Police Officer Charged with Murder of Missing Ohio Woman

Authorities searched the apartment of a friend of the man charged with the murder of a pregnant woman who vanished from her home more than a week ago.

The ended Saturday when authorities announced they found a body they believed to be that of 26-year-old Jesse Davis. Bobby Cutts Jr., a police officer they suspect is the father of the unborn child, was arrested on two counts of murder. Cutts has been a police officer since 2000. He has a previous criminal record, involving kicking in the door of an ex girlfriend who fathered one of his three children, giving his gun to his cousin, and several other infractions.

Davis was due to deliver a baby girl on July 3 but was reported missing after her mother found Davis' 2-year-old son home alone, and the house in total disarray.

The boy gave investigators their first clues in the case, "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug," he told police.

Thousands of volunteers had searched for Davis over several days, while investigators continued to question Cutts, 30, who is married to another woman, but is also believed to be the baby's father.

Sheriff's deputies on Saturday searched the apartment of a high school classmate of Cutts, looking for pillows, a bed sheet, cleaning supplies and other possible evidence.

An inventory of the search showed three cell phones, bleach and lysol cleaning solution bottles, three empty bottles of fabric freshener, garbage bags and a partial roll of duct tape were removed by deputies from the home.

The Stark County Sheriff's Department said a woman's body was recovered in Summit County at 3:30 p.m. Authorities did not give a location but said they believed it to be Davis.

Television news footage taken from helicopters above Cuyahoga Valley National Park showed investigators riding off-road vehicles to reach an area that is heavily covered with trees and brush. It also show authorities carrying a body bag on a stretcher and loading it into a white van.

Roger Riggins, an investigator with the Summit County medical examiner's office, confirmed a body was found at the southeast edge of the park, about 25 miles from Davis' home in Lake Township.

The medical examiner's office said it would perform an autopsy Sunday and try to use dental records to identify the body, but that it might be difficult to determine the cause of death because of the advanced state of decomposition.

An attorney for Davis' mother said the family had a roller coaster ride of emotions and had no comment.

Chief Deputy Rick Perez said the case is still being investigated. There was no comment on whether there were any other suspects.