Missing Mother 30, found dead, husband 22 arrested

The husband of a Connecticut woman reported missing last week was arrested after her body was found in a wooded area Friday, police said.

The body of 30-year-old Jessica Edwards, the mother of a 7-month-old, was discovered in the entrance of a park near the Hockanum River in East Hartford on Friday morning, South Windsor police said.

Her 22-year-old husband, Tahj Hutchinson, was arrested on a manslaughter charge around 9pm, police said. Autopsy results are pending, and more charges are possible.

Edwards' husband and her family both reported her missing on May 10.

Her husband said he last saw her at 7am that morning, police have said. At the time, police were told she had gotten into a vehicle, South Windsor Police Sgt. Mark Cleverdon said Friday.

“We don’t believe that’s actually what happened,” Cleverdon told reporters Friday after the body was found.

Police did not say how Edwards died. The state medical examiner’s office will determine the cause and manner of death, like whether it was a homicide, Cleverdon said.

 

“Hutchinson did admit to being involved in Jessica’s death,” he said Saturday. More details are expected to be released next week after the autopsy, police said.

Hutchinson was being held in lieu of $1 million bail, police said. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Cleverdon said that location data from a phone related to the investigation helped lead police to the location near the entrance of Hockanum River Linear Park where the body was found.

Cleverdon said earlier Friday that Edwards’ family is grieving and have asked for privacy. Edwards’ mother and sister said they last saw her on the night of May 9, which was Mother’s Day, police have said.

“We feel for them, and there's no other way to put that,” Cleverdon said. “They are grieving right now, and they miss their daughter, their sister, greatly.” (NBC News)