The jury for the trial of Bobby L. Cutts, Jr., the accused murderer of Jessie Marie Davis and their unborn daughter, Chloe, was seated Wednesday. Six men and six women will decide the fate of Cutts, who has pleaded innocent to three charges of aggravated murder, two counts of gross abuse of a corpse, aggravated burglary and misdemeanor child endangering.
If convicted, Cutts, a former Canton police officer, could face the death penalty.
As predicted, Cutts' attorneys requested a change of venue this morning when Judge Charles E. Brown heard several motions from Cutts' defense team.
Judge Brown denied the change of venue motion and left the death penalty specification in place. He also ruled that statements made by Jessie Davis' and Cutts' son, Blake, 2, made about his missing mother when his grandmother found him alone in their home may be used in the trial. The defense had attempted to have them dismissed as hearsay.
Testimony will begin on Monday. It will be interesting to see who testifies and what they have to say. I will also be interested in seeing what sort of defense Cutts' legal team has planned to support his plea of innocence. I'm assuming the key witness will be Myisha Ferrell, Cutts' friend who assisted him in hiding Jessie's body. She is testifying against Cutts as per a plea agreement with the County Prosecutor. If she fails to testify truthfully, her plea agreement can be thrown out of court so it's in her best interest to tell what happened.
I really feel for Jessie Marie's family. For the next month, they have to relive the horror of Jessie's disappearance and death and the tragic loss of their grandaughter. I feel sorry for Bobby Cutts' family, too. They, too, have carried a heavy burden throughout this tragedy; they, too, have lost a grandchild. This has to be taking a terrible toll on all parties involved.
This case has astounded me from the beginning -- that it happened here shocked me even more. I never cease to be amazed what we humans do to each other. It really saddens me. I only hope that the trial doesn't last the month that's been predicted. I pray that justice is served. The families and the community need to heal.
I'll be back with updates next week. You can, as always, read more here.
Kay Dennison
Horrific! We have not heard about this case down here in the boonies. Has there been anything said yet about motive? You mentioned being shocked that it could happen there, yet it seems no place is immune to this kind of gruesome insanity. Many of the most horrible crimes that make the national news happened in places with names we've never heard before and usually don't remember a few days later.
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