Midwest
Ex-principal sentenced in murder-for-hire plot in death of pregnant teacher girlfriend
A former Missouri principal learned his fate after admitting he hired his friend to kill his pregnant girlfriend in 2016 with money stolen from a St. Louis middle school.
Federal prosecutors announced in a press release that Cornelius Green, a former principal at Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts Middle School, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and one count of murder-for-hire and sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison.
Green’s two consecutive life sentences mean that he will have to wait at least 50 years to be considered for parole.
His sentence came after authorities said that he hired his friend, 46-year-old Phillip Cutler, to kill his girlfriend, 30-year-old Jocelyn Peters, and her unborn child, Micah Leigh.
Cutler was charged with the same sentence this week.
FORMER MISSOURI SCHOOL PRINCIPAL ADMITS HIRING HITMAN TO KILL PREGNANT TEACHER
Cornelius Green, formerly a principal at Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts Middle School, stole money intended for a field trip to pay Phillip Cutler $2,500 dollars to kill his pregnant girlfriend, prosecutors say. (St. Louis City Justice Center)
Green, who was married at the time, previously admitted to hiring his friend to kill Peters, who was seven months pregnant at the time.
Federal prosecutors said that Green and Cutler planned the murder in a series of phone calls.
Authorities said that Green sent Cutler a UPS package in March 2021 with $2,500 to pay for the horrific murder of his pregnant girlfriend.
Green had Peters buy potatoes days before her own murder, prosecutors said. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri)
The former principal admitted he used stolen funds stolen from the school to finance the murder-for-hire.
“He literally stole from children to pay for killing his own child,” said Dr. Nicole Conaway, the principal of Mann Elementary.
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Authorities said that Green took a train trip to Chicago to establish his alibi for the murder and gave Cutler the keys to his Kia Optima and Peters’ apartment.
Cutler arrived at Peters’ apartment and let himself inside with the keys provided and shot her, authorities said. Prosecutors said that he used a potato as a silencer.
Peters was sitting at the kitchen table and preparing baby shower invitations at the time of her murder — which was funded by her boyfriend.
Third grade teacher Jocelyn Peters was remembered as “someone who cared deeply about children,” People reported. She was shot dead as she slept in the early hours of March 24. (Jocelyn Peters on Facebook)
After Cutler confirmed that Jocelyn and the baby had been killed, Green bought a return train ticket.
When Green got back to St. Louis, he first attempted to get Peters’ mother to “check on her,” knowing what she would find, authorities said.
“The depravity of asking a mother to go find Jocelyn’s body, knowing she was dead, can’t be matched,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Becker said during Tuesday’s hearing.
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Authorities said that Green eventually went to Peters’ apartment and feigned surprise when he called 911 to report her death.
“He pretended he had no knowledge of the circumstances leading to the deaths, lying to police and getting Cutler and others to conceal evidence,” federal prosecutors said. “Cutler was detained for questioning that same night, after he attempted to retrieve the Kia Optima from the crime scene at Green’s direction.”
Phillip Cutler was Green’s childhood friend. Prosecutors say Green gave him keys to Peters’ apartment, where he shot her. (St. Louis City Justice Center)
In February, Green and Cutler pleaded guilty in the murder of Peters and her baby.
Legally, Green was married to another woman at the time of the killing and involved in several other romantic relationships, authorities said.
With her relationship with Green, Peters had miscarried before and terminated one pregnancy at his urging.
Prosecutors also alleged that Green was “researching ways to secretly poison” her by crushing pills and hiding them in oatmeal or yogurt.
When the poisoning failed, Green turned to his friend to plot the death of his girlfriend and child, police said.
Peters’ cousin, Dedra Peters, said that her death left the “family empty and heartbroken.”
“Jocelyn had a light around her at all times,” she said. “[Jocelyn] touched the heart of anyone she came in contact with.”
Peters’ mother, Lacey Peters, said Green was supposed to be Peters’ protector but became her executioner.
“All she ever did was love him,” Lacey Peters said, adding, “and she loved that baby so much.”
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Wisconsin
South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, officials in standoff with homeowner over year-round skeleton display
The city of South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has ordered a homeowner to take down his year-round giant skeleton display or face fines, but the homeowner is standing firm and refusing, even as the deadline to remove the display has passed.
Now there’s a skeleton standoff.
The city cited ordinance violations in their order for Sean Oster to dismantle the lawn decorations. The notice specifically references “large Halloween decorations being displayed not during the appropriate time of year.”
Oster was also ordered to make other improvements to his property.
But Oster has refused to take down the display, which is re-dressed as the year goes on and is currently sporting a Fourth of July theme. The Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm, has come to his aid, saying the city’s actions violate Oster’s First Amendment rights.
City administrators declined to comment, citing a pending investigation. Neighbors have been divided by the display; some say they’re fine with it, and think it brings fun and positivity to the neighborhood, but some others want to see it removed and say the lawn should be kept up better and more consistently.
Oster said he’s hoping to reach an agreement with the city, and said he’s corrected all other violations outside of the display.
DETROIT (WXYZ) — Human remains were found in a furnace of an home on Detroit’s west side, the Detroit Police Department tells us.
The remains was found by an individual working on the home in the 5200 block of S Clarendon just after 11 a.m.
Anyone with information can call 313-596-2260 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-SpeakUp.
Stay with WXYZ.com for updates on this developing story.
MILWAUKEE — Former Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan won’t serve prison time or probation and has been fined $5,000, a judge determined on Wednesday during her sentencing hearing.
It comes after a jury found her guilty of obstruction last year for helping an immigrant evade federal agents.
During the hearing, Dugan’s defense team called two character witnesses to the stand to speak on her behalf, including Rev. Gregory J. O’Meara, who is also a Marquette University Law School faculty member, and Janine Geske, the retired director of the Andrew Center for Restorative Justice and a law professor at Marquette.
“Hannah models what it means to be a Christian,” O’Meara said.
Dugan herself also spoke for the first time since the case against her began.
She told U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman that she tried to “maintain a courtroom with the decorum and safety the public deserves.”
Dugan added her actions on April 18, 2025, when the incident occurred, were “not done with any malicious intent or to advance any personal interest.”
Wrapping up her remarks, Dugan said to the court she has been cast as a scofflaw and a hero, but considers herself neither of those things.
“I am a public servant who’s just trying to do my job,” Dugan said, adding that she has had to retire from public life due to threats against her and her family.
A prosecutor then acknowledged that “she has experienced collateral damage because of her conduct,” but said “judges can’t choose to disregard the law.”
Prosecutors argued that Dugan’s actions amounted to an “abuse of trust” and asked the court’s sentence to reflect that.
Adelman then spoke, saying Dugan made a bad decision and that he doesn’t believe prison is necessary.
“This is a few minutes of conduct for someone who has dedicated her life to public service,” the judge said. “It’s a marked deviation from an otherwise law-abiding life.”
He also noted that Dugan’s actions didn’t stop the ICE agents from arresting the defendant outside the courthouse.
In April of last year, federal agents showed up at the Milwaukee County Courthouse to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who had reentered the country illegally. On that particular day, he was appearing before Dugan’s courtroom for a state battery case.
Dugan confronted the federal agents in a hallway outside the courtroom and directed them to the chief judge’s office. Following that, she helped Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a private jury door. Agents eventually caught up to him outside the courthouse.
Dugan was later arrested and charged for her part in the incident, and she was found guilty of obstruction last December; she was acquitted on her concealment charge.
Her lawyers argued during her trial that President Donald Trump’s administration sought to “crush” Dugan in an effort to ensure judicial compliance with the ICE strategy of targeting immigrants as they showed up for court hearings.
Dugan resigned the Milwaukee County circuit judgeship she had held for nine years in January amid threats of impeachment from Republican state lawmakers who labeled her an activist judge. In her resignation letter, she said her prosecution threatened “the independence of our judiciary.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who has the backing of Trump in his race for governor, urged authorities to “lock her up” in a social media post following her conviction.
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