00:00:21
911 dispatch, how may I help you? >> I just got home and the door was open and I walked in and
00:00:26
I think she my girlfriend got shot. >> Okay, where was she shot? >> I don't know.
00:00:31
It looked like a hit. >> Did you see who did it? >> I don't know. I can't go in there.
00:00:38
>> This victim resided in an apartment inside the building. Uniform officers had already been there.
00:00:45
The first thing we do is we're going to go in and we're going to see where our victim is.
00:00:50
My name is Mark Beaudelino. I'm a retired homicide detective from the city of St. Louis and I investigated the
00:00:56
murder of Jocelyn Peters from March 24th, 2016. >> This isn't someone who would accidentally leave a door open. She was
00:01:05
responsible. One of the most responsible people I knew. It just didn't make sense.
00:01:12
>> She was a strong force. Fierce advocate for children. Loved them dearly and everyone was going to succeed in her
00:01:18
classroom. >> She always wanted to do the next best thing. In her free time, she was always
00:01:25
checking out what she could do differently to meet the kids' needs. What programs there were out there.
00:01:30
>> There are only three to four full-time arts teachers at the middle school level.
00:01:35
>> She'd bust into my office. "Hey, I need you to come to my classroom today. I've
00:01:39
got some magic going on and you need to come and see it." The kids were learning
00:01:44
and she cared about each one of them and whatever they needed, she gave that to them.
00:01:48
>> First person that we're going to speak to is the person that discovered her. >> And this is Cornelius Green.
00:01:53
>> Correct. >> She truly, truly fell in love with him, honestly, and we all did. He was a
00:02:01
principal. He was kind. He was generous. I mean, he was very attentive to her needs.
00:02:08
>> He voluntarily goes down to the police headquarters. >> You were in Chicago since Tuesday.
00:02:14
>> Yes, sir. >> And then you come back today at 2:57 p.m. >> Yes, I got to the Amtrak at 2:57.
00:02:23
>> How did you get to the train station? >> My brother drove me over there. >> Your
00:02:29
Philip? >> Yes, sir. >> Identified Philip Cutler as brother. Was the person who was transporting Mr.
00:02:37
Green to the Amtrak station. Picking him up when he arrived back in town. Other investigators from the homicide
00:02:46
unit were able to go out and pick up Mr. Cutler to conduct an interview. Detective Hershberger advised him,
00:02:55
"We're going to speak to you regarding this homicide that occurred today." After hearing the word homicide, he
00:03:00
stands up. He lets out a big sigh. And then he reaches into his back pocket and retrieves
00:03:08
a notebook. He thumbs through several pages, tears out a piece of paper, and then he immediately
00:03:17
puts it into his mouth and begins chewing it. Whatever was on those two sheets of
00:03:25
paper, he immediately wanted to get rid of. >> There's another sort of loose end in
00:03:30
this case, too. >> Yes. We identified immediately organic material splattered about in the
00:03:36
headboard and around her pillow and then along the floor. >> What did that turn out to be?
00:03:43
>> We identified that as being fragments from a potato. Like what you think like a baked potato.
00:03:51
>> This case is baffling. My name is Tiffany Becker. I'm a retired assistant United States Attorney for the
00:03:58
Eastern District of Missouri. I couldn't believe the depravity of the crime itself.
00:04:07
>> Hey do you ever been involved in a case like this before? >> Nothing like this.
00:05:03
>> Lead homicide detective Mark Biandolino began the investigation into Jocelyn Peters murder on March 24th, 2016.
00:05:13
Since then he has remained connected to the case even though he's now retired from the St. Louis, Missouri Police
00:05:20
Department. >> I think you have a responsibility to do that. >> You wanted to see it to the end?
00:05:26
>> to see it to the end. If you're working in homicide, you're not just going to
00:05:31
let it fall by the wayside. >> We took a drive to the city's Central West End neighborhood. Nestled among the
00:05:39
historic homes is Jocelyn Peters apartment building. Her apartment's right up there.
00:05:45
>> Yeah, it's the second floor balcony you see that's uh directly in front of us.
00:05:49
>> Is it easy to access that apartment? >> From the outside, absolutely not. I mean, it's a tremendous distance from
00:05:56
the ground up to that balcony. >> Jocelyn Peters lived in apartment 201. The 30-year-old third-grade teacher had
00:06:04
been murdered in the middle of the night while she was sleeping in her bed. Authorities believe she was killed
00:06:10
between 3:00 a.m. and 3:40 a.m. >> How do you get inside the building? >> So, this is the front foyer entryway to
00:06:19
the apartment complex. You'd have to use your uh your key to get in through that front
00:06:24
foyer and then go up the stairs directly at the top of the banister of the staircase.
00:06:29
>> Jocelyn's boyfriend, Cornelius Green, had been in Chicago for 3 days. When he returned to St. Louis on
00:06:37
Thursday, March 24th, he told investigators he drove his car, a white Kia Optima, straight to her place.
00:06:45
Jocelyn's mother, Lacey Peters, says she received an alarming call from Cornelius
00:06:51
soon after. >> When he called me, he told me that he went to go check on her and she was on
00:06:57
the floor. >> Deidra Peters, Jocelyn's aunt, says she had heard something was wrong with her
00:07:03
niece. She immediately began driving towards her apartment, but before she could get
00:07:09
there, >> Lacey had called and she said, "Deidra, pull over." And I don't remember anything that
00:07:17
happened at that point because I lost it. >> Police had given Lacey news no mother
00:07:24
wants to hear. Jocelyn, her eldest daughter, was dead. >> I just remember just crying and just
00:07:32
screaming. This couldn't be true. >> Authorities say there were no signs of forced entry at Jocelyn's apartment. The
00:07:40
wood door at the main entrance appeared secure and sturdy. >> The landlord was hyper
00:07:47
secure over who had keys and what type of keys are used to get into that building. The keys were
00:07:54
non-duplicatable. They're unable to be duplicated. If you took it to a locksmith, they're not allowed to make a
00:07:59
copy for you or they could lose their certification. >> It was no surprise to investigators that
00:08:05
Cornelius had keys to Jocelyn's place. While they didn't live together, they had been in an intimate relationship for
00:08:12
5 years. Jocelyn was 7 months pregnant and Cornelius was the father. >> Jocelyn felt that he'd make a wonderful
00:08:21
father. >> In Jocelyn's home, investigators discovered a guest list as well as invitations inspired by Alice in
00:08:29
Wonderland for her upcoming baby shower. Beaudolino and his team had a lot of questions about the crime scene.
00:08:37
>> Had the apartment been ransacked? Had it look like there'd been a struggle? >> Do you see any of that?
00:08:42
>> Absolutely not. It didn't even remotely look disturbed. >> Jocelyn's cell phone was missing. A
00:08:49
single shell casing from a .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol was discovered on the floor near the nightstand.
00:08:57
>> From my investigative standpoint, we saw that she was laying on her side, head
00:09:01
facing the headboard. She had a apparent wound to her eye. >> And there was something investigators
00:09:07
had never seen before. Potato fragments splattered in the bedroom. >> Splattered about in the headboard,
00:09:15
pieces of it on the victim, around her head and around her pillow and around behind where her head was.
00:09:23
>> They soon had a theory. >> We believe the potato was used as a makeshift suppression silencer to
00:09:32
silence the sound of the firearm being fired. >> Beaudolino showed us how authorities
00:09:39
believe the killer used it. >> I would imagine that the shooter would have the gun. I'm right-handed, so he'd
00:09:46
be holding the gun in his right hand, and he'd have to put that potato out over the barrel of the gun.
00:09:53
>> What's the risk? How dangerous is that? >> I mean, I think I'm no gun expert by any
00:09:57
means, but I think that's falls in that category of extremely dangerous and extremely risky.
00:10:03
>> Can a potato work as a silencer? >> I believe it did in this scenario, and I say that because when we did our canvas,
00:10:10
when we, you know, looked for calls for service in the area around the time of this murder, nobody ever indicated or
00:10:17
made a call that they'd heard a gunshot. >> Whoever killed Jocelyn Peters may have
00:10:21
silenced the gunshot in her apartment, but outside surveillance cameras on the street were recording. Shortly after
00:10:29
3:00 a.m. on the day of the murder, one of the cameras captured an image of a white sedan. The vehicle was eerily
00:10:38
similar to Cornelius Green's car, a white Kia Optima. When Jocelyn Peters graduated from
00:11:02
college, she knew she wanted to be a teacher. >> We were going to be both teaching third
00:11:08
grade, and so there were things that we had to like figure out. >> Dierras Tucker first met Jocelyn when
00:11:15
they started teaching at Mann Elementary. >> Why do you think teaching was so important to her?
00:11:20
>> Jocelyn, I think that she felt this sense of urgency to make sure that she was giving back to students.
00:11:29
>> Jocelyn knew a quality education would be a game-changer for kids, and she wasn't afraid to tackle thorny issues
00:11:36
facing St. Louis public schools. >> 80% of elementary schools do not employ full-time art, music, or physical
00:11:46
education teachers. >> She was always checking out what she could do differently to meet the kids'
00:11:51
needs. >> Nicole Conaway, the former principal at Mann Elementary School, had met
00:11:57
Cornelius Green, a middle school principal, at a work retreat. She had been looking to hire a
00:12:03
third-grade teacher, and Cornelius recommended Jocelyn. >> She called me and said, "I have a
00:12:08
candidate for you. She is great." >> At the time, she had no idea Cornelius was in a relationship with Jocelyn.
00:12:16
>> I brought her in and interviewed her, and about 15-20 minutes in, I said, "Could you please step in the
00:12:23
hallway while we talk about you?" So, I brought her back in, and I offered her the job in that moment.
00:12:28
>> 15 minutes in? >> She was a bright light. She always has been. She talked about how she wanted to
00:12:36
be invested in care for children, and she wanted to teach them. >> In 2014, Jocelyn Peters received one of
00:12:43
the most prestigious honors for educators in St. Louis. >> She was awarded the Pettus Excellence
00:12:50
Award for the district. >> What is that recognizing? >> It's recognizing excellence in the
00:12:55
classroom. We were very proud of her. >> By the spring of 2016, she was also fulfilling some personal dreams. She
00:13:05
surprised her mother, Lacy, with the news. Jocelyn was expecting a baby girl and
00:13:14
had named her Mica Lee. >> We were all very excited for her. >> And the father-to-be, Cornelius Green,
00:13:21
appeared to be a good match for Jocelyn. Cornelius was in a fraternity, and she was active in her sorority and like
00:13:29
Jocelyn, he was an award-winning educator. According to her family, he seemed smitten from the start.
00:13:38
>> He actively pursued her. He started giving her flowers and gifts and was very persistent.
00:13:44
>> Jocelyn's friend Tierra also noticed how attentive he was. >> Jocelyn and I, we ran a 5K a couple of
00:13:51
times and he was at the 5K. So, he seemed really supportive in that way. >> How did she talk about the relationship?
00:14:04
What were her hopes and dreams for it? >> I know that Jocelyn wanted to be married
00:14:09
and that she wanted a family. And I recall her and him like going to go look at houses.
00:14:17
>> But Jocelyn, she says, had grown frustrated with Cornelius during the process.
00:14:23
>> He didn't like any of the houses. No. >> Diedra picked up on Jocelyn's annoyance
00:14:27
as well. >> How come he's not actively looking like I'm looking? How come he's not wanting
00:14:34
this as much as I'm wanting this? >> Jocelyn was ready to be a homeowner. After all, her career was thriving, she
00:14:41
was expecting a baby and in January, she had turned 30 years old. She booked a belated birthday cruise to the Bahamas
00:14:50
to celebrate during spring break and invited her family and Cornelius. >> I think when we started to
00:14:59
see little changes is when we were on our vacation. >> Jocelyn's mother Lacey and her aunt
00:15:05
Diedra say Cornelius, who was usually the life of the party, seemed different. >> He was just distant. I mean, he was not
00:15:13
attentive to her needs. I mean, she's pregnant. She's just looking very uncomfortable.
00:15:20
He's not trying to ensure that she's eating. He's not trying to help her walking, even to look him in his face.
00:15:30
He looked empty. The whole time on the cruise we're saying, "What in the world is going on with them?"
00:15:38
>> A week after the cruise, Jocelyn Peters was dead. Investigators knew the crime scene held
00:15:47
some intriguing clues. In addition to the potato fragments discovered in her bedroom, authorities found a bag of
00:15:54
potatoes on the dining room table. >> She's 7 months pregnant. She has a menu, you know, like a chalk menu, a weekly
00:16:03
menu. >> Yeah, she was being very careful with her diet. >> Very careful with her diet and her
00:16:08
refrigerator. Fruits, vegetables. It wasn't junk food. It was wholesome. >> Yeah.
00:16:13
>> All of the menus, lunch, breakfast, dinner that she had lined up, there wasn't potato listed in there, you
00:16:20
know, ever. So, it was just it just was odd. >> They would soon learn that Jocelyn had
00:16:27
planned to go to the supermarket 2 days before Cornelius traveled to Chicago. >> She's telling him she's going grocery
00:16:35
shopping. He's adamant, "Wait for me. I'll meet you there at the grocery store."
00:16:56
>> Cornelius Green told investigators at the crime scene that he had been in Chicago when Jocelyn was murdered,
00:17:03
and that he could prove it to investigators. >> He goes, "I wasn't here. I just came
00:17:08
here straight from the Amtrak station." Shows them an Amtrak ticket almost immediately.
00:17:13
>> Lead investigator, Mark Biandolino. >> And then he was very oddly specific on
00:17:18
what time he got off the Amtrak. >> In fact, this security footage from the St. Louis train station shows Cornelius
00:17:27
Green with luggage in tow returning on Thursday, March 24th, 2016, approximately 12 hours after Jocelyn was
00:17:36
murdered. Cornelius told authorities his train had arrived at 2:57 p.m. and he had driven to her apartment.
00:17:45
>> He called 911 at like 3:19 p.m. >> He had it down to the minute when he called 911.
00:17:51
>> yeah. It was inherently obvious that he wanted detectives to know I wasn't anywhere around here when this happened.
00:17:59
>> Detectives drove him from the crime scene to headquarters to answer more questions.
00:18:05
>> So, before you walk into that interview room with Cornelius Green, what is your plan?
00:18:12
>> There's no smoking gun piece of information. We want to lay out a timeline for him.
00:18:20
>> How you doing? >> Where he was at prior to discovering Ms. Peters. >> Have a seat right there.
00:18:26
>> We want to get into the weeds with him. >> And you said you were calling her this
00:18:31
morning, you didn't get in contact with her? >> The phone kept going straight to
00:18:34
voicemail. >> And that's her cell phone? >> Beaudolino says Cornelius was respectful
00:18:40
but stand offish in the interview room. And when Cornelius was questioned about his car, a 2013 white Kia Optima, he
00:18:50
appeared agitated. >> Would you like to give us consent to look in your car so we can just rule out
00:18:54
if there's anything in there or do we need to get a search warrant? >> I just don't understand why.
00:18:59
>> Put yourself in our shoes. You know what I mean? If you don't have anything to hide.
00:19:03
>> Yeah, I respect that but I my problem is that I don't like to be feel like I'm
00:19:07
feel like a criminal. Like why would you get a search warrant for my >> He was adamant that he didn't want us to
00:19:12
have anything to do with seeing whatever was in his car or having access to that
00:19:16
car. >> Cornelius explained to investigators that he had loaned his car while he was
00:19:22
away to a man named Philip Cutler who had been visiting from Oklahoma. >> He identifies Philip Cutler as an
00:19:30
individual who came into town. First he says it's his brother, later identifies him as a close childhood friend.
00:19:37
>> Cutler was originally from St. Louis. >> There was obvious amount of trust going
00:19:42
on between those two individuals. Cutler was identified as the person who was transporting Mr. Green to the Amtrak
00:19:49
station. Picking him up from the Amtrak station when he arrived back in town. >> Investigators say once Cutler dropped
00:19:56
the car off with Cornelius, the two went their separate ways. Cornelius was questioned for two hours. Before he left
00:20:05
the police station, he made a call to Philip Cutler. >> Hey. >> It seems Cornelius didn't realize the
00:20:12
camera was still rolling and the microphone was hot. >> I'm down at police department.
00:20:19
Go get my car from the address I'm about to text you to. I need that to happen like right now.
00:20:25
Thank you. >> Then Cornelius called a woman named Stephanie about his car keys. >> Hey,
00:20:31
are you at home? >> And what does he say to her? >> He indicates to her that he needs her to
00:20:36
go meet Phil. Mr. Cutler. >> He told me I could leave with you. >> He doesn't go into details as to why. He
00:20:44
identifies a place where she can go to meet Philip Cutler. There's a huge Amoco sign by a gas station that's a
00:20:51
well-known marker. >> Uniform police officers stopped Stephanie and Philip Cutler near the
00:20:58
Amoco station and took them to police headquarters for questioning. As it turns out, Stephanie had known
00:21:05
Cutler for years. He was a groomsman in her wedding to Cornelius Green. >> When did you all find out that he indeed
00:21:16
had a wife? >> Jocelyn told me. >> Early on? >> She did, but they were divorced. Well,
00:21:23
not divorced, but they were separated. We were legally >> separated. That's what we were told.
00:21:28
>> Stephanie and Cornelius had a young daughter, but had not been living together for several years. Stephanie
00:21:34
was questioned briefly and released, but investigators wanted to know more from Philip Cutler. Minutes before his
00:21:42
interview started, Cutler, alone in the interview room, had done something completely bizarre.
00:21:53
Authorities had not witnessed Cutler's odd behavior in real time. So, beyond Lino and his partner, unaware of what
00:22:01
had just happened, began questioning Cutler, who claimed he'd never met Cornelius's girlfriend, Jocelyn.
00:22:09
>> Did you know where his girlfriend resided? Had no idea. And you've never met her? You never
00:22:19
never been together with him or never been over anywhere where she lived or anything like that?
00:22:25
>> No, never. >> There's a whole slew of things that we can move forward with after interviewing Philip
00:22:31
Cutler. >> Investigators didn't have enough evidence to arrest Cutler. He was free
00:22:36
to leave, but before he left the interview room, Cutler gave investigators an important piece of
00:22:43
information. >> He gives us his phone number. >> What's your actual phone number?
00:22:49
>> Cutler allowed investigators to glance at some of his text messages, but he didn't give them consent to examine his
00:22:56
phone. Five days after Jocelyn's murder, Cornelius went to police headquarters and gave investigators access to his
00:23:05
phone. He also provided them with a written statement. >> He basically started from he went over
00:23:14
to Jocelyn's house on the 20th. They went grocery shopping and he specifically mentions that they
00:23:23
had baked potato for dinner. It was very vague, but it was a very specific to mention potatoes.
00:23:33
It raised the hairs on my neck when I read it. >> Investigators had learned Jocelyn and
00:23:39
Cornelius went to an Aldi supermarket on Sunday, March 20th. Four days before her murder.
00:23:47
>> And we go to that Aldi's and we obtain the surveillance video. >> The camera had captured video of a
00:23:54
couple with a grocery cart. Perched prominently on top of it was a big bag of potatoes.
00:24:02
Authorities say that couple is Jocelyn and Cornelius. >> And we see Cornelius and Jocelyn pushing
00:24:08
out a cart of groceries with a 10-lb bag of russet potatoes on it days before she's murdered.
00:24:16
It stands out. >> The potato shopping was curious but not strong evidence. That would come soon.
00:24:23
Examination of the data on Green and Cutler's phones would expose a text conversation between them almost a month
00:24:31
before Jocelyn's murder. When you coming here? When do you want me to come there? Week of March 20th.
00:25:00
>> Investigators hoped a closer look at Cornelius Green's phone and Philip Cutler's phone number would provide new
00:25:07
leads, and they were not disappointed. >> Well, we dumped the phone, for lack of a
00:25:12
better term. >> And tell me what you find out. >> There was quite a lot in Cornelius'
00:25:16
phone. >> An examination of Cornelius Green's digital history had revealed a curious
00:25:24
text message chain with Philip Cutler. When you coming here? When do you want me to come there?
00:25:31
Spring break, March 18th to the 22nd, week of March 20th. Okay, that'll work. You going to be sending the package?
00:25:41
The conversation was cryptic, but the words spoke volumes to Byonda Alino. >> To us as investigators, we're looking at
00:25:48
this after the murder of Jocelyn Peters. That's a quid pro quo to us, an agreement that looks like has been made
00:25:54
between Cutler and Green. >> That text was written less than a month before Jocelyn was murdered.
00:26:04
>> He's getting something from Cornelius for coming into town. >> You don't know what that is?
00:26:09
>> We don't know what it is. So, we look into how did he get it? We know Cutler is in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and Green is
00:26:16
from St. Louis. I reach out to contacts in the United States Postal Service, FedEx, UPS. You
00:26:23
know, we have we have contacts we can reach out to them. >> His contacts delivered.
00:26:28
>> Well, sure enough, UPS package was mailed from Cornelius Green, from here in St. Louis, to Philip Cutler's address
00:26:36
in Muskogee, Oklahoma. >> What's in the package? >> We don't know what's in the package.
00:26:40
It's an envelope, it's several ounces, and it is $48 charged to be shipped >> Philip Cutler had signed for the package
00:26:52
a few weeks before Jocelyn's murder. Authorities didn't find Cutler's DNA or fingerprints inside her apartment, but
00:27:00
the circumstantial evidence against him was mounting. In June 2016, beyond Alino
00:27:07
got a warrant for Cutler's arrest. >> We responded to Muskogee, Oklahoma, where he was taken into custody.
00:27:14
>> You have the right to have a lawyer and have him or her with you uh while you're being questioned. Do you
00:27:20
understand that? >> Yes. >> Tell me about him being taken into custody and then questioned.
00:27:25
>> Yeah, it's laid out on the table to him. We advised him that he is under arrest
00:27:31
and he is going to be charged with the murder of Jocelyn Peterson and her unborn child.
00:27:35
>> Investigators confirmed the car seen on the security video around the time of
00:27:41
Jocelyn Peters murder was indeed Cornelius Green's white Kia Optima. Green, who was out of town, had loaned
00:27:49
Cutler the car, but Cutler claimed he wasn't driving it that night. >> Okay, nobody had access to that car.
00:27:56
>> Yeah, and somebody could have stole the thing. >> Nobody stole it. >> Yeah, they stole it and then gave it
00:28:00
back and put it in the same spot. Is that what you're telling me? >> Somebody could have stole
00:28:02
>> Hold on. Hold on a second. Hold on a second. I was just using the car to do what I needed to do while I was there.
00:28:08
>> And we know you were using it to do you need >> Okay, I wasn't in the car. >> All right.
00:28:13
>> After his police interview, Cutler was transported from Muskogee, Oklahoma back
00:28:18
to St. Louis, where he was held in custody in the city jail. Investigators also secured a search warrant for
00:28:25
Cutler's Google account and his phone. >> And you get a whole lot of information
00:28:30
from that phone. >> Absolutely. We get a tremendous amount of very specific location data as in
00:28:37
relation to Philip Cutler. >> It had provided a digital path to Jocelyn's address on the day she was
00:28:45
murdered. >> The Google location history showed he was actually on that street and at some
00:28:51
point during that evening between the 2:59 and 3:48 a.m. there was a ping that shows directly in that apartment. And we
00:29:00
believe at that time in Jocelyn Peters apartment. >> When you see his phone pinging
00:29:07
inside her apartment. I mean as an investigator, does it get any better than that?
00:29:15
>> No, I think as far as with what we have here that is for lack of a better term,
00:29:21
that's our electronic eyewitness. That's it right there. >> That Google location data delivered yet
00:29:27
another clue. A few hours after the murder, Cutler's phone was on the move. Authorities say it ended up here at
00:29:35
North Riverfront Park. It's a stone's throw from the banks of the Mississippi River and 10 miles from Jocelyn's
00:29:42
building. >> What leads you down towards this way? >> Uh well, the reason we thought he came
00:29:48
out here was to discard evidence from the murder. Specifically, we believe this is where he he would have discarded
00:29:55
this murder weapon. >> Investigators believe Philip Cutler, who was here for approximately eight
00:30:03
minutes, also tossed Jocelyn's missing cell phone in this area. >> So, if you want to get rid of something
00:30:11
this is the place to throw it. >> Oh, an ideal place. 100% yeah. >> Philip Cutler, who had been down on his
00:30:19
luck before Jocelyn's murder, revealed a lot more after his arrest. >> When we interviewed Mr. Cutler, we
00:30:26
questioned him about a package that Cornelius Green had sent him via the UPS. And Philip Cutler indicated to us
00:30:33
that he was sent $2,500 in US currency from Cornelius Green. >> In early March 2016, a police report was
00:30:43
filed by Carlin Middle School. There had been a theft of cash raised by students
00:30:48
on the dance team. And according to investigators, Cornelius Green, who was the principal, had access to those
00:30:55
funds. >> There was approximately three separate thefts that ended up totaling $2,700.
00:31:04
>> Beyond Olena believed the evidence was adding up and Cornelius Green was the common denominator.
00:31:11
>> We're fairly conclusive that this money taken from this dance team is the same
00:31:15
cash that was mailed to Philip Cutler to murder Jocelyn Peters. >> He's stealing from his school.
00:31:22
>> Yes. >> To give money to a hitman to kill his girlfriend. >> Correct. >> $2,500.
00:31:30
>> $2,500, yeah. >> And how cheap is a life? >> It tells you what he thinks about, you
00:31:37
know, a human life's worth. And uh it's pretty disgusting. >> In August 2016, Cornelius Green was
00:31:48
arrested for theft. >> He was visibly more upset than I think he'd been throughout this entire
00:31:56
investigation that he was being arrested for theft. >> Green posted bail and was removed from
00:32:04
his position as school principal. Jocelyn's former principal, Nicole Callaway. >> To hear that somebody I knew, especially
00:32:13
a fellow principal, could take advantage of children like that, it's disgusting. It's absolutely
00:32:18
disgusting. >> Two months later, in October 2016, Cornelius Green was arrested and charged
00:32:27
with the murders of his girlfriend, Jocelyn Peters, and the baby they were expecting. Shortly after that, Green's
00:32:34
wife filed for divorce. Investigators say she was not involved in Jocelyn's murder.
00:32:40
>> Do you remember your reaction when you heard he'd been arrested? >> I was happy, but I had said some words I
00:32:46
don't think I could say on TV. >> Mhm. And how about you, Deidre? >> It was bittersweet. Didn't feel like it
00:32:55
was justice only because it took so long. >> That's because the homicide docket at
00:33:04
the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's office was backlogged, and the Jocelyn Peters murder case slowed to a crawl for years.
00:33:12
Then, in 2022, the US Attorney's office reviewed the evidence. >> We looked at it because it is a classic
00:33:21
federal case. It's a murder-for-hire case. >> Assistant US Attorney Tiffany Becker,
00:33:27
now retired, prosecuted the case. >> Here we had the interstate nexus of Philip Cutler coming down to St. Louis
00:33:36
to commit the murder. But, not only that, we had Cornelius mailing a package to Oklahoma filled with money.
00:33:44
That was the for-hire prong of the crime. >> School friends Cornelius Green and Philip Cutler would be co-defendants in
00:33:54
a federal courtroom. But, a surprise twist 2 weeks before their murder trial would change the
00:34:01
direction of this case. When Assistant US Attorney Tiffany Becker was preparing for trial, she
00:34:25
wanted the jury to hear about Cornelius Green and Jocelyn Peters relationship before the murder.
00:34:32
>> I think it had increasingly been tense between the two of them with the sore spot in the relationship
00:34:40
being the fact that Cornelius had not gotten the divorce he had promised Jocelyn he would. I think Jocelyn
00:34:48
finally was realizing maybe this was never going to happen. >> Jocelyn, who was 7 months pregnant,
00:34:56
didn't know it, but Cornelius Green had searched the internet for ways to terminate a pregnancy.
00:35:03
>> Through his searches, he's looking at how to obtain medications, how to conceal that within oatmeal or yogurt or
00:35:11
juice, how to make your own capsules. Those searches continue and appear to be fruitless for him because Jocelyn is
00:35:20
still pregnant. >> There's no concrete evidence Cornelius Green put those internet searches into
00:35:26
motion, but Becker believes Cornelius wanted out. >> I believe he wanted to not be involved
00:35:33
with Jocelyn anymore and didn't want a financial obligation that Michael Lee represented him.
00:35:39
>> The investigation also revealed Green had purchased a .380 semi-automatic pistol a few years before the murder.
00:35:48
That weapon has never been found, but it was the same caliber as the shell casing
00:35:53
discovered in Jocelyn Peter's bedroom. >> Bill and I are federal attorneys. >> In a way, we act as special public
00:36:02
defenders in the matter. >> Attorneys Nick Williams and Bill Marsh would represent Cornelius Green at
00:36:10
trial. >> What was he like when you met him? Cornelius Green. >> He's an intelligent person. He's got
00:36:16
family support. He is someone who listens to what you have to say. >> Bill, you're nodding along. Do you
00:36:23
agree? >> Yeah, he was very respectful. A lot of times when there are, you know, high
00:36:28
stakes in a criminal case, uh there can be friction with your client. Uh there really wasn't any with Cornelius.
00:36:35
>> Cornelius had maintained his innocence throughout his 8 years in custody. >> When we get involved in a case, part of
00:36:43
our job is to identify the strengths and the weaknesses of the prosecution. This is a case that involved a lot of
00:36:50
circumstantial evidence. >> But the defense faced a big challenge. Before the US Attorney's office decided
00:36:58
to take the case, state prosecutors had charged both men with murder and were seeking the death penalty.
00:37:05
>> Well, there's a phrase in the world of capital litigation, death is different.
00:37:09
And when we're advising someone anytime it's a capital case, it's going to be different advice than it might be
00:37:16
if it were not a death penalty case. >> On February 28th, 2024, 8 years after Jocelyn Peters' murder and
00:37:26
2 weeks before his trial, Green pleaded guilty to federal charges. >> Green pled guilty as part of a plea
00:37:34
agreement. >> He's pleading guilty to the two counts that he was charged with on the federal
00:37:39
level. Again, conspiracy to commit murder and the murder itself. >> That he paid Mr. Cutler to kill his
00:37:48
pregnant girlfriend? >> That was part of the factual basis made, yes. >> It was a difficult day, but at the end
00:37:55
of the day, I think he knew that it was in his best interest to do that. And I think he also knew it was in the
00:38:01
family's best interest, both his and Jocelyn's family. >> After Green pleaded guilty, the state
00:38:07
dismissed its murder case along with the theft charges. But his co-defendant Philip Cutler wanted his day in court.
00:38:15
He faced the same federal charges. >> You know, his defense sort of tried to argue
00:38:22
really Philip Cutler was nothing more than a pawn in Cornelius Green's elaborate chess game. That Cornelius
00:38:30
Green is a master manipulator and he's the victim. >> Well, that was clearly false. He met
00:38:36
with Cornelius. The text messages do not lie. The Philip's location information and the vehicle being there at the time
00:38:44
of the crime do not lie. >> You don't think he was manipulated by Cornelius into this?
00:38:49
>> No, I think he wanted money desperately because he was in such dire straits and he had loyalty to his
00:38:56
friend. >> Investigator Mark Biandalino was in the courtroom. There were no cameras
00:39:02
permitted at trial. >> What was his demeanor like at the trial? >> It ranged from
00:39:09
sleeping at times. He showed a lack of remorse and a lack and a lack of credibility.
00:39:15
>> Cutler took the stand in his own defense and he told the jury what he claims was written on those notepad pages he
00:39:26
swallowed. >> He said it was a person's name and number that he was buying weed from.
00:39:31
>> The jury didn't seem to buy Cutler's testimony. Their verdict, guilty. Philip
00:39:37
Cutler and Cornelius Green were sentenced to two consecutive life terms for the murders of Jocelyn Peters and
00:39:44
the baby she was expecting, Michael Lee. Tiffany Becker says she was relieved for
00:39:50
the Peters family. >> So happy that the closure that they deserved came to be and so happy that Jocelyn's
00:39:59
death was avenged and Micah's. >> Jocelyn's friend Tierra Tucker still has a lot of unanswered questions.
00:40:07
>> What would you say to Cornelius if you had an opportunity to speak to him? >> Part of me wants to know why.
00:40:15
Like just why? He's a monster. And he's the worst kind of monster because he pretends to be something
00:40:23
else. >> Jocelyn's family will always remember her as the third-grade teacher with a
00:40:30
vibrant spirit. >> I know Jocelyn is living everlasting life. Her and Micah are growing together, and they're
00:40:39
with other loved ones. God had a bigger plan, so maybe she was called the one to
00:40:46
teach the other angels, to educate, to inspire. >> Welcome to Post Mortem. I'm 48 Hours
00:41:39
correspondent Natalie Morales filling in as host today to speak with Anne Marie Green about her report on the murder of
00:41:47
Jocelyn Peters. So, on March 24th, 2016, Jocelyn's boyfriend, Cornelius Green, called the St. Louis Police Department
00:41:57
to report that Jocelyn had been shot in her apartment. Now, this story features details that I have never encountered in
00:42:04
another 48 Hours episode, including a key suspect eating pages out of a notebook and fragments of a potato that
00:42:13
were found at the crime scene. We're going to discuss all of that and more, but first, Anne Marie Green, thanks for
00:42:19
joining us. >> Natalie, it's always great to be here and you know, I always like doing Post
00:42:23
Mortem with you, so it's fantastic. >> Thank you. I love doing it with you as well and this one is such an intriguing
00:42:29
case. I mean, I got to remind our viewers first though, if you haven't watched or listened to our 48 Hours
00:42:34
episode Jocelyn Peters and the notebook, just go check it out right now, then come back for a conversation.
00:42:40
Jocelyn Peters was a 30-year-old beloved elementary school teacher. She was in a
00:42:46
relationship with a school principal, Cornelius Green, for 5 years. In fact, they were expecting a child together.
00:42:53
Jocelyn was 7 months pregnant when she was killed in her home. Well, now investigators did find a shell casing on
00:43:01
the floor. No weapon though was recovered. Jocelyn's phone was also missing and they did find something else
00:43:09
that was really bizarre, Anne Marie. >> They did. They found potato fragments in
00:43:15
the bedroom. Um and what they really believe is that it was used as a silencer. And it's not
00:43:21
just the potato fragments in the bedroom. As you saw in the hour, Jocelyn was really kind of focused on her health
00:43:27
and she chronicled everything she ate throughout this pregnancy. Potatoes not on the list, but there's a big bag of
00:43:34
potatoes in the house. Later on what you find out is that Cornelius and Jocelyn went shopping shortly before she was
00:43:42
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
00:43:49
indication of the level of pre-planning for this, right? She just didn't just happen to have potatoes. This There was
00:43:56
something very, very deliberate about purchasing those potatoes that day. >> And and potatoes as a silencer, I mean,
00:44:03
I had never even heard of that before. Where did that idea even come from? >> I mean, when I first heard of it, it
00:44:08
reminded me of some like 1940s like talkie gangster movie or did they call them talkies? Yeah, you know what I
00:44:14
mean? But it probably worked because no one in the apartment heard the gunshot, right? But also it's actually you know,
00:44:23
come up in movies and television before. In fact, they mentioned one particular movie during the trial
00:44:30
the 1992 film South Central. They use a silencer a potato as a silencer. >> And I know the lead detective on the
00:44:37
case actually did a demo for you. I mean, this had to be extremely dangerous by the way, right?
00:44:43
>> 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
00:44:50
thought oh you just stick the potato on the end, right? But you can't otherwise you'd have a gun sort of full of potato.
00:44:55
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
00:45:03
bullet is coming out, you're holding a potato. If you move your hand in any direction by mistake, you're going to
00:45:08
shoot your hand off. It's extremely dangerous. >> Does not sound like a good idea at all.
00:45:15
Well, police quickly zeroed in on Jocelyn's boyfriend at the time Cornelius Green. After surveillance
00:45:21
cameras picked up images of a white sedan that appeared to look like the car that he drove that was a Kia Optima.
00:45:29
That was around 3:00 a.m. that the surveillance cameras picked up that image. Turns out though, Cornelius had
00:45:36
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
00:45:45
named Philip Cutler. >> Now before I get into you know, how we find out about that, I should talk about
00:45:51
his trip to Chicago. He visited friends of his or a couple 48 hours did reach out to them. They
00:45:58
were not interested in participating in this process according to the prosecution. he was there for a couple
00:46:04
days and they did think it was sort of a little odd and that his behavior was a little odd during that time. You know,
00:46:10
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
00:46:18
the interrogation room in the police station, he makes a phone call. And he calls Cutler and asks Cutler to pick
00:46:27
up the car and the cameras are rolling and we have all this video. >> Video and audio, so I guess he just
00:46:35
forgot that in those interrogation rooms, the cameras are always rolling. So, he also called his wife and I yes,
00:46:43
we're talking about his wife cuz he was still married at the time, his wife Stephanie, and and talked about his car
00:46:50
keys and asked her to then meet Cutler. Now, police bring Cutler in, that's when
00:46:56
we see another bizarre thing happen on camera. >> He was caught on camera eating pages
00:47:03
from his notebook. So, from what I gather, you know, Philip Cutler is brought to this room, but he's
00:47:11
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
00:47:19
Cutler says, "Do you know how long how long I'm going to be here?" And the officer says, "Well, it's a
00:47:24
homicide investigation, so, you know, I'm paraphrasing, these things take time." It is after that that he starts
00:47:30
flipping through his notebook and stuffs these pieces in his mouth. >> And I guess investigators at the time
00:47:36
did not see that that video in real time as we saw it as the viewers. >> You're right, you know, these I guess I
00:47:44
didn't really kind of realize this, but I guess once you're in this room, the cameras are rolling, there's audio,
00:47:50
there's sound, but you know, the officers are the investigators are, you know, getting their questions together,
00:47:55
getting their paperworks work together. They're not watching the entire time. And so, when they go back into the room,
00:48:02
they didn't know to ask him about these papers until much later. >> What did they think when they saw that?
00:48:09
>> Just like the rest of us, they wanted to know what was on, you know, those papers. You know, later on, Cutler
00:48:15
argued that what was on those papers it was like the phone number to like a guy that he bought marijuana from. Um but
00:48:22
what what we do know is once he realized it was a homicide investigation, he felt
00:48:27
the need to get rid of those pages. >> Well, uh Cutler also claimed he did not know Jocelyn Peters, but he did provide
00:48:34
police with a key piece of information that would become crucial, and that was his phone number.
00:48:40
>> Yeah, exactly. And then later on, uh Cornelius gives them access to his actual phone. And so, then what you see
00:48:50
as they go through the phone, and then they have the phone number, is a really important series of
00:48:56
text messages um between the two, right? And I'm just going to read out what's said.
00:49:02
Green asks Cutler, "When are you coming here?" Cutler says, "When do you want me
00:49:06
to come there?" "Spring break, March 18th to the 22nd." Uh "The week of March 20th" is what
00:49:12
Green says. Cutler says, "Okay, that will work." You got to remember, like, you know, Cutler lives in Oklahoma.
00:49:18
These guys are friends from when they were little kids, but they're not hanging out together on a regular basis.
00:49:23
Cutler then says, "You going to be sending the package." Now, investigators are like, "What package? What What are
00:49:31
they looking for?" Um and they look at every possible way that a package could be sent from St. Louis to Oklahoma, and
00:49:39
go through all the list. Could it be UPS? Could it be the postal service? Until they find a package that was
00:49:44
delivered to uh Cutler. Of course, they don't know what's in it, but they know it's got the dimensions of maybe a
00:49:51
letter or something a little heavier. >> Well, it turns out that package contained about $2,500
00:49:57
and Cutler had signed for it. Cutler's phone location, by the way, was also placed at the scene of the crime. And
00:50:04
that's when, after all of that is put together, he is then arrested. >> Right. >> Well, let's talk about Cornelius Green.
00:50:12
Now, Jocelyn's friend called him in the hour a monster, and he's the worst kind of monster because he presents to be
00:50:20
something else. I mean, that really struck me hearing that language because on paper, he's a school principal, he
00:50:28
seems to have everything going for him, but we learn everything else around him is just all a facade, right, Amarie?
00:50:35
>> The best word, Natalie. I literally was about to say facade. It's It's all image, no substance. I mean, I think he
00:50:42
was a good principal. People seem to like him as a principal. The prosecutor described him as an enigma because he
00:50:49
has no >> criminal record. There isn't sort of a history of violence or any of that. Um
00:50:54
and yes, we learned that he was married. He also had a daughter, too. >> Do we know if his his wife was aware at
00:51:01
all about Jocelyn and vice and vice versa? >> He didn't had not been living with his
00:51:05
wife and child for several years. According to Jocelyn's family, he told Jocelyn that they were legally
00:51:11
separated. His wife, now now ex-wife cuz she filed for divorce later, um Stephanie knew about Jocelyn, but
00:51:20
thought that they had broken up. Um but but here's the thing. There were so many other women. Um I
00:51:28
want to share a little clip from the prosecutor, Tiffany Becker, about what she has to say about all of this.
00:51:33
>> We know that he was involved um sexually not only with his ex-wife off and on,
00:51:40
obviously Jocelyn, but then he had a relationship with another woman. She would believe that she was going to
00:51:47
marry him and that they were going to get a house and build a family together. And there were multiple other
00:51:55
individuals we identified during the examination of his text messages that showed he was juggling all of these
00:52:02
relationships at that time. >> Mhm. >> Somehow he was successful with the ladies.
00:52:09
>> He absolutely was really good at showing different people, I guess, a different
00:52:13
face. >> Yeah, and and just to think about Jocelyn, I mean, she's 7 months pregnant
00:52:18
thinking that eventually she might marry the guy, that all she wants is to set up
00:52:24
a house with him and to, you know, really just have a a solid relationship and start for her her baby girl.
00:52:32
>> I should say, Natalie, one of the things that Jocelyn's family said to us is that they felt that
00:52:39
he was successful at juggling all these women because he deliberately chose women who were career-oriented.
00:52:48
And they would be too busy to be going through his text messages, asking them, "Who's this girl?" That they were just
00:52:54
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
00:53:00
so, he got away with a lot. >> Welcome back. All right, well, let's talk about how Cornelius Green allegedly
00:53:09
stole $2,700 from his own school's dance team. That shows you >> the kind of desperation
00:53:17
and the level of, you know, depravity that he was he was capable of. >> Yeah, I mean, he didn't have the money
00:53:24
to send to Philip Cutler. So, you know, the allegation is that he stole it from his own school. Nicole Conaway, the
00:53:31
principal of at Jocelyn's school, said he literally stole from children to pay for killing his own child. So, the way
00:53:41
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
00:53:49
whatever. Not that it wasn't in a bank account. According to police reports, someone saw him go in. And he was just
00:53:55
one of, you know, a couple of people who went into the room. Um, but when the police were called to do the
00:54:01
investigation, you know, they're questioning the teacher who is saying, "I don't know, this money's gone."
00:54:06
He's right there. That's her boss. You know, it's very difficult for her to say, "Well, the
00:54:13
only other person that went into the room was this this guy, my boss." So, this is very kind of uncomfortable
00:54:18
situation, but eventually, you know, he is identified as the person who stole the money. I should say he was arrested,
00:54:25
but those charges were later dismissed after Cornelius pleaded guilty to the federal charges, right? First, he was
00:54:32
charged at the state level, but then everything moved over to the federal court. So, then those theft charges were
00:54:37
dismissed. >> And and I just keep going back to $2,500. I mean, that was how he how much he
00:54:45
valued Jocelyn's life. It's just horrendous. >> Yeah, absolutely. Um, and not just her life, but, you
00:54:53
know, you have a child that's coming. And uh the lead detective, Mark Blondellino, I talked to him about it.
00:54:58
He thought it was absolutely disgusting. And that guy, you know, he spent a career doing homicide in uh St. Louis.
00:55:03
So, he's seen a lot of things. Blondellino actually said that he seemed like more upset about being charged with
00:55:08
the theft than what ended up happening 2 months later, which was him being charged with murder.
00:55:14
>> Mhm. And and going back to I mean, what what was the motive in all of this? >> Well, you know, prosecutors and
00:55:21
investigators think that the motive was the pregnancy. Um, he already had a child with his wife. He did not want to
00:55:30
have another child. He just didn't want the financial responsibility. And you can see that almost, you know, from the
00:55:37
beginning of the pregnancy with Jocelyn, he starts to Google searches to figure out ways to terminate this pregnancy.
00:55:45
This is heartbreaking in so many different ways, but when you talk to Jocelyn's friends
00:55:50
and family, she would have been fine. Um she loved children. She had a good job. You know, if he wanted to be an
00:55:59
idiot about this, she would have gone on with her life. Um >> Mhm. >> So So that's Yeah, it's terrible.
00:56:06
>> And And what was the nature of Jocelyn and Cornelius's relationship then at the
00:56:11
time of the murder? Because we hear they go on this cruise together and it seems
00:56:15
like things are okay. >> I think like the only red flag before that cruise that her friends and family
00:56:22
talked about, we mentioned it in the hour, is she was like ready to build, right? So she's like, "Time You know,
00:56:27
get out of this apartment. Let's move into a house." And he was all enthusiastic about searching for houses,
00:56:31
but then he always found like a reason why this house just wasn't perfect. And it was starting to feel deliberate. Not
00:56:38
that he was picky, not that he wanted nothing but the best, but it just started to feel like he really was using
00:56:44
it as a a stall tactic. But on the cruise, Jocelyn's aunt says he looked distracted. And by then, I mean, based
00:56:52
on the text messages, he's already planned this whole thing out, right? Jocelyn is not going to see
00:56:58
another birthday. >> Mhm. Just horrific, you know, just thinking if she had possibly moved out
00:57:04
just a little bit earlier cuz I know she was making plans to do that. >> Yes, she comes from an amazing family.
00:57:12
They are so supportive of each other. And her mom, Lacey, had Jocelyn's old bedroom already. She saved money. She
00:57:22
improved the bathroom in the house. Like the plan was, Jocelyn, you come move in
00:57:27
and then you will be surrounded by a village. And this child with will have all the love and support that they need.
00:57:33
Well, unfortunately, you know, we find out a week later she ends up dead. So, Cutler was arrested and charged with
00:57:40
Jocelyn's murder in June of 2016. And then Green was arrested and charged with Jocelyn's murder in October of 2016.
00:57:48
Both men were held in the city jail for 6 years. While they were waiting there, then they were finally indicted on
00:57:55
federal charges in 2022. Anne-Marie, why did it take so long? >> I know. Nally, we've done cases that
00:58:02
drag on and on and on. Often, it's because the defendant is working the system. They fire their lawyers, they
00:58:09
you know, something along those lines. In this case, it's just because St. Louis has such a tremendous backlog,
00:58:16
which is like just bonkers to me. And eventually, what ends up happening is federal
00:58:23
prosecutors take a look at the case. And because, you know, it crosses state lines, it actually works really well as
00:58:28
a federal case. And the thinking is that it'll be processed, it'll get to to trial much faster. It still takes, you
00:58:36
know, a couple more years, but it it does get to trial faster. But Green though ended up taking a plea deal.
00:58:42
He does. He waits until the very, very end, like right before he's going to go to trial. But the state charges came
00:58:49
with the death penalty. And so, he ultimately decides that he's going to take a deal with the federal case. The
00:58:57
state charges are dropped, including that theft charge. And he agrees to certain facts in the case, like you
00:59:02
always do when there's a plea, right? Um but his co-defendant, Cutler, does not.
00:59:08
He wants to go to trial. But I got to tell you, uh he did himself no favors. Several people told us that he was
00:59:16
literally sleeping in court. And when I asked, "Are you sure he wasn't just resting his eyes, blinking for a very
00:59:25
long time?" He Now, he was snoring. So, they knew he was sleeping. So, I'm sure that didn't help at all.
00:59:33
>> You can imagine what the jury thinks about that, especially when you consider
00:59:37
that you know, here he is charged with killing a pregnant woman. Right. Seven months pregnant at the time, as well.
00:59:46
>> Right. So, Cutler's found guilty. Philip Cutler and Cornelius Green, they're both
00:59:50
sentenced to two consecutive life terms uh for the murders of Jocelyn Peters and
00:59:55
for the murders of Michael Lee, her baby. And Cutler's appeals so far have been denied.
00:59:59
>> And how did Jocelyn's family react to that verdict? >> So, certainly there was relief, but
01:00:05
without Cornelius going to trial, it leaves sort of a ton of unanswered questions. We're We're just guessing as
01:00:10
to why he did this, why he took this most extreme route um to solve what he thought was a was a problem. Um but the
01:00:19
ripple effects continue today. Uh Jocelyn's aunt learned of her murder while she was driving on the highway. To
01:00:26
this day, she cannot drive on the highway. And Jocelyn's former principal, Nicole Conaway, could not go back into
01:00:34
the classroom after this. And now, she actually works as a consultant. Uh so, she's still in education, but you know,
01:00:39
looking at the faces in those classrooms reminded her too much of Jocelyn. >> And you got to, you know, consider how
01:00:46
her mom was handling all of this, as well. >> Yeah, she um you know, she's had some
01:00:53
hard knocks in life in general. Um and she shared something beautiful that Jocelyn would leave behind, kind of
01:00:59
an educational legacy. And I want I want to play a clip. >> She was the type of um
01:01:04
teacher that always came very early because she had to uh greet each and every student
01:01:13
every day. Education was just so important to her. And the kids learning to used to always say, "The first time
01:01:24
you travel throughout the world is reading a book." She was the presence in the room without saying one word.
01:01:34
She was that person. She was that person. >> So, you know, the St. Louis School District
01:01:42
is deals with a lot of challenges in the classroom and the kids have challenges outside of the classroom that they bring
01:01:47
into the classroom. It really takes a special person to take on this vocation. My mom is a retired
01:01:54
school teacher. I'm just going to say that she was an excellent teacher. And what I learned watching her was teaching
01:02:01
is not something you do. It's who you are. >> And this was Jocelyn. >> And you can only imagine, you know, the
01:02:07
ripple effect on the kids as well, you know, we can all remember, certainly, that one teacher that had that impact on
01:02:15
our lives. I imagine Jocelyn Peters was that teacher to the kids that she taught, that she left a mark on them.
01:02:23
>> 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
01:02:30
that city if she was allowed to to live the life that she hoped and dreamed for.
01:02:36
>> Well, Anne Marie, thank you once again for another great episode of 48 Hours.
01:02:41
>> Thank you, Natalie, and thanks to all the teachers out there. >> If you like this episode, please rate
01:02:45
and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.