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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Cleveland, OH
Ohio ICAC Task Force’s “Operation Guardians’ Watch” Results in 25 Individuals Arrested and Charged for Attempting to Meet with an Underage Child to Engage in Sexual Activity
The defendants, ages 20 – 63, engaged in sexually explicit online conversations with undercover officers posing as children. Contact was initiated through popular social media applications. The defendants expressed an interest in engaging in sexual activity with the purported children. Some of the defendants disseminated images of their genitals and others offered to pay for sexual activity during the online conversations.
Initial charges – ranging from third-degree to fifth-degree felonies – were filed against the defendants, which include:
- Compelling Prostitution
- Attempted Unlawful Sexual Conduct With A Minor
- Disseminating Matter Harmful To Juveniles
- Importuning
- Possessing Criminal Tools
The arrested individuals include:
- Brian Ferguson, 38, Cleveland
- Andre Johnson, 37, Maple Heights
- Luca Ascione, 31, Strongsville
- Doug Matheson, 51, Berne, New York
- Timothy Rankin, 37, Elyria
- Glen Martin, 52, Eastlake
- Christopher Docy, 28, North Ridgeville
- Dominick Craig, 37, Logan
- Gerald Rhome, 51, East Cleveland
- Deandre Anderson, 24, Warrensville Heights
- Tai’rez Jackson, 24, Cleveland
- Esteban Baltazar, 63, Springfield, Tennessee
- Oscar Aparicio, 24, Houston, Texas
- Mohammad Mabrouk, 29, Cleveland
- Michael Sullivan, 20, Cleveland
- Brett Musselman, 33, Kent
- David Whitfield, 35, Geneva,
- Delwin Ortiz, 29, Cleveland
- Samuel Kanyaruginga, 35, Cleveland
- Domonic Delvalle, 35, Cleveland
- Clyde Sweeney, 46, Fairlawn
- Jason Kopco, 27, Westlake
- Zachary Brodeur, 37, Flynn, Massachusetts
- Vishwatej Nath, 45, Berea (charges will be filed in Lake County)
- Klajdi Vrapi, 27, Fairview Park
“Operation Guardians’ Watch was coordinated by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and the Ohio ICAC Task Force with the assistance of the Newburgh Heights Police Department, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, Parma Police Department, Sheffield Village Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations Cleveland, U.S Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation Cleveland, Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office, Kirtland Police Department, Lyndhurst Police Department, Amherst Police Department, Warren Police Department, Perrysburg Police Department, Kelleys Island Police Department, Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department, and Portage County Sheriff’s Department.
This is the seventh undercover operation the Task Force has led since 2018. The total number of arrests from the Task Force’s operations stands at 160 offenders arrested.
*Ohio ICAC Task Force:
The Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is run under the direction of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and funded in part by a grant from the Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The task force conducts proactive and reactive investigations dealing with the online exploitation of children and provides training and technical assistance to more than 385 local, state, and federal criminal justice-affiliated agencies throughout the state of Ohio.
Illinois will get $1.1 million of a $45 million, 45-state settlement with money transfer app Cash App’s parent company, which was accused of misleading customers about the app’s security.
Block Inc. will face $55 million in civil penalties and also have to pay customers nationwide somewhere from $75 million to $120 million as part of the settlement, which includes the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
In a statement, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said the settlement holds the company accountable and requires it to “change its harmful practices.”
“Block told Cash App users their money was safe and falsely implied that the app worked like a bank, with the same protections,” Raoul said. “Block was aware that fraud on its platform was rising sharply and failed to warn users, strengthen protections or provide real help to users when things went wrong.”
A company spokesperson confirmed the settlement and said the company has made “significant investments in consumer protection, customer service, and compliance.”
“We share the commitment of the attorneys general to addressing industry challenges and continue to invest in operations and technology to promote a safe and healthy financial ecosystem,” the spokesperson said in a statement provided to the Sun-Times Wednesday night.
The lawsuit accused the company of not preventing fraud, and even of having systems that made it easier to commit that fraud. Minimal identity verification allowed someone to create fake or multiple accounts, and the company had no phone support line. Instead, customers who had been defrauded often were provided by those fraudsters with fake online customer support phone numbers, the suit alleged.
As part of the agreement, the company must offer at least 13.5 hours of human-staffed phone lines per day as part of 24-hour support, as well as reimburse customers for fraudulent transactions, stop marketing the app as safe and educate users about the dangers of fraud.
INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — Indiana saw a significant decline in veteran homelessness last year, despite the total number of homelessness rising across the state.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) annual estimation of the homeless population, known as the Point in Time (PIT) count, Indiana saw an 18.7% decline in veteran homelessness in 2025 compared to the year before.
That marked the second-largest decline of any state by percentage.
Helping Veterans and Families (HVAF) of Indiana specializes in assistance for veterans facing homelessness. CEO Emmy Hildebrand told News 8 the formula that’s finding success is the same that works with any at-risk group: housing and wrap-around services.
Hildebrand said that the formula needs support from the state.
“There is no state funding supporting homeless services in our state,” Hildebrand said. “And very little local funding outside Indianapolis.”
Safety net programs have faced budget cuts, with lawmakers eliminating funding for the Housing First program in 2025. It supported organizations helping people secure stable housing.
And housing advocates have criticized Indiana’s public camping ban as essentially making it illegal to be homeless.
HVAF client Terri Massey, a 34-year-old Navy veteran, said the stigma of being homeless was the most difficult challenge to overcome.
“I’m still trying to provide for my kids,” Massey said “I’m (not) out here being lazy or not trying to do better.”
Massey was working, supporting her children, but found herself sleeping in cars and hotel rooms because she didn’t have stable housing. “Going to that work, working 10 hours, leaving, going to sleep in my car.”
HVAF helped place Massey in a permanent apartment. HVAF also placed Massey in a different kind of “bootcamp” years after her time in the military, learning job skills. She’s looking for a job, but thankful to do it from a place she can call home.
“I am beyond grateful and thankful. I literally pray and thank God every day,” Massey said. “Because for the longest I felt like I was alone. And I had to figure everything out by myself. I didn’t.”
It’s estimated that seven percent of Indiana’s homeless are veterans. Hildebrand said there are federal funds for organizations working with veterans, which support HVAF’s programs.
Still, finding permanent housing is a struggle.
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, for every 100 extremely low-income households in Indiana, just 34 rental homes are affordable and available.
“There are so many people on the bubble that are just one emergency away from living in their car, staying with friends and family, or living on the streets because we don’t have the appropriate system here in Indiana,” Hildebrand said.
Hildebrand said lawmakers assured her they would work to support homeless services, but she hasn’t seen any drafted legislation that might be introduced in the next legislative session.
Across the country, about one in 25 people experiencing homelessness previously served active duty in the armed forces, according to numbers from HUD. Veteran homelessness declined 56% between 2009 and 2025.
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