Woman Pleads Guilty to Murdering Pregnant Woman

By Pamela Mortimer

Myisha Ferrell of Canton, Ohio quietly entered her guilty pleas in Stark County Common Pleas Court on Monday. Ferrell, 30, was charged with two counts in the slaying of a pregnant woman, including helping dispose of the body. Ferrell also agreed to testify against a northeast Ohio police officer accused in the killing.

Ferrell agreed to testify against Bobby L. Cutts, Jr., a police officer on suspension from the Canton police force. Cutts was also a high school classmate of Ferrell's. Cutts’ February 4th trial will determine whether he is guilty of the aggravated murder charges that could bring the death penalty. In addition to three counts of aggravated murder, Cutts faces two counts of gross abuse of a corpse and one count each of endangering children and aggravated burglary.

The victim of the murder was Jessie Davis, age 26. Davis was near full term in her pregnancy, with a child she planned on naming Chloe. Investigators believe that Davis was killed in her home on June 14 in Lake Township, outside North Canton. She was missing for nine days before her body was found in a park about 20 miles away from her residence.

Davis and Cutts had a son together and Davis’ family claims that Cutts also was the father of the unborn child.

In the plea bargain, Ferrell admitted to obstructing justice due to lied she told to authorities investigating Davis' death and complicity to gross abuse of a corpse.

As a result, Ferrell was sentenced to two years in prison and will be eligible for release after one year. Without the guilty plea, she had faced up to six years in prison if convicted on both counts.

Ferrell's attorney, John Alexander, made a statement after the hearing stating that the plea agreement was a result of more than a dozen hours of negotiations that took place over the weekend. The actual plea agreement papers weren't signed until 8:15 a.m., a mere 15 minutes before opening statements were scheduled.

"It was pretty contentious, both sides were dug in and both sides believed in their case," Alexander said. He called the decision to plead guilty "a business decision."

"She is very upset about the whole situation. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to go into her side of the story," said Alexander, citing Cutts' pending trial.