called Jessie, everything would be all right. He said he called her phone and left her a message and didn't remember what he said. He said he was hoping that when she answered, "this whole thing would be over" and it wasn't.
Myisha called and asked if he was all right. He said, no I’m not all right. I need to get my son. He said he left work early that day, about 7:45am on June 15th. He said he was heading to Jessie's house to pick up Blake. He said on the way there, he got a call from her (Jessie's) sister. She said, "Jessie's missing, hurry up, get here."
Cutts said that when he got there, Jessie's mom and sister Audrey were there along with a Stark County Deputy and Blake. He said when he went inside, he was hoping to see Jessie and it would all be over. He went with the Deputy into the house and saw bleach all over the bedroom. He said he presumed that Blake was the one who put the bleach there.
Cutts said he didn’t tell the truth to the deputy because of the way the deputy was responding to him. He didn't tell him the rest of what happened because he didn't want Myisha to be in trouble.
He called Myisha up a told her to tell LE that he brought her straight to the house till he could figure out what to do.
He called Myisha up a few times to see if she was ok.
But, he sure as hell didn’t think about Blake, did he?
Cutts said that on Saturday, the 16th, the news media started showing up at his house and he started getting phone calls from a bunch of people. He said Myisha came over that day - Bobby's cousin Larry picked her up to bring her over. Cutts said she came by to see if he was okay.
Cutts’ mother went and talked to Patty. She told Bobby that while she was there, Jessie’s dad called and said he was going to kill him.
Disregard the witness’s last statement.
Did you at some time decide to lead the authorities to Jessie? That Friday night after I spoke with the FBI. He said because both families had been through so much, he had to end it. On Saturday, he and his attorney went to the FBI office and told them where the body was. He said he wanted them to find the body and for, "this all to be over."
Cutts has continued to cry most of the time. Cross ought to be a pip!
No further questions.
He couldn't remember exactly where it was but after searching, he saw the location and told them to stop. He said that he had no idea that Jessie's body would end up looking the way that it did. He said that one of the reasons that he wanted to show the body was to show that he didn't do it on purpose.
Barr asks, Mr. Cutts do you have a cold? No.
Because I don’t see any tears! Bam!
Objection. Disregard.
Did you cry this much when you dumped Jessie’s body? Yes, I did cry.
Cutts said that he did have sexual relations with other people while he was still with Kelly (and not while they were separated).
Cutts said that between the 16th and 22nd of June, Richard Mitchell was at his house a few times and set up the interview with the Canton Repository without his knowledge. Cutts also said that he listed Mitchell as a reference on two loan applications
Barr is really chewing Cutts up!
Barr gets into how much money Cutts owed. You knew you would have to pay child support for Brianna. I don’t know that.
And there was a chance you would have to pay for Chloe also? I guess so.
Uh oh, Cutts just said that when he went to Jessie’s, she was in pink pajamas. She was found in a camisole top and Capri pants!
She stepped in front of you 3 times? Yes, 3 times.
She grabbed you where? My arm.
Barr is tripping Cutts up as to how Jessie got hit. Now Cutts say she grabbed him again. Barr says, “oh now she grabbed you 4 times?
She have a cut on her head or anything? No.
I heard her hit the floor. You went over and asked her if she was ok? Yes.
You got no response? No.
You felt for a pulse? Yes.
You did CPR? For a couple minutes.
You couldn’t turn Jessie’s phone on? No, I couldn’t figure out how to turn it on. It’s not like my phone.
When you a charge your phone do you turn it off? Yes.
How did you spill the bleach? When I went to stand up, I kicked it over.
How much spilled out? I don’t remember but there was still a good amount in it. Cutts say he didn’t spill as much bleach as show in the picture.
Why did you put the comforter around here before you put her in the truck? It made it easier to carry her.
Or was it because you didn’t want the neighbors to see you carrying a body? I didn’t care bout the neighbors.
Why didn’t you call the police? I didn’t think about it.
Blake is sleeping all this time? Yes.
How does Blake know mommy is in the rug?
Disregard the last question.
You drive around in the truck with Jessie in the back and the pillow and a bag of garbage? Yes.
You said Sergeant Wiesburn was kind of mean? I don’t recall what I said about Sergeant Wiesburn.
Barr asks about the 7:11 call to Jessie, he phone was in your pocket? Whose phone, Jessie?
You touched the bleach bottle twice? Yes.
Were you wearing gloves? No!
There were no prints on the bottle!!!!
You took Jessie out of truck and left her out in the open? Yes.
In the sun and the heat? Yes.
You’ve seen a dead animal by the road and what happens to its body day by day? Yes.
The bugs are so bad you have to suddenly stop to wash your truck. And Blake is sitting home all alone? Yes.
You sprayed the truck bed out? I didn’t purposely spray out the bed.
You bought mulch; you picked up your daughter you went to the store. You didn’t care about Blake being alone. Cutts said that at that time, Blake was not the top priority!
You told Myisha to lie to LE? Yes!
You helped search for Jessie’s body and all the time you knew they were looking in the wrong area for her? Yes.
Nine days after you dumped Jessie’s body, you decided to tell where her body was? Yes.
Twice you had the opportunity to tell LE where Jessie’s body and you didn’t? Yes.
During that week you played a lot of Playstation. I was moping around and people told me I should do something.
On Thursday you called Jessie’s phone again, the one you through out the window. Yes.
You knew she couldn’t answer the phone.
Do you know what happens to babies in the womb when the mother dies? No.
Do you think Chloe died when Jessie died? I don’t know
No further questions.
Mack: Did you intend to harm Jessie’s fetus? No.
Once you couldn’t revive Jessie, what was going through your mind? That she was dead.
Did you express to anyone that you wouldn’t take care of the new baby? No.
Were you up to date with paying your bills? Yes.
Step down and give us a demonstration of what happened in that room. This time, Cutts looks like he has his story straight.
Did Jessie have a full head of hair? Yes.
Would you have known if she hit her head without feeling her scalp? No.
Did you ever check her scalp? No.
At what point did you conclude that Jessie was not living? When she didn’t respond.
Why didn’t you just drive her to the location and bury her? Because I didn’t think.
What was Myisha supposed to do, help you? Myisha got involved because I needed her to watch Blake.
Any time you were bleeding? No.
Did you get any bleach on you?
On the 14th, you went to the bank? Yes.
How much money were you given? $4000.
Did you offer it to Myisha? No.
No further questions.
How long would it have taken you to run downstairs and grab your phone and call 911? Maybe 10 seconds.
And you didn’t do it? No.
You didn’t leave her body in the road or the short grass because you didn’t want anyone to see it? I wasn’t hiding it.
You never told anyone for all those days where Jessie was? I made a bad, week long decision.
That was 9 days Mr. Cutts, thank you.
The jury has questions.
As I’m sure we all do!
Why didn’t you take Myisha to Jessie’s home to watch Blake? That was my intent but I panicked.
You said in wasn’t your intention to dump Jessie’s body?
Did you have a key to Jessie’s? No.
Is Richard your friend? No
Is Myisha your friend today? Yes.
Did you ever tell Myisha it was an accident or anyone else? I believe she said that in several of her statements.
What color was Jessie’s phone? Silver.
Why didn’t you just tell the truth? I didn’t think anyone would believe me.
No further questions.
Jurors are being give the sequester packages.
Sprocket and I will report on the Closing statements tomorrow!
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