A grand jury brought seven indictments against a former police officer accused of killing pregnant Ohio mom Jessie Davis, including three counts of aggravated murder, a prosecutor said Thursday.
Bobby Cutts Jr. will face one count of murder for Davis' death and two counts of murder for the death of her unborn child, called "baby Chloe," when he is arraigned Friday morning, Stark County Prosecutor John D. Ferrero said at a news conference.
"There's not much that we can say regarding the facts of this case. I hope the media can respect that," Ferrero said Thursday. "We fully intend for this case to go to trial and at that point in time you will be able to hear the circumstances behind this case."
The grand jury also leveled felony charges of aggravated burglary, two counts of abuse of a corpse and one misdemeanor count of child endangerment against the former Canton police officer. The murder charges could bring the death penalty, Ferrero said.
Cutts' attorney, Myron Watson, said he would comment after he had a chance to review the indictment. Cutts maintains his innocence, he said Wednesday.
Myisha Ferrell, Cutts' former high school classmate, faces two charges at her Friday arraignment: obstructing justice and complicity to the abuse of a corpse. The first charge carries a maximum of 5 years in prison; the second, 18 months. Prosecutors accuse her of helping dispose of Davis' body.
"They were friends and somehow she got involved," Ferrero said. "We will show that, again, at the trial."
Davis, 26, was killed in her home near North Canton on June 14, authorities have said. Her disappearance drew national attention as thousands gathered to search for her in the area surrounding her home, about 45 miles south of Cleveland.
Davis' body, still carrying a nearly full-term fetus, was found nine days later about 25 miles away from her home in a remote area of a park.
Ferrero said the grand jury's indictment came back Wednesday afternoon.
The 30-year-old Cutts is the father of Davis' 2 1/2-year-old son, Blake, and her family says he was the father of "baby Chloe" who was due to be delivered July 3.
Prosecutors have 90 days from Cutts' June 23 arrest to take the case to trial. Cutts is being held on a $5 million bond.
Cutts has been secluded from the general inmate population, officials said.
Davis was reported missing when her mother went to her home and found Blake in a dirty diaper, the bedroom furniture toppled and a pool of bleach on the floor.
Blake provided authorities with the first clues, saying: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug."
Davis' mother, Patricia Porter, was informed of the indictment Thursday morning.
"As long as he gets a fair trial and she can explain what happened one day, that's all she cares about," said attorney Rick Pitinii, the family's spokesman.
Porter has custody of Blake and is focused on raising him, Pitinii said.
Earlier this month, Summit County medical examiner Lisa Kohler said she was unable to determine how Davis was killed.
Kohler ruled that the manner of death was a homicide but offered no other details, listing the cause as "unspecified homicidal violence."
Investigators had previously stated that the advanced decomposition of the body would make determining a cause difficult.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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