ST. LOUIS, MO — A murder-for-hire investigation into the 2016 killing of pregnant teacher Jocelyn Peters has uncovered disturbing evidence including potato fragments used as a makeshift gun silencer and surveillance footage capturing the suspected hitman destroying evidence by eating notebook pages.
The case centers on 30-year-old Peters, an award-winning third-grade teacher who was shot once in the eye while sleeping in her Central West End apartment on March 24, 2016. Peters was seven months pregnant with a daughter she planned to name Micah Leigh. Her boyfriend of five years, middle school principal Cornelius Green, has emerged as the primary suspect in what investigators now believe was an elaborate murder-for-hire scheme. Green had keys to Peters’ secure apartment building, which used non-duplicatable keys that required certification to copy, according to retired lead detective Mark Biondolino.
The crime scene revealed unusual evidence that initially puzzled investigators. Potato fragments were splattered throughout Peters’ bedroom, on her headboard, pillow, and around her body. A .380 caliber shell casing was found near her nightstand, but there were no signs of forced entry or struggle. “We believe the potato was used as a makeshift suppression silencer to silence the sound of the firearm being fired,” Biondolino explained. The theory was supported by the fact that no neighbors reported hearing gunshots despite the building’s proximity to other residences. A bag of potatoes was also discovered on Peters’ dining room table, despite her careful meal planning showing no potato dishes scheduled in her weekly menus.
Surveillance footage captured Green returning to St. Louis via Amtrak at 2:57 p.m. on March 24, approximately 12 hours after the murder occurred between 3 a.m. and 3:40 a.m. Green called 911 at 3:19 p.m., claiming he had driven straight from the train station to check on Peters after she failed to answer his calls. “He was very oddly specific on what time he got off the Amtrak,” Biondolino noted. “It was inherently obvious that he wanted detectives to know he wasn’t anywhere around here when this happened.” However, street cameras captured a white sedan similar to Green’s 2013 white Kia Optima in the area shortly after 3 a.m. on the morning of the murder.
During police questioning, Green explained he had loaned his car to Phillip Cutler, a childhood friend visiting from Oklahoma who was originally from St. Louis. Green initially described Cutler as his brother before correcting himself. The investigation revealed Cutler had driven Green to and from the Amtrak station. After two hours of questioning, Green made a phone call to Cutler while still in the interview room, unaware that cameras and microphones were still recording. In the recorded conversation, Green instructed Cutler to retrieve his car and appeared to be coordinating their stories. The most shocking evidence emerged when surveillance cameras later captured Cutler literally eating pages from a notebook, presumably to destroy evidence of the murder plot.
Peters had been recognized as an exceptional educator, receiving the prestigious Pettus Excellence Award for classroom excellence in 2014. She taught at Mann Elementary School, where principal Nicole Conaway had hired her within 15 minutes of their interview, describing Peters as “a bright light” dedicated to investing in children’s lives. Peters was particularly passionate about addressing educational inequities in St. Louis public schools, noting that 80 percent of elementary schools lacked full-time art, music, or physical education teachers. Colleagues and family members described her as preparing enthusiastically for motherhood, with Alice in Wonderland-themed baby shower invitations already prepared and a guest list ready.
The relationship between Peters and Green had shown signs of strain in the weeks before her death. Family members noticed troubling changes during a birthday cruise to the Bahamas in March 2016, just a week before the murder. Peters’ aunt Dedra Peters observed that Green seemed “distant” and “empty,” failing to attend to the pregnant Peters’ needs during the trip. “Even to look him in his face, he looked empty. The whole time on the cruise we’re saying what in the world is going on with him?” she recalled. Peters had also grown frustrated with Green’s reluctance to commit to house-hunting, despite her readiness to purchase a home as her teaching career flourished and her due date approached.
Federal prosecutors have taken over the case, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Missouri handling the murder-for-hire charges. Court documents indicate the investigation has expanded beyond Green to include Cutler as a co-conspirator in the alleged plot. The case represents one of the most unusual murder investigations in St. Louis history, combining traditional detective work with analysis of bizarre physical evidence and surveillance footage of evidence destruction. The federal involvement suggests prosecutors believe the crime crossed state lines, given Cutler’s Oklahoma residence and Green’s travel to Chicago before the murder. The timing of Green’s Chicago trip and the coordination with Cutler’s presence in St. Louis appears to have been carefully orchestrated to provide Green with an alibi while enabling the execution of the murder plot.
