Cornelius Green, a former principal of Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts Middle School, has pleaded guilty to federal charges in a murder-for-hire plot that resulted in the death of Jocelyn Peters, a third-grade teacher at Mann Elementary School, and her unborn child.
The incident which occurred in March 2016, has finally seen Green admit to his role in orchestrating the murder of Peters, who was 27 weeks pregnant with his child at the time.
Green, who had been at the helm of Carr Lane since 2002, was reported to have engaged in an extramarital affair with Peters. The affair led to pregnancy, and in a dark turn of events, Green hatched a plan to eliminate Peters, 30, and the unborn child.
Federal prosecutors disclosed that Green had misappropriated $2,500 from school funds to finance the sinister plot, enlisting the services of his longtime friend, Phillip Cutler, to carry out the murder.
Cutler, who had traveled from Oklahoma to St. Louis at Green’s request, executed the plan by breaking into Peters’ apartment on March 24, 2016. Employing a .380 caliber firearm, Cutler shot Peters in the head while she was in bed, using a potato as an improvised silencer to muffle the sound of the gunshot. This heinous act resulted in the deaths of both Peters and her unborn child.
To establish an alibi, Green traveled to Chicago on March 22, 2016, leaving Cutler with the keys to his vehicle and Peters’ apartment. Following the murder, Green returned to St. Louis, discovered Peters’ body, and dialed 911, feigning ignorance about the circumstances of her death.
The federal indictment against Green came in 2022, nearly six years after the murder. His guilty plea to charges of murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire marks a significant milestone in the case, with sentencing scheduled for June 5.
Local authorities have agreed to drop two first-degree murder charges against Green, contingent on him receiving a life sentence for the federal charges.
Phillip Cutler also faces federal charges related to the murder-for-hire scheme, with his jury trial set for March 11.
Nicole Conaway, the principal at Mann Elementary School, remembered Peters as a dedicated educator who deeply cared about her students’ well-being and development.