Trial: No Blood Found in Victim's Room

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February 7, 2008 09:16 PM EST | AP

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CANTON, Ohio — Investigators found no blood in a pregnant woman's bedroom or in the truck authorities say was used to dispose of her body, experts testified Thursday at the murder trial of the former police officer who fathered her fetus.

Investigators have said that they found a mattress partially off the bed and a night stand and lamp knocked over in Jessie Marie Davis' bedroom, and that bleach was used on the floor. But Jay Spencer, a criminalist with the Canton-Stark County crime lab, said no traces of blood or significant fingerprints were found in the room.

Bobby Cutts Jr., the father of Davis' 2 1/2-year-old son and her unborn daughter, is accused of strangling Davis last June and dumping her body in a park about 20 miles from her northeast Ohio home.

Chris Garnett, head of the evidence response team for the FBI's Cleveland office, said his team searched Davis' home, Cutts' pickup and a car belonging to Cutts' ex-wife. The team did not find any traces of blood in Cutts' truck, Garnett said.

Defense attorneys say prosecutors have no evidence linking Cutts to Davis' killing. They have not challenged testimony from Cutts' friend Myisha Ferrell that he dumped the body in the park.

Cutts, 30, could face the death penalty if convicted of aggravated murder in the death of Davis and her fetus. He has pleaded not guilty and resigned as a Canton patrolman.

Prosecutors say Cutts was feeling the pressure of his crumbling marriage, financial debt and supporting three children while expecting another. Another crime lab worker testified Cutts had been established as the father of the girl Davis was expecting.

Cutts would have owed another $365 a month in child support for that child, said Kim Hopwood of the Stark County Child Support Enforcement Agency. The amount is only a calculation and not a legal order.

That would have been added to the $1,200 a month the amount he paid for the three children he fathered with his ex-wife, Davis and a former girlfriend.

Prosecutors are expected to rest their case Friday. One of the remaining witnesses is the medical examiner who ruled Davis died of homicidal violence but was unable to determine a more exact cause because Davis' remains were too decomposed.