Photo: St. Louis City Justice Center
A former middle school principal from Missouri pleaded guilty to hiring a hitman to kill his girlfriend and her unborn baby in 2016. Cornelius M. Green reached a plea deal with prosecutors and agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of murder for hire conspiracy and murder for hire.
If he is sentenced to life in prison, officials agreed to drop the state charges against him, which carry the potential of the death penalty.
Prosecutors said that Green, who was principal at Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts Middle School in St. Louis, hired Phillip J. Cutler to kill his girlfriend, 30-year-old Jocelyn Peters, and her unborn baby on March 24, 2016. Green was married and got Peters pregnant in 2015.
Not only did Green hire Cutler to kill Peters, but he also paid him using money he stole from his school.
Green will be sentenced on June 5.
Cutler was also charged with murder for hire conspiracy and murder for hire by federal officials. His trial is set to begin on March 11.