St. Louis Principal Gets Two Lifetimes for Executing Pregnant Lover

ST. LOUIS – A former St. Louis middle school principal, Cornelius M. Green, 42, will spend the rest of his life behind bars after U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White sentenced him Tuesday to two consecutive life terms for orchestrating the murder of his pregnant girlfriend, 30-year-old Jocelyn Peters, and her unborn child, Micah Leigh. The cold-blooded killing, carried out by a hired hitman, shocked the city and revealed a web of deceit and manipulation.

Green pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and one count of murder-for-hire, admitting he’d paid a friend, Phillip J. Cutler, 46, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, to carry out the gruesome act in 2016. Cutler was convicted of the same charges in March and received the same sentence last week. The prosecution detailed how Green, a man entrusted with the education of children, had callously plotted the deaths of a woman who loved him and the child she carried. He stole from his students to fund the hit.

The courtroom was filled with raw emotion as Lacey Peters, Jocelyn’s mother, delivered a searing statement. “He was supposed to be her protector but became her executioner,” she said, her voice trembling. “All she ever did was love him, and she loved that baby so much.” Jocelyn’s cousin, Dedra Peters, echoed the sentiment, describing Jocelyn as someone who “had a light around her at all times” and “touched the heart of anyone she came in contact with.” The family is left “empty and heartbroken,” she said.

Prosecutors revealed a disturbing pattern of control and deception. Green had previously pressured Peters into terminating a pregnancy, but she was resolute in carrying Micah Leigh to term. Unbeknownst to Peters, Green was leading a double life, juggling multiple affairs and falsely claiming he was divorcing his wife. He even researched poisoning Micah Leigh, planning to crush pills into her food before resorting to a more direct, and brutal, solution. To finance the murder, Green pilfered funds from a dance team fundraiser at Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts Middle School – a betrayal that cut deep for those who knew him. “He literally stole from children to pay for killing his own child,” stated Dr. Nicole Conaway, a former principal at Mann Elementary where Peters worked, describing the agonizing task of informing Peters’ students of her death. “I will never forget the pain in their eyes. This trauma will follow them for the rest of their lives.”

The meticulously planned murder unfolded on March 24, 2016. Green created an alibi by taking a train to Chicago while Cutler, armed with $2,500 in cash from a UPS package sent by Green, traveled to St. Louis. Green provided Cutler with keys to both his Kia Optima and Peters’ apartment. Cutler entered the apartment in the 4200 block of West Pine and shot Peters in the eye, using a potato as a makeshift silencer – a detail Peters herself unwittingly facilitated by purchasing the potatoes days before her death. After confirming the killings, Green purchased a return train ticket and, upon his return to St. Louis, attempted to manipulate Peters’ mother into discovering the body before feigning ignorance and calling 911.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Becker condemned Green’s final act of callousness, stating, “The depravity of asking a mother to go find Jocelyn’s body, knowing she was dead, can’t be matched.” Cutler’s attempt to destroy evidence by eating pieces of paper during questioning further underscored the pair’s desperate attempt to conceal their crimes. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore emphasized the lasting impact of the tragedy, stating, “The devastating actions of one depraved individual continue to impact the victims’ family, colleagues, friends and young students.” The sentence, while severe, offers little solace to those whose lives were shattered by Green’s betrayal and violence.

RELATED: Chinatown Walgreens Hit: 10.5 Years for Plotter

RELATED: D.C. Man Sentenced to 17 Years for Partner’s Murder