Friend: Ex-Cop Threatened to Kill Pregnant Girlfriend Jessie Davis Month Before She Disappeared

CANTON, Ohio – A former police officer threatened to kill his pregnant lover a month before she disappeared, a longtime friend testified Wednesday.

Bobby Cutts Jr. said he was going to kill her and "throw her in the woods," calling her a derogatory name, according to Richard Mitchell, who added that he didn't think his friend was serious.

Cutts is accused of killing Jessie Marie Davis, who was the mother of Cutts' 2 1/2-year-old son and was nine months pregnant with his daughter.

Mitchell testified that Cutts denied knowledge of Davis' whereabouts after she was reported missing June 15. He was with Cutts every day between June 15 and 22. Cutts led investigators to Davis' body on June 23.

Cutts' ex-wife, Kelly Schaub, testified Wednesday that she believed Davis wanted to destroy their marriage. Schaub said in November 2005 she opened her makeup drawer and found underwear that she said belonged to Jessie Marie Davis.

"I threw them at Bobby," she said.

Schaub, who has a daughter with Cutts, told Davis she was happily married and the two had numerous conversations about their relationships with Cutts, she said.

"I asked her why she wanted to continue to be with Bobby," Schaub said.

After Schaub and Cutts bought new patio furniture, Davis told her that she and Cutts had sex on it, Schaub said.

Cutts' relationship with Davis spurred their third and final separation in February 2007. Her divorce from Cutts was completed last month.

Schaub also told the jury that Cutts was a wonderful father.

The testimony came in the third day of Cutts' trial, which is expected to last two weeks.

Defense attorneys have not challenged testimony from Cutts' friend Myisha Ferrell that he dumped Davis' body in a park about 20 miles from her home. They say prosecutors have no evidence linking him to her death.

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 from his post as a Canton patrolman.

Prosecutors say Cutts, who was feeling the pressure of his crumbling marriage, financial debt and supporting several children, strangled Davis in her home and disposed of her body. The 2 1/2-year-old son Cutts had with Davis was found home alone.

Thousands searched for Davis in the area surrounding her northeast Ohio home in the days she was missing after her June death.