St. Louis ex-principal charged in pregnant partner's death

ST. LOUIS -- A former St. Louis middle school principal accused of paying a friend to kill his pregnant girlfriend has been charged in her death.

Cornelius Green was charged Thursday with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action in the March 24 killing of Jocelyn Peters, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

His bail is set at $3 million.

Peters, who was a third-grade teacher at Mann Elementary School, was seven months pregnant when she was found fatally shot in her apartment.

The district attorney's office says Green found Peters' body and that he was the father of her unborn child.

Court documents say Green paid his childhood friend, Phillip J. Cutler, to kill Peters. Cutler is being held on the same charges as Green in Peters' death.

Green was principal of Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts Middle School. He also faces three felony counts of receiving stolen property, after being charged in August with stealing $2,700 from dance students who raised the money for a field trip while he was still principal. The theft occurred about three weeks before Peters' death.

Court documents allege that Cutler and Green were in constant communication the days before and the day of Peters' death, and that Cutler was in possession of Green's car and spare keys to Peters' apartment.

Cutler is being held in St. Louis with bail set at $1 million. A circuit attorney's office spokesperson said Green's estranged wife, who was in contact with Green and Cutler shortly after Peters' death, is not facing charges at this time.