Missouri Man Thrown to Jail after Pregnant Girlfriend became Victim of His Murder-for-Hire Scheme leaving Victim’s Family Devastated
A former middle school principal in Missouri has been sentenced to life in federal prison for the murder of a teacher on his staff who was pregnant with his daughter.
District Court Judge Ronnie L. White from the Eastern District of Missouri has issued a ruling, ordering Cornelius M. Green to serve two consecutive life sentences. This decision comes as a result of the 2016 murders of Jocelyn Peters, aged 30, and her unborn child, Micah Leigh. The authorities have made this announcement.
Green, who was married at the time, has confessed to hiring his friend to commit a heinous act against Peters, who was seven months pregnant at the time. The funds used to carry out this crime were stolen from the school where both Green and the victim were employed. In February, he admitted his guilt to charges of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and murder-for-hire.
Phillip J. Cutler, the friend who pulled the trigger for $2,500, has been found guilty of the same charges and has been sentenced to two consecutive terms of life in prison. The judge, White, described the crime as the “most heinous” he had encountered in his career on the bench.
Prosecutors revealed that Green had deceived Peters about his marital status, leading her to believe that he was in the process of getting a divorce and that she was the only woman in his life.
However, it was revealed that Peters was just one of the many women Green was involved with. Disturbingly, Green resorted to murder when his attempt to secretly administer abortion pills to Peters failed.
Nicole Conaway, the principal of Mann Elementary during Peters’ tenure, highlighted the disturbing fact that he financed the attack on his girlfriend by exploiting funds from his own students.
On March 21, Cutler arrived in St. Louis and started residing at the same place where Green lived with his sister, according to authorities. The next day, Green traveled to Chicago by Amtrak, leaving Cutler with his car and the keys to Peters’ apartment. According to prosecutors, Green’s trip to Chicago was allegedly intended to establish an alibi for the tragic murder of Peters and their unborn child.
Two days later, on March 24th, Cutler drove Green’s car to Peters’ apartment located in the 4200 block of West Pine Boulevard in St. Louis. According to prosecutors, he gained unauthorized access to Green’s home using the keys she had given him.
He then discovered her in bed and proceeded to shoot her in the head with a .38 caliber firearm. To minimize the noise, he used a potato as a makeshift silencer. Green allegedly instructed Peters to purchase potatoes shortly before her tragic demise.
Green decided to buy an Amtrak ticket to St. Louis as proof of his whereabouts in Chicago during the time of the murder as reported by Law&Crime.
Upon returning to St. Louis, Green persistently requested Peters’ mother to “check on her,” fully aware of what she would discover, according to prosecutors.
