Deputies raid home of cop's friend

TSheriff's deputies are investigating whether Bobby Cutts Jr. had

help in the alleged murder of Jessie Marie Davis or the cover-up of her

body.

Myisha Ferrell was not at her northwest Canton apartment Saturday night when Stark County sheriff's deputies were looking for

DNA trace evidence including blood, hair and fibers "which may be used as

evidence of the crime of obstructing justice," according to the search

warrant signed by Stark County Common Pleas Judge John Haas.

Deputies smashed through the door of Ferrell's apartment shortly before 8

p.m. as neighbors gathered in the street.

Officers removed about eight brown paper evidence bags and several smaller

envelope-sized bags from the apartment.

The warrant showed they were looking for pillows, a bed sheet, a cell phone,

cleaning supplies including bleach, children's clothing, men's or women's

clothing, gloves and the DNA evidence.

An inventory of the search showed officers took three empty containers of

Febreze fabric freshener, an empty Clorox Clean-Up Cleaner (spray cleaner),

a black address book, three cell phones, a partial roll of duct tape, Hefty

CinchSak garbage bags, Lysol cleaner and bleach gallon jugs. The bleach came

from the basement, which is shared with neighbor Justin Lindstrom, and he

said one of the bleach jugs was his.

Bleach was found splattered throughout the bedroom of Davis' Lake Township

duplex last Friday, when her family discovered she was missing. The

26-year-old girlfriend of Cutts was nine months pregnant when she was last

heard from on the night of June 13.

Her body was discovered about 3:30 p.m. in Hampton Hills Metro Park,

southeast of Blossom Music Center in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in

northern Summit County.

A source close to Cutts told The Repository on Saturday that Cutts said he

asked a female friend to help him remove Davis' body from her home. Cutts

reportedly said Davis' death was not his doing, but he thought no one would

believe him and decided to hide the body.

When Davis' mother went to check on her July 15, she found Davis' 2-year-old

son, Blake, unattended. Cutts is the boy's father.

According to Ferrell's neighbor, Lindstrom, "The FBI has been here about

four times in the last three days." Agents called him again Saturday night,

and told him Ferrell had been released from police custody, but if Lindstrom

saw her he was to call immediately.

He said he last saw Ferrell on Friday, when she was at her apartment for about

20 minutes and left with cleaning supplies, a broom, a dustpan and a black

garbage bag. Lindstrom said the FBI showed up 20 minutes after Ferrell left.

Ferrell graduated from GlenOak High School in 1995 with Cutts, who was

arrested Saturday afternoon and is to be formally charged Monday with two

counts of murder.

Ferrell was scheduled to report to her job at a local restaurant at 11 p.m.

Saturday. A waitress at the restaurant told The Canton Repository that she

quit Friday.

After deputies left, duct tape held together the front panel of the door to

Ferrell's apartment. Investigators couldn't get it to close all the way, and

the door was slightly ajar when they left. They would not comment.

Reach Canton Repository writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail:

todd.porter@cantonrep.com