Missouri Principal Sentenced to Life for Murdering Pregnant Teacher and Unborn Child
A 42-year-old former middle school principal in Missouri will spend the rest of his days in federal prison for killing a teacher on his staff who was pregnant with his daughter. U.S. District Court Judge Ronnie L. White of the Eastern District of Missouri on Tuesday ordered Cornelius M. Green to serve two consecutive life sentences for the 2016 murders of 30-year-old Jocelyn Peters and her unborn child, Micah Leigh, authorities announced.
Green, who was married at the time, previously admitted to hiring his friend to kill Peters, who was seven months pregnant, using funds stolen from the school where he and the victim worked. He pleaded guilty in February to one count each of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and murder-for-hire.
The friend who pulled the trigger for $2,500, Phillip J. Cutler, was found guilty of the same charges and similarly sentenced to two consecutive terms of life in prison by Judge White, who called the crime the “most heinous” he had seen in his career on the bench. Prosecutors revealed that Green had lied to Peters about his marriage, convincing her that he was in the process of a divorce and that she was the only woman in his life. However, evidence showed that Peters was one of several women Green was seeing. Green turned to murder after failing to slip Peters abortion pills without her knowledge.
“Peters did not know about the multiple other women, including at least one who was also being duped by Green into believing they were building a life together,” federal prosecutors wrote in a news release. “She also did not know that Green was researching ways to secretly poison Micah Leigh by crushing pills and hiding them in oatmeal or yogurt. When that plan failed, Green contacted his longtime friend, Cutler, and stole money from the dance team’s fundraiser at the school where he worked.”
Several people addressed the court during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing.
Peters’ mother said Green was supposed to be a protector to her daughter but instead became her executioner. “All she ever did was love him,” she said, adding that Peters “loved that baby so much.”
Nicole Conaway, the principal of Mann Elementary when Peters worked there, emphasized how Green paid for the hit on his girlfriend by taking money from his own students. “He literally stole from children to pay for killing his own child,” Conaway said. Conaway also mentioned that she had to inform Peters’ students about her murder. “I will never forget the pain in their eyes,” she said. “This trauma will follow them for the rest of their lives.”
According to court documents, Green sent Cutler a text message on Feb. 29, 2016, asking him to come from Oklahoma to Missouri at the end of March. Cutler responded, “Ok, that will work, u gonna b sending the pacge (sic).” Green sent a UPS package containing $2,500 in cash to Cutler on March 7, 2016, using the address of the middle school as the return address for the package.
Cutler arrived in St. Louis on March 21 and stayed at the residence where Green lived with his sister. The following day, Green took an Amtrak to Chicago, leaving Cutler with his car and the keys to Peters’ apartment. Prosecutors said Green traveled to Chicago to establish an alibi for the murder of Peters and their unborn child.
On March 24, Cutler drove Green’s car to Peters’ apartment in the 4200 block of West Pine Boulevard in St. Louis. He used the keys provided by Green to enter her home, found her in bed, and shot her with a .38 caliber firearm in the head, using a potato as a silencer. “Green had Peters buy potatoes days before her own murder,” prosecutors said.
Green then purchased an Amtrak ticket back to St. Louis “so there would be verification that he was in Chicago at the time of the murder.” Upon his return to St. Louis, Green repeatedly asked Peters’ mother to “check on her,” knowing what she would find.
“The depravity of asking a mother to go find Jocelyn’s body, knowing she was dead, can’t be matched,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Becker said on Tuesday.
Green will now serve two consecutive life sentences, ensuring he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
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