A married Missouri middle school principal, Cornelius Green, was sentenced to two consecutive life terms for hiring a hitman to kill a pregnant teacher.
Green, 42, once the principal of Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts Middle School in St. Louis, received his sentence on June 25, as announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
In February, Green admitted guilt to charges of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and murder-for-hire in the deaths of Jocelyn Peters, 30, a third-grade teacher at Horace Mann Elementary School, and her unborn child, Micah Leigh.
Peters was seven months pregnant at the time of her murder in 2016.
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| Jocelyn Peters |
Phillip J. Cutler, 46, from Muskogee, Oklahoma, the hitman hired by Green, was found guilty in March and received the same sentence of two consecutive life terms last week.
During the sentencing hearing, Lacey Peters, Jocelyn’s mother, expressed her grief, stating that Green was meant to protect her daughter but instead became her executioner.
"All she ever did was love him, and she loved that baby so much," she said.
Peters had believed she was the only woman in Green’s life and that he was divorcing his wife, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
Green had even researched ways to poison the unborn baby by crushing pills and mixing them into oatmeal or yogurt.
When this plan failed, Green turned to Cutler, a longtime friend, using stolen funds from a school fundraiser to pay for the murder.
“He literally stole from children to pay for killing his own child,” remarked Dr. Nicole Conaway, the principal of Mann Elementary during Peters’ tenure.
Green mailed Cutler $2,500 in cash on March 7, 2016.
Two weeks later, Cutler arrived in St. Louis.
Green set up an alibi by traveling to Chicago and gave Cutler the keys to his car and Peters’ apartment.
On March 24, Cutler used Green’s car to reach Peters’ apartment.
He let himself in with Green’s keys and shot Peters in the eye, using a potato as a silencer.
At the time of her murder, Peters was working on baby shower invitations.
Her family continues to mourn her tragic death.
“Jocelyn had a light around her at all times,” her cousin, Dedra Peters, said.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visit thehotline.org. The hotline is available 24/7 in over 170 languages. All calls are toll-free and confidential.
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