St. Louis School Principal Guilty of Murder-for-Hire Plot to Kill Pregnant Girlfriend

A former principal at Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts Middle School in St. Louis, Cornelius Green, has pleaded guilty to charges in federal court after admitting he hired his friend to kill his pregnant girlfriend in 2016. Federal prosecutors revealed that Green paid Phillip Cutler $2,500 to murder 30-year-old teacher Jocelyn Peters.

Stolen School Fund

The money used to pay Cutler was stolen from a school fund for a field trip, and it was then mailed to Cutler via UPS using the school's address as a return address, according to a plea agreement reviewed by Fox News Digital.

Guilty Plea

Green pleaded guilty to federal charges of murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. It was reported that if he is sentenced to life in prison, state charges of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action and one count of burglary will be dropped.

Victim Remembered

Jocelyn Peters, the victim, was remembered as "someone who cared deeply about children." She was a third-grade teacher at nearby Mann Elementary School and was more than 27 weeks pregnant with Green's child at the time of her death.

Text Messages Revealed

It was revealed that Green sent a text message to Cutler asking him to come to St. Louis on the week of March 20, 2016, and also inquired about sending a package. Cutler then arrived in St. Louis three days before Peters was killed, staying with Green and his sister, according to court documents.

Tragic Events

Cutler allegedly drove Green to Chicago to establish an alibi, while he stayed with keys to Green's car and Peters' apartment. In the early morning hours of March 24, 2016, Cutler fatally shot Peters with a .380-caliber gun while she slept and used a potato as a silencer, as stated in the court documents.