CANTON, Ohio -- A tearful former police officer told jurors in Ohio on Monday that he "didn't mean to hurt" his pregnant girlfriend when he struck her during an argument.

Bobby Cutts, 30, could receive the death penalty if convicted of killing Jessie Davis, 26, who was nearly full term with a female fetus when she died last June. He has pleaded not guilty.

Clutching tissues, he testified that he swung his elbow at Davis and struck her when she wouldn't let him out of her house.

Cutts said he was at Davis' home to pick up his 2 1/2-year-old son and that she grabbed him and told him he couldn't leave. He told jurors his arm landed in her throat area and she fell hard.

He testified that he performed CPR and then tried to use bleach to revive her. When she didn't respond, he "knew she was dead."

Cutts said he didn't know why he failed to call police or why he put Davis' body in the bed of her truck and went to a friend's house while the boy slept. Later, he said he drove around in a panic, not knowing what to do, before leaving her body on a dirt road leading to a park.

Closing arguments are set for Tuesday.