Confession: Husband kneeled on Jessica Edwards' back and neck until she stopped moving; read arrest warrant

May 24—The man charged in the death of his wife, Jessica Edwards, told police that she died during a physical confrontation, when he kneeled on her back and neck until she eventually stopped moving, according to a South Windsor police affidavit released today.

Tahj Hutchinson, 22, 5 Cinnamon Springs, South Windsor, told police he later put Edwards' body in the back of his Jeep Grand Cherokee, drove to a wooded area in East Hartford, and dragged her body into the woods, the affidavit says.

Police found Edwards' body Friday at the entrance of the Hockanum River Linear Park off Chipper Drive in East Hartford, and charged Hutchinson with first-degree manslaughter that evening. He was held through the weekend in lieu of $1 million bond for arraignment in Manchester Superior Court this morning.

Police have said additional charges may be filed upon completion of the investigation and the results of the autopsy by the chief state medical examiner's office.

The chief medical examiner's office said today there is still no cause of death.

The affidavit provides the following additional details:

Hutchinson told police how beginning May 8, he and Edwards were verbally arguing throughout the day and that night went to bed in separate rooms.

The argument continued the next day, Mother's Day, and escalated to the point of a physical confrontation, he said. At one point, he pushed Edwards, causing her to hit her head and bleed from her ear, Hutchinson told police in his confession.

Hutchinson said Edwards reached a "breaking point" and grabbed a kitchen knife, which they wrestled over. He eventually pinned her to the ground, and was able to flip her over onto her stomach so he was kneeling on her neck and back, holding her down.

In the affidavit, Hutchinson said Edwards eventually stopped moving but he didn't know why, so he got up to care for their son. When he returned to the room, Edwards still hadn't moved, and that's when he realized she was dead, Hutchinson told police.

Hutchinson said he left Edwards' body on the floor throughout the day May 10 even as her family members called him about her whereabouts. Then he put Edwards' body in his vehicle to move it.

Around that time, Edwards' sister showed up at the home and called 911 after noticing a sheet in the back of Hutchinson's vehicle that she believed was covering Edwards' body, the affidavit says.

She told police that Hutchinson quickly closed the back of his vehicle when she arrived, and refused to open it again. Hutchinson handed her his son, said he was going to his parent's house, and sped off, she said.

From the outset, Edwards' family told police they believed Hutchinson did something to her, the affidavit says.

After leaving his condo and the baby, Hutchinson left Edwards' body in what he called a "random GPS" location, which turned out to be the Hockanum Linear Park in East Hartford. He then went to that town's Police Department to report her missing, showing up barefoot because he shoes got too muddy while he disposed of the body.

Later on, he told police he returned to the area to try to find Edwards' body. He tried using his cellphone flashlight, but had to stop because his phone's battery was almost drained, and was unsuccessful in locating her.

On Friday, officers conducted their search using tracking dogs and aerial support, and with the help of location data obtained through a search warrant, they said.

Police said that when they searched Edwards' and Hutchinson's home, they did not find evidence of a struggle or any pooling of blood or other fluids, the affidavit says. The home also did not have a strong smell of cleaner.

The affidavit notes that Edwards' sister found divorce papers in the home that had been filed out but not yet filed. The couple had been fighting because Edwards' wanted to get her nails done on Mother's Day and for a gift Hutchinson gave her guinea pigs. She was upset because the smell of acrylic nails would bother the animals, meaning she couldn't get them done.

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