AP Features, June 30th, 2007
Hundreds of candles flickered outside the home of a slain pregnant woman Friday night as mourners gathered for a vigil to remember the single mother and her unborn daughter.
About 200 people gathered at a vigil for Jessie Davis, whose police officer boyfriend is accused of killing her and her unborn child.
A somber crowd stood on the front lawn and spilled into the street in front of the home, where the front porch was covered with flowers, teddy bears and toys for Davis' 2 1/2-year-old son, Blake.
"Your smile painted a picture of the type of person you are and what your daughter might have been," said Richard Peck, 47, who lives two houses away and helped organize the event.
The vigil lasted about 45 minutes as organizers read prayers and played religious music while mourners quietly held their red and white candles and a news helicopter circled overhead, at times drowning out the music.
"My heart goes out to her little boy and the family," said Renee Davis, 52, who is not related to the slain woman. "I can't get it out of my mind. It's something that's going to impact people for a long time."
Some at the vigil had participated in the search for Jessie Davis last week, including 22-year-old Andrew Byler.
"It's hard to imagine what the family is going through right now," he said.
The memorial was a chance for the community to mourn, said Jill Dietle, 40. Dietle, who didn't know Davis, said she felt visiting hours for Davis at an Akron church should have been reserved for friends and family.
As the vigil ended, the overcast sky cleared slightly, revealing a spectacular orange sunset. Renee Davis said it was a sign that Jessie Davis and the baby she had planned to name Chloe were looking down on them.
At the visiting hours Friday, Davis' casket was surrounded by pink and white bouquets of lilies and roses at House of the Lord Church in Akron as mourners paid their respects. Photos of Davis were projected on a large screen on the wall behind the casket.
"It's very upsetting. Very quiet. Very somber in there," said Susan Lane, who worked with Davis at Allstate Insurance. "So many of us went out on the search looking for her and to have it end like this is not good."
Davis was killed at home June 14, and Blake provided authorities with the first clues, saying: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug." Authorities recovered her body June 23, dumped in Cuyahoga Valley National Park about 25 miles away.
Canton police officer Bobby Cutts Jr. was arrested the same day and is charged with two counts of murder. The 30-year-old is Blake's father, and Davis' family says he's also the father of Davis' unborn baby. She was due to deliver July 3.
"It's terrible little Chloe, her date of death is before her birthday," Lane said. "She didn't even have a birthday."
Cutts, who also has a daughter with an estranged wife, has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Monday. Prosecutors will have to show enough evidence to justify sending the case to a grand jury. A medical examiner is determining a cause of death for Jessie Davis and will test the paternity of the fetus.
