Weeks Long Search For Mother Ends in Tragedy and Arrest

The body of Jessica Edwards was found and her husband was charged
By Josh Gardner,  Newser Staff
Posted May 23, 2021 8:30 AM CDT
Husband Charged Hours After Wife's Body Found
Tahj Hutchinson booking photo   (South Windsor Police / Twitter)

The body of a Connecticut woman who'd been the subject of a search for nearly two weeks has been found, a development that led police directly to her young husband. Per ABC News, the South Windsor Police Department announced the discovery of 30-year-old Jessica Edwards' body in an East Hartford park on Friday. At the time, police said there was no person of interest in the mother's "suspicious" death. That changed hours later when police announced the arrest of her husband, 22-year-old Tahj Hutchinson, in connection with her death.

Per the AP, the case attracted statewide attention as the search for Edwards, mother to a 7-month-old baby, wore on and family members became increasingly worried about her wellbeing. Hutchinson told police his wife left their home in South Windsor on May 10 in an unknown vehicle. South Windsor Police Sgt. Mark Cleverdon told reporters Friday they “don’t believe that’s exactly what happened" but did not elaborate. Though Edwards' cell phone was turned off for as long as she was missing, her body was found through location data retrieved via search warrants obtained from a source police did not identify. Hutchinson is charged with 1st degree manslaughter and is being held on $1 million bond, per a press release posted to social media. (More murder stories.)

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