U.S. District Court Judge Ronnie L. White of the Eastern District of Missouri issued a ruling on Tuesday sentencing Cornelius M. Green to two consecutive life terms for the murders of 30-year-old Jocelyn Peters and her unborn child, Micah Leigh, in 2016, according to authorities.
At the time of the crime, Green, who was married, admitted to arranging for his friend to kill Peters, who was seven months pregnant, using funds embezzled from the school where both he and Peters worked. In February, Green pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and murder-for-hire.
Phillip J. Cutler, the friend hired to carry out the murder for $2,500, was also found guilty of the same charges and received two consecutive life sentences from Judge White. White described the crime as the “most heinous” he had encountered in his judicial career.
Prosecutors revealed that Green had deceived Peters about his marital status, leading her to believe he was divorcing and that she was his sole romantic interest. However, evidence showed that Peters was one of several women Green was involved with. When attempts to secretly administer abortion pills to Peters failed, Green resorted to murder.
“Peters did not know about the multiple other women, including at least one who was also being duped by Green into believing they were building a life together,” federal prosecutors wrote in a news release. “She also did not know that Green was researching ways to secretly poison Micah Lee by crushing pills and hiding them in oatmeal or yogurt. When that plan failed, Green contacted his longtime friend, Cutler, and stole money from the dance team’s fundraiser at the school where he worked.”
Several people took the opportunity to address the court during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing.
Peters’ mother said Green was supposed to be a protector to her daughter, but instead became her executioner. “All she ever did was love him,” she said, adding that Peters “loved that baby so much.”
Nicole Conaway, the principal of Mann Elementary when Peters worked there, emphasized how he paid for the hit on his girlfriend by taking money from his own students. “He literally stole from children to pay for killing his own child,” Conaway said.
Conaway also said that she was the one who had to tell Peters’ students about her murder.
“I will never forget the pain in their eyes,” she said. “This trauma will follow them for the rest of their lives.”
