Jocelyn Peters and the Notebook | Post Mortem | Forensic Files

Welcome to Postmortem. I'm 48 Hours correspondent Natalie Morales filling [music] in as host today to speak with
Anne Marie Green about her report on the murder of Jocelyn Peters. So, on March 24th, 2016, Jocelyn's boyfriend,
Cornelius Green, called the St. Louis Police Department to report that Jocelyn had been shot in her apartment. Now,
this story features details that I have never encountered in another 48 Hours episode including a key suspect eating
pages out of a notebook and fragments of a potato that were found at the crime scene. We're going to discuss all of
that and more, but first, Anne Marie Green, thanks for joining us. >> And Natalie, it's always great to be
here and you know, I always like doing Postmortem with you, so it's fantastic. >> Thank you. I love doing it with you as
well and this one is such an intriguing case. I mean, I got to remind our viewers first though, if you haven't
watched or listened to our 48 Hours episode, Jocelyn Peters and the notebook, just go check it out right
now, then come back for our conversation. Jocelyn Peters was a 30-year-old beloved
elementary school teacher. She was in a relationship with a school principal, Cornelius Green, for 5 years. In fact,
they were expecting a child together. Jocelyn was 7 months pregnant when she was killed in her home. Well, now
investigators did find a shell casing on the floor. No weapon was recovered. Jocelyn's phone was also missing and
they did find something else that was really bizarre, Anne Marie. >> They did. They found potato fragments in
the bedroom. Um, and what they really believe is that it was used as a silencer. And it's not just the potato
fragments in the bedroom. As you saw in the hour, Jocelyn was really kind of focused on her health and she chronicled
everything she ate throughout this pregnancy. Potatoes not on the list, but there's a big bag of potatoes in the
house. Later on, what you find out is that Cornelius and Jocelyn went shopping shortly before she was killed, and one
of the things they bought was potatoes. And the reason that it's kind of so important is it gives you an indication
of the level of pre-planning for this, right? She just didn't just happen to have potatoes. This There was something
very, very deliberate about purchasing those potatoes that day. >> And and potatoes as a silencer, I mean,
I had never even heard of that before. Where did that idea even come from? >> I mean, when I first heard of it, it
reminded me of some like 1940s like talkie gangster movie or talkie Did they call them talkies? Yeah. You know what I
mean? But it probably worked because no one in the apartment heard the gunshot, right? Um but also, it's actually, you
know, come up in movies and television before. In fact, they mentioned one particular movie during the trial, uh
the uh 1992 film South Central. They use a silencer a potato as a silencer. >> And I know the lead detective on the
case actually did a demo for you. I mean, this had to be extremely dangerous, by the way, right?
>> I did not appreciate how dangerous it was until he sort of showed me how it would work. Cuz I think in my mind, I
just thought, "Oh, you just stick the potato on the end." Right? But you can't. Or right, you'd have a gun sort
of full of potato. So, you have to kind of hold it. So, you can imagine, Natalie, you're holding this gun, and at
the end of the gun, where the bullet is coming out, you're holding a potato. If you move your hand in any direction by
mistake, you're going to shoot your hand off. It's extremely dangerous. >> Does not sound like a good idea at all.
Well, police quickly zeroed in on Jocelyn's boyfriend at the time, Cornelius Green. After surveillance
cameras picked up uh of a white sedan that appeared to look like the car that he drove. That was a
Kia Optima. That was around 3:00 a.m. that the surveillance cameras picked up that image. Turns out though, Cornelius
had an alibi. He was in Chicago at the time that Jocelyn was murdered. But we learn that he had loaned his car to his
friend named Philip Cutler. >> Now, before I get into, you know, how we find out about that, I should talk about
his trip to Chicago. Um he visited friends of his, a couple. Um 48 Hours did reach out to them. They were not
interested in participating in this process, according to the prosecution. He was there for a couple days and they
did think it was sort of a little odd and that his behavior was a little odd during that time. Um you know, it's a
quick turnaround. He comes right back. But how we learn that he's lent his car is because while he's sitting in the
interrogation room in the police station, he makes a phone call. And uh he [clears throat] calls Cutler and asks
Cutler to pick up the car. And the cameras are rolling and we have all this video.
>> Video and audio. So I guess uh he just forgot that in those interrogation rooms, the cameras are always rolling.
>> Yeah. >> So he also called his wife and I yes, we're talking about his wife because he
was still married at the time, his wife Stephanie, and and talked about his car keys and asked her to then meet Cutler.
Now, police bring Cutler in. That's when we see another bizarre thing happen on camera.
>> Yeah. He was caught on camera eating pages from his notebook. Hm. So from what I gather, you know, Philip
Cutler is brought to this room, but he's not told what why he's there. An officer
at one point comes to the door, opens the door, and and that's when Philip Cutler says, "Do you know how long how
long I'm going to be here?" And the officer says, "Well, it's a homicide investigation, so, you know,
I'm paraphrasing, these things take time." It is after that that he starts flipping through his
notebook and stuffs these pieces in his mouth. >> And I guess investigators at the time
did not see that that video in real time as we saw it as the viewers. >> right. You know, these I guess I didn't
really kind of realize this, but I guess once you're in this room, the cameras are rolling, there's audio, there's
sound, but you know, the officers are the investigators are, you know, getting their questions together, getting their
paperwork work together. They're not watching the entire time. And so, when they go back into the room, they didn't
know to ask him about these papers until much later. >> What did they think when they saw that?
>> Just like the rest of us, they wanted to know what was on, you know, those papers. You know, later on, Cutler
argued that what was on those papers it was like the phone number to like a guy that he bought marijuana from. Um but
what what we do know is once he realized it was a homicide investigation, he felt
the need to get rid of those pages. >> Well, uh Cutler also claimed he did not know
Jocelyn Peters, but he did provide police with a key piece of information that would become crucial, and that was
his phone number. >> Yeah, exactly. And then later on, uh Cornelius gives them access to his
actual phone. And so, then what you see as they go through the phone and then they have the phone
number is a really important series of text messages um between the two, right? And I'm just going to read out what's
said. Green asks Cutler, "When are you coming here?" Cutler says, "When do you want me
to come there?" "Spring break, March 18th to the 22nd." Uh "The week of March 20th" is what
Green says. Cutler says, "Okay, that will work. You got to remember like you know Cutler lives in Oklahoma. These
guys are friends from when they were little kids, but they're not hanging out together on a regular basis. Cutler then
says, "You going to be sending the package." Now investigators are like, "What package? What What are they
looking for?" Um and they look at every possible way that a package could be sent from St. Louis to Oklahoma and go
through all the list. Could it be UPS? Could it be the postal service until they find a package that was delivered
to Cutler. Of course, they don't know what's in it, but they know it's got the dimensions of maybe a letter or
something a little heavier. >> Well, it turns out that package contained about $2,500 and Cutler had
signed for it. Cutler's phone location by the way was also placed at the scene of the crime and that's when after all
of that is put together, he is then arrested. >> Right. >> Well, let's talk about Cornelius Green.
Now Jocelyn's friend called him in the hour a monster and he's the worst kind of monster because he presents to be
something else. I mean that really struck me hearing that language because on paper he's a school principal. He
seems to have everything going for him, but we learn everything else around him is just all a facade, right Amarie?
>> The best word Natalie. I literally was about to say facade. It's It's all image, no substance. I mean I think he
was a good principal. People seem to like him as a principal. The prosecutor described him as an enigma because he
has no criminal record. There isn't sort of a history of violence or any of that.
Um and yes, we learned that he was married. He also had a daughter, too. >> Do we know if his his wife was aware at
all about Jocelyn and vice and vice versa? >> He didn't had not been living with his
wife and child for several years. According to Jocelyn's family, he told Jocelyn that they were legally
separated. His wife now now ex-wife could file for divorce later. So Stephanie knew about Jocelyn but
thought that they had broken up. Um but but here's the thing. There were so many other women.
I want to share a little clip from the prosecutor Tiffany Becker about what she has to say about all of this.
>> We know that he was involved sexually not only with his ex-wife off and on, obviously Jocelyn, but then he had a
relationship with another woman. She would believe that she was going to marry him and that they were going to
get a house and build a family together. And there were multiple other individuals we identified during the
examination of his text messages that showed he was juggling all of these relationships at that time.
>> Mhm. Somehow he was successful with the ladies. He absolutely was really good at
showing different people I guess a different face. >> Yeah and and just to think about
Jocelyn. I mean she's 7 months pregnant thinking that eventually she might marry
the guy that all she wants is to set up a house with him and to you know really just have a solid relationship and start
for her baby girl. >> I should say Natalie one of the things that Jocelyn's family said to us is that
they felt that he was successful at juggling all these women because he deliberately chose women who were career
oriented. >> Mhm. >> And they would be too busy to be going through his text messages, asking them
who's this girl? That they were just like really focused driven women. So they they were not going to be checking
up on him to see what he was up to. And so he got away with a lot. Welcome back. All right, well, let's
talk about how Cornelius Green allegedly stole $2,700 from his own school's dance team. That
shows you the kind of desperation and the level of, you know, depravity that he was he was capable of.
>> Yeah, I mean, he didn't have the money to send to Philip Cutler. So, you know,
the allegation is that he stole it from his own school. Nicole Calloway, the principal of at Jocelyn's school, said
he literally stole from children to pay for killing his own child. So, the way he was caught is the they
were kind of holding this money in a box in a room, basically. Um like a a big closet or whatever. Not that it wasn't
in a bank account. According to police reports, someone saw him go in. And he was just one of, you know, a couple of
people who went into the room. Um but when the police were called to do the investigation, you know, they're
questioning the teacher who is saying, "I don't know if this money's gone." He's right there.
That's her boss. You know, it's very difficult for her to say, "Well, the only other person that went into the
room was this this guy, my boss." So, this is very kind of uncomfortable situation, but eventually, you know, he
is identified as the person who stole the money. I should say he was arrested, but those charges were later dismissed
after Cornelius pleaded guilty to the federal charges, right? First, she was charged at the state level, but then
everything moved over to the federal court. So, then those theft charges were dismissed.
>> And I and I just keep going back to $2,500. I mean, that was how he how much he valued Jocelyn's
life. It's just horrendous. >> I absolutely. Um and not just her life, but, you know,
you have a child that's coming. And uh the lead detective, Mark Biandolino, I talked to him about it. He thought it
was absolutely disgusting and that guy, you know, he spent a career doing homicide in St. Louis. So, he's seen a
lot of things. Violino actually said that he seemed like more upset about being charged with a theft than what
ended up happening 2 months later, which was him being charged with murder. >> Mhm.
And and going back to, I mean, what what was the motive in all of this? >> Well, you know, prosecutors and
investigators think that the motive was the pregnancy. Um he already had a child
with his wife. He did not want to have another child. He just didn't want the financial responsibility. And you can
see that almost, you know, from the beginning of the pregnancy with Jocelyn, he starts to Google searches to figure
out ways to terminate this pregnancy. This is heartbreaking in so many different ways,
but when you talk to Jocelyn's friends and family, she would have been fine. Um she loved children. She had a good
job. You know, if he wanted to be an idiot about this, she would have gone on with her life. Um
So, so that's yeah, it's terrible. >> And and what was the nature of Jocelyn and Cornelius's relationship then at the
time of the murder because we hear they go on this cruise together and it seems like things are okay.
>> I think like the only red flag before that cruise that her friends and family
talked about, we mention it in the hour, is she was like ready to build, right? So, she's like time, you know, get out
of this apartment, let's move into a house. And he was all enthusiastic about searching for houses, but then he always
found like a reason why this house just wasn't perfect. And it was starting to feel deliberate. Not that he was picky,
not that he wanted nothing but the best, but it just started to feel like he really was using it as a a stall tactic.
But on the cruise, Jocelyn's aunt says he looked distracted. And by then, I mean, based on the text messages,
he's already planned this whole thing out, right? Jocelyn is not going to see another birthday.
>> Mhm. Just horrific, you know, just thinking if she had possibly moved out just a little bit earlier, cuz I know
she was making plans to do that. >> Yes, she comes from an amazing family. They are so supportive of each other.
And her mom, Lacey, had Jocelyn's old bedroom already. She saved money, she improved the bathroom in the house. Like
the plan was, Jocelyn, you come move in and then you will be surrounded by a village. And this child with will have
all the love and support that they need. >> Well, unfortunately, you know, we find
out a week later she ends up dead. So, Color was arrested and charged with Jocelyn's murder in June of 2016, and
then Green was arrested and charged with Jocelyn's murder in October of 2016. Both men were held in the city jail for
6 years. While they were waiting there, then they were finally indicted on federal charges in 2022. And Marie, why
did it take so long? >> I know, Natalie, we've done cases that drag on and on and on. Often, it's
because the defendant is working the system. They fire their lawyers, they you know, something along those lines.
In this case, it's just because St. Louis has such a tremendous backlog, which is
like just bonkers to me. And eventually what ends up happening is federal prosecutors take a look at the case. And
because, you know, it crosses state lines, it actually works really well as a federal case. And the thinking is that
it'll be processed, it'll get to to trial much faster. It still takes, you know, a couple more years, but it it
does get to trial faster. But Green though ended up taking a plea deal. He does. He waits until the very, very end,
like right before he's going to go to trial. But the state charges came with the death penalty. And so he ultimately
decides that he's going to take a deal with the federal case. The state charges are dropped including that theft charge
and he agrees to certain facts in the case like you always do when there's a plea, right? But his co-defendant Cutler
does not. He wants to go to trial. But I got to tell you he did himself no favors. Several people
told us that he was literally sleeping in court. And when I asked, are you sure he wasn't just resting his eyes,
blinking for a very long time? He Nally, he was snoring. So they knew he was sleeping. So I'm
sure that didn't help at all. >> You can imagine what the jury thinks about that especially when you consider
that, you know, here he is charged with killing a pregnant woman 7 months pregnant at the time as well.
>> Right. So Cutler is found guilty. Philip Cutler and Cornelius Green they're both
sentenced to two consecutive life terms for the murders of Jocelyn Peters and for the murders of Michael Lee her baby.
And Cutler's appeals so far have been denied. >> And how did Jocelyn's family react to
that verdict? >> So certainly there was relief but without Cornelius going to trial it
leaves sort of a ton of unanswered questions. We're We're just guessing as to why he did this, why he took this
most extreme route to solve what he thought was a was a problem. But the ripple effects continue today.
Jocelyn's aunt learned of her murder while she was driving on the highway. To this day she cannot drive on the
highway. And Jocelyn's former principal Nicole Conaway could not go back into the classroom after this. And now she
actually works as a consultant. So she's still in education but you know, looking
at the faces in those classrooms reminded her too much of Jocelyn. >> And you got to, you know, consider how
her mom was handling all of this as well. >> Yeah, she, um, you know, she's had some hard knocks in
life in general. Um, and she said something beautiful that Jocelyn will leave behind, kind of
an educational legacy, and I want I want to play a clip. >> She was a type of um
teacher that always came very early because she had to greet each and every student
every day. Education was just so important to her and the kids learning. She used to always say, "The first time
you travel throughout the world is reading a book." She was the presence in the room without saying one word.
She was that person. She was that person. >> So, you know, the St. Louis school district
is deals with a lot of challenges in the classroom, and the kids have challenges
outside the classroom that they bring into the classroom. It really takes a special person to take
on this vocation. My mom is a retired school teacher. I'm just going to say that she was an excellent teacher, and
what I learned watching her was teaching is not something you do. It's who you are. And this was Jocelyn.
>> And you can only imagine, you know, the ripple effect on the kids as well, you
know, we can all remember, certainly, that one teacher that had that impact on our lives. I imagine Jocelyn Peters was
that teacher to the kids that she taught, that she left a mark on them. >> I absolutely believe that, and it's a
pity. I would have loved to have seen um, the impact that she would have had on that city if she was allowed to to
live the life that she hoped and dreamed for. >> Well, Anne Marie, thank you once again
for another great episode of 48 Hours. Thank you, Natalie. [music] >> And thanks to all the teachers out
there. >> If you like this episode, please rate and review on Apple Podcasts [music] or
Spotify.

48 Hours correspondents Natalie Morales and Anne-Marie Green discuss the murder of Jocelyn Peters, whose boyfriend, Cornelius Green, hired a hitman to kill her.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

For video licensing inquiries, contact: licensing@veritone.com

Brief Summary

Jocelyn Peters was murdered; her boyfriend and friend were charged with the crime after bizarre evidence emerged.

Key points

The Murder of Jocelyn Peters. Jocelyn Peters, a beloved teacher, was murdered while 7 months pregnant.
Bizarre Evidence: Potatoes. Investigators found potato fragments at the crime scene, believed to be used as a silencer.
Cutler's Bizarre Behavior. Philip Cutler was caught on camera eating pages from his notebook during interrogation.
Cornelius Green's Facade. Cornelius Green, a school principal, led a double life while juggling multiple relationships.
Verdict and Family's Reaction. Both Cornelius Green and Philip Cutler were sentenced to life for the murders.
A Teacher's Essence. Teaching is more than a job; it's an identity.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Potatoes as a silencer? I had never even heard of that before.

Discussion about the bizarre use of potatoes in the murder case.

2:31WatchMar 21, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

More from 48 Hours

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.