In the 2016 murder-for-hire scheme, a married middle school principal from Missouri hired a friend to kill his girlfriend, a teacher, while she was pregnant and her unborn child.
The principal has entered a guilty plea.
Principal of Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts Middle School in St. Louis, Cornelius M. Green, was charged with planning the March 24, 2016, murder of 30-year-old Jocelyn Peters and her unborn child.
On Wednesday, Green entered a guilty plea to the federal charges of murder for hire and murder for hire conspiracy.
Read:
As per the plea deal, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office will drop state charges related to the killings, for which prosecutors had previously stated they would pursue the death penalty if Green is given a life sentence in prison on the federal charges.
According to KSDK in St. Louis, Green texted Cutler on February 29, roughly three weeks before Peters was killed, requesting that he visit St. Louis the week of March 20.
"Ok, that will work, u gonna b sending the pacge?" Cutler answered, as stated in the plea deal.
A week later, Cutler, who resided in Oklahoma, received a UPS package from Green that contained cash. Green used the address of the school where he worked as the return address on the package, stealing the money from the establishment, the outlet reported.
Cutler went to St. Louis on March 21, three days before Peters was killed, and spent the next few nights with Green and his sister.
Read:
The following day, Green took an Amtrak train to Chicago from the Gateway Transportation Center in downtown St. Louis, where Cutler picked him up. He left his car keys and Peters' apartment keys behind.
Prosecutors claimed that Green went to Chicago in order to have a cover story for the murder of his girlfriend.
Cutler arrived at Peters' apartment on West Pine Street early on March 24 and discovered her in bed. He used a potato to muffle the sound of his .380-caliber gunshot as he fatally shot her in the head.
Cutler then informed Green over the phone that his girlfriend had passed away. At the time of Peters's murder, Green was having romantic relationships with several different women in addition to being legally married to another woman.
Read:
Green purchased an Amtrak ticket to go back to St. Louis at roughly 6:40 a.m. Presuming he was unaware of Peters' murder, he went straight to her apartment after landing in St. Louis and dialed 911.
According to KSDK, the plea agreement states that the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office will drop the state charges of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, and one count of burglary if Green is found guilty on the federal charges and given a life sentence. The death penalty was a potential consequence of the state's charges.
__Help support the Tampa Free Press by making any small donation by clicking here.__
Android Users, Click To Download The Tampa Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter.Sign up for our free newsletter.
