Jocelyn Peters, a 30-year-old third grade teacher in St. Louis, Missouri, was gunned down in her apartment while seven months pregnant with her first child. Now, nearly a decade after her death, federal prosecutors have uncovered what they describe as a murder-for-hire scheme involving her boyfriend and the man he allegedly hired to kill her.
Background
Jocelyn Peters lived in Apartment 201 of a Central West End apartment building. On the night of March 23, 2016, she was sleeping in her bed when authorities believe she was killed between 3 a.m. and 3:40 a.m.
Her boyfriend, Cornelius Green, had been in Chicago for three days. He returned to St. Louis on Thursday, March 24, 2016, and drove directly to her apartment. When he arrived, he found Jocelyn on the floor of her bedroom.
Jocelyn's mother, Lacey Peters, received a devastating call from Cornelius. 'When he called me, he told me that he went to go check on her and she was … on the floor,' Lacey Peters recalled.
There were no signs of forced entry at Jocelyn's apartment. The wood door at the main entrance appeared secure and sturdy, and the building manager used non-duplicatable keys that locksmiths were not allowed to copy.
Cornelius had keys to Jocelyn's apartment. While they did not live together, they had been in an intimate relationship for five years. Jocelyn was seven months pregnant with a baby girl she had named Micah Leigh.
Jocelyn Peters was described by colleagues as a strong force and fierce advocate for children. In 2014, she received the prestigious Pettus Excellence Award, recognizing excellence in the classroom.
The Investigation
Lead homicide detective Mark Biondolino began the investigation on March 24, 2016. He has remained connected to the case even after retiring from the St. Louis Police Department.
Investigators discovered a single shell casing from a .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol on the floor near Jocelyn's nightstand. She was found laying on her side with a wound to her eye.
The most unusual piece of evidence was potato fragments splattered across the headboard, around her pillow and behind her head. Authorities believe the killer used a potato as a makeshift suppression device to silence the gunshot.
'We believe the potato was used as a … makeshift suppression silencer … to silence the sound of the firearm being fired,' Biondolino explained.
Surveillance cameras on the street captured a white sedan shortly after 3 a.m. The vehicle matched Cornelius Green's car — a white Kia Optima.
Cornelius told investigators he had been in Chicago and provided an Amtrak ticket showing his arrival time. Security footage from the St. Louis train station showed him returning on March 24, 2016, approximately 12 hours after Jocelyn was murdered.
During questioning, Cornelius became agitated when asked about his car and refused to consent to a search. He claimed he had loaned the vehicle to Phillip Cutler, a childhood friend from Oklahoma.
Investigators later learned that Cornelius and Cutler had exchanged text messages nearly a month before Jocelyn's murder. Phone data analysis would reveal crucial evidence about the alleged murder-for-hire plot.
Cornelius eventually provided investigators with his phone and a written statement. He mentioned that he and Jocelyn had baked potato for dinner on March 20 — four days before her death.
The detail raised investigators' suspicions. They obtained surveillance video from an ALDI supermarket showing Cornelius and Jocelyn leaving with a 10-pound bag of russet potatoes perched on their grocery cart.
Key Takeaways
- Jocelyn Peters, a 30-year-old pregnant teacher, was fatally shot in her St. Louis apartment on March 23-24, 2016
- Authorities believe a potato was used as a makeshift silencer to quiet the gunshot
- Her boyfriend Cornelius Green was the father of her unborn child
- Prosecutors allege Green hired Phillip Cutler to carry out the killing
- Text messages between Green and Cutler were discovered from approximately one month before the murder
- Investigators found a 10-pound bag of potatoes in grocery surveillance footage from days before the killing
- The case remained unsolved for years until federal prosecutors uncovered the alleged murder-for-hire scheme
What's Next
The investigation into Jocelyn Peters' death has evolved from a local homicide case to a federal murder-for-hire prosecution. Detectives who worked the original case have cooperated with federal authorities as the investigation expanded.
The case represents a significant development in what had been a stagnant investigation. Biondolino, who remained dedicated to solving the case long after his retirement, worked with prosecutors as they built their case against the alleged conspirators.
Court dates and further proceedings are expected to be scheduled as the case moves through the federal court system in the Eastern District of Missouri.