The Envelope (Jocelyn Peters)

Summary

Anatomy of Murder: The Envelope (Jocelyn Peters)
Hosted by Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi and Scott Weinberger

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Introduction

In this gripping episode of Anatomy of Murder, hosts Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi and Scott Weinberger delve into the tragic and complex case of Jocelyn Peters, a beloved third-grade teacher whose life was brutally cut short. The investigation unravels layers of deceit, betrayal, and calculated planning, ultimately revealing the dark motives behind her murder.

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Discovery of the Crime

March 24, 2016 marked the horrifying day Jocelyn Peters was found dead in her home.

• Mark Biondolino (23-year veteran with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department) responded to the 911 call made by Cornelius Green, Jocelyn's 34-year-old boyfriend.
• Mark describes the scene at [02:34]:

  "It was a very quiet, very nice neighborhood. Low crime as far as violent crime. The owner was very particular about the keys. It was a dead end, a cul-de-sac."

Upon arrival, Mark and his team found Jocelyn lying peacefully on her bed, seemingly undisturbed.

• Mark notes at [04:01]:

  "No forced entry into the building or into the victim's apartment. Her door was left open."

Initially, there were no signs of struggle or defensive wounds, leading investigators to believe Jocelyn might have been asleep when the attack occurred.

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Investigation Begins

As the investigation unfolded, an unusual substance was discovered scattered across Jocelyn's bedroom.

• Mark explains at [05:14]:

  "It turned out to be chunks of potato that was used as a suppression device, a makeshift silencer, so to speak, that the suspect used prior to shooting."

This homemade silencer suggested premeditation and an attempt to commit the murder quietly.

Jocelyn was nearly seven months pregnant, adding another layer of tragedy to the case.

• Anna highlights at [07:34]:

  "Jocelyn was adding certifications to her master's degree so she could teach more advanced subjects to her students."

---

Initial Suspects: Cornelius Green and Philip Cutler

Cornelius Green, the victim's boyfriend, became the primary suspect.

• Mark shares at [10:35]:

  "He was very particular. It was kind of, I'd say, a lead."

Cornelius presented a solid alibi with surveillance footage confirming his presence in Elgin, Illinois. However, his overly cooperative demeanor raised suspicions.

• Mark notes at [11:00]:

  "He provides DNA, fingerprints. He gives us his alibi... it's somewhat contrived."

During the interview, Cornelius displayed defensiveness when asked for permission to search his car.

• Philip Cutler's reaction at [11:18]:

  "I just don't understand why... I feel like a criminal. Why would you get a search warrant?"

Adding complexity, Cornelius reached out to his friend Philip Cutler during the investigation.

• Anna recounts at [13:49]:

  "He calls his wife, asking her to meet Philip to give him the key to the vehicle."

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Breakthrough with Philip Cutler

Philip Cutler emerged as a significant figure in the investigation.

• Philip's Behavior at [14:29]:

  "Jocelyn was murdered. I'm down at the police department. Could you call her? Get the keys to my car."

Cutler's evasive behavior and quick departure from St. Louis heightened suspicions.

• Anna observes at [25:01]:

  "He comes in to visit his friend, but then the friend leaves town and all these things happen while Green's still there."

Surveillance footage revealed Cornelius's car, a white Kia Optima, parked near Jocelyn's apartment on the night of the murder, contradicting his alibi.

• Mark reveals at [28:06]:

  "The surveillance video showed the Kia Optima turning onto Jocelyn Peters Street at 2:59 AM."

---

Arrests and Convictions

With mounting evidence against both Cornelius Green and Philip Cutler, arrest warrants were secured.

• Mark states at [32:57]:

  "We went through the grand jury and were able to get arrest warrants for Mr. Cutler."

During Cutler's interrogation, inconsistencies in his statements became apparent.

• Philip admits under pressure at [36:10]:

  "It's about 2500 bucks. 2500 bucks."

Cornelius Green was later arrested for unrelated theft charges, further implicating him in the murder case.

In June 2016, Philip Cutler was arrested and subsequently convicted after a jury deliberated for just over an hour.

• Outcome:

  Both Cutler and Green were sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison. Cornelius pled guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and murder for hire, while Cutler pleaded not guilty initially but was found guilty at trial.

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Motive and Aftermath

The investigation revealed Cornelius Green's motive stemmed from his desire to maintain his relationships with his estranged wife and another girlfriend, viewing Jocelyn and their unborn child as obstacles.

• Mark reflects at [41:10]:

  "He saw Jocelyn as an obstacle and decided to get rid of his problem by murder."

Green's chilling indifference following Jocelyn's death continues to haunt investigators.

• Mark shares at [40:35]:

  "Green's coldness went beyond even what he did to Jocelyn. It still sticks with me to this day."

Jocelyn Peters' legacy as a dedicated educator and loving future mother remains a poignant reminder of the cruelty she endured.

• Anna concludes at [43:52]:

  "Green thought he had crafted the perfect crime and would get away with what he'd done. Luckily, Mark and his team pieced together his plan and followed the trail of evidence."

---

Conclusion

The case of Jocelyn Peters exemplifies the meticulous nature of criminal investigations and the unraveling of seemingly perfect crimes. Through diligent detective work, Kowalski and his team exposed the intricate web of lies and deceit, ensuring justice was served for Jocelyn and her unborn child.

Notable Quotes:

• Mark Biondolino [10:35]:

  "He was very particular. It was kind of, I'd say, a lead."

• Philip Cutler [11:18]:

  "I just don't understand why... I feel like a criminal. Why would you get a search warrant?"

• Anna Sega Nicolasi [43:52]:

  "Green thought he had crafted the perfect crime and would get away with what he'd done. Luckily, Mark and his team pieced together his plan and followed the trail of evidence."

---

Final Thoughts

The Anatomy of Murder episode on Jocelyn Peters' case is a testament to the relentless pursuit of truth in the face of calculated malice. It serves as a stark reminder that no matter how meticulously a crime is planned, the dedication and perseverance of investigative teams can uncover the darkest of secrets.

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Thank you for joining Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi and Scott Weinberger in this detailed exploration of a tragic murder case. Stay tuned for more episodes delving into the intricate layers of real-life crimes.

Transcript

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[Unknown Host]

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[Mark Biondolino]

My partner leaves the interview room telling him he's going to be questioned about a homicide. And he removes a notebook from his pants pocket, like a small notebook where you can just keep in your back pocket. And he tears out a piece of paper from that notebook and eats it. And then he thumbs a couple pages up and tears out another piece of paper and he eats it and chews and chews and swallows both of those pieces of paper and then sits down.

[Scott Weinberger]

I'm Scott Weinberger, investigative journalist and former deputy sheriff.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

I'm Anna Sega Nicolasi, former New York City Homicide prosecutor and host of Investigation Discovery's True Conviction.

[Scott Weinberger]

And this is Anatomy of Murder. When we talk about the phrase a perfect crime, it's a pretty simple concept. In the perfect crime, the criminal gets away with what they've done.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

But as we know, very few things in life are actually perfect. And in the scenario where someone thinks they've figured out all the angles and can commit crime without being caught, well, fortunately that's usually not the case because.

[Scott Weinberger]

There'S almost always another angle. Something not planned for, something overlooked, a slip of the tongue that could turn everything upside down for the perpetrator. And today's case will go down all of those roads.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

On the afternoon of March 24, 2016, a 911 call was placed by 34 year old Cornelius Green. He reported finding his girlfriend, 30 year old Jocelyn Peters, dead in her home. Mark Biondolino, now a 23 year veteran with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, responded to the call. It was his first year as a homicide detective.

[Mark Biondolino]

We're the day shift crew. It was towards the end of the shift, I think it was between 3:30 and 4 when the call came in to the location, which was 4236 West Pine, for a shooting with the victim remaining on the scene. I was up as the lead investigator, and my partner and I were up.

[Scott Weinberger]

Mark arrived at Jocelyn Peters apartment complex, which was located in the central west end of the city.

[Mark Biondolino]

It was a very quiet, very nice neighborhood. I'd say low crime as far as violent crime. I think there were 16 total units in this very nice, very secure multi unit apartment complex. And when I say very secure, it was. The owner had it set up. She was very particular about the keys. Who had access to it? The keys for the common doors, one in front and one in back. It was not a through street. It was a dead end. You know, there was. It was ended in a cul de sac, and it was a mixture of multifamily dwellings and large single family residences right there on that block.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

At first look, nothing appeared amiss.

[Mark Biondolino]

No forced entry into the building or into the victim's apartment. Her door was left open.

[Scott Weinberger]

Her boyfriend, Cornelius Green, advised police he'd use the key to get inside. And that, to his knowledge, no one else besides Jocelyn, of course, had a key to her apartment. Mark and his team went inside, walking down the hallway.

[Mark Biondolino]

It's a two bedroom apartment. The victim was located in the north bedroom, Lying on her side on the bed and in her pajamas or night clothes.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

While it was clear to detectives that she'd been the victim of a crime, nothing at the scene indicated that a struggle had taken place.

[Mark Biondolino]

There was no furniture knocked over. There was no ransacking of anywhere in that room or the rest of the apartment. There didn't look to be any defensive wounds. Initially, we assumed that she was probably asleep when this occurred.

[Scott Weinberger]

As investigators looked for clues, they noticed an odd substance all over Jocelyn's bedroom.

[Mark Biondolino]

There was a large amount of what we initially described as like organic matter, and that was kind of on the victim. The larger chunks near her, and then kind of splattered about her bed and the nightstand in the wall behind her.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

What exactly it was puzzled investigators, but the substance did not appear to be human remains or anything similar. While it was clear that Jocelyn had suffered a recent injury, the exact cause of her wounds wasn't obvious.

[Mark Biondolino]

It was not immediately apparent to the naked eye, even for law enforcement. There was blood trickled down the side of her face, but just from looking at it from the naked eye, especially from the doorway, it would just say it was an injury to her head. At the time. You wouldn't have no way of knowing.

[Scott Weinberger]

Now, it's not uncommon for investigators not to know the exact origin or type of wound initially. It may take A much closer look or detailed exam. But it was apparent that Jocelyn Peters had an injury to her face. And soon the cause was clear.

[Mark Biondolino]

There was a wound in her left eye, later determined to be a gunshot wound. It turned out to be about 10 millimeters in diameter.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Jocelyn had been shot in the face. And that mystery substance scattered around the.

[Mark Biondolino]

Bedroom turned out to be chunks of potato that was used as a suppression device, A makeshift silencer, so to speak, that the suspect used prior to shooting.

[Scott Weinberger]

Ms. Peters, I will say it's a bit unusual to come across homemade makeshift suppression devices at crime scenes like the potato that was used here. I covered a case here in New York City where the shooter used a plastic bleach bottle as a baffle to muffle a 9 millimeter handgun. And while it was semi effective, he also happened to leave his DNA on that bleach bottle. But I will say all kinds of odd things can be homemade to muffle gunshots.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

The potato silencer worked as intended. Police canvassed the neighborhood for witnesses, but came up empty.

[Mark Biondolino]

There was multiple residents that were interviewed and talked to at the scene. Nobo. Nobody had anything of any significant. No calls for shots fired.

[Scott Weinberger]

An unlocked door, a homemade silencer, a tiny gunshot wound to Jocelyn's left eye, and to Mark, all of it pointed in one direction.

[Mark Biondolino]

That was an indication of planning this incident and that somebody was going in there with the specific intent to quietly murder Ms. Peters and then quietly leave that residence.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Mark found additional items in Jocelyn's bed that added to the tragedy.

[Mark Biondolino]

She appeared to be laying on the bed with a baby shower invitation and a baby book.

[Scott Weinberger]

Jocelyn was nearly seven months pregnant when she was killed. A fact confirmed at the scene by her boyfriend, Cornelius Green. She had been working on invitations to her baby shower just before her death.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

This would have been Jocelyn's first child, and she had been so excited about the pregnancy. She knew the baby would be a girl, and she planned to name her Mika Lee.

[Scott Weinberger]

The case became more tragic and horrible with every new fact that was learned. However, who had done this and why remained a mystery. By all accounts, Jocelyn was loved by many, with no obvious enemies.

[Mark Biondolino]

Jocelyn Peters was a third grade teacher at the Mann Elementary School. She was, for all intents and purposes, an outstanding person in her profession, an outstanding member of the community.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Jocelyn was a star educator. She'd received a highly prestigious award recognizing her elementary school teaching. At the time of her death, she was adding certifications onto her master's degree so she could teach more advanced subjects to her students.

[Scott Weinberger]

Her boyfriend, Cornelius Green, was a Middle school principal at a different school. Soon, Mark learned something else.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Cornelius was married while supposedly separated from his wife. The layered relationship situation quickly got the attention of investigators.

[Scott Weinberger]

After processing the crime scene, Mark asked Cornelius to sit down with him at the St. Louis Police Department to get more detailed information. And that conversation did take place later that day.

[Philip Cutler]

My name is Detective Bion De Limno. He's my partner. Detective Herzberg. Yes, sir. Hey, I just want to express my condolences, okay? Yes, sir. And we're gonna do everything we can to help get you through this situation, okay?

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Mark started by getting background about the couple's relationship. Cornelia said that he had been seeing Jocelyn for about five years. They'd met through work when they both taught at the same middle school. He also said that he'd just gotten back from a trip to Elgin, Illinois, which is on the outskirts of Chicago.

[Mark Biondolino]

When we interviewed Mr. Green the night of the murder, he immediately lets us know. And he had just gotten back into town and drove straight over to her apartment. Is I just arrived back at 2:57pm but one of the things that stood out is he was very particular. It was kind of, I'd say, a lead.

[Scott Weinberger]

He presented Mark with a crumpled ticket that showed he had taken the train to Chicago two days earlier to visit friends. He said that he hadn't been able to get in touch with Jocelyn that day. So when he returned to St. Louis, he went straight to her apartment, where he found her dead.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Investigators checked his alibi, and it turned out it was solid. Surveillance cameras on the trains confirmed that Cornelius had gone to Chicago, but that didn't keep him entirely free of Mark's suspicion.

[Mark Biondolino]

Obviously, he's the person that discovers her. There's no forced entry. It's almost that he's cooperative to a point where he wants to make himself seem more cooperative than he is. And what I mean is he provides DNA, fingerprints. He gives us his alibi, which he provides us, and almost immediately, without even being asked. So it's almost like it's somewhat contrived.

[Scott Weinberger]

So while he did appear to be basically cooperative early at the crime scene, there had been some hesitancy on his part when it came to one thing, getting permission to search his car. Here's Mark and another detective following up on it during that police station conversation.

[Philip Cutler]

You know, I noticed at the scene while we were there, you were upset, understandably, and you got a little jumpy about us looking in your car. Would you like to give us consent to look in your car so we can just rule out if there's anything in there, or do we need to get a search warrant? I just don't understand why, you know, I mean, if you don't have anything to hide, you know, I respect that, but my problem is that I don't like to feel like. I feel like a criminal. Like, why would you get a search warrant? We would be saying, okay, Cornelius isn't involved in this. No, I'm not. Okay.

[Scott Weinberger]

I'm really.

[Philip Cutler]

That's why I got mad. I don't feel like I'm being treated like. I feel like when you do that on Max, I'm treating him like a criminal, and I don't want to be treated. You want us to rule you out, right? How am I being ruled in, sir? What are you ruling me in for? Like, I literally haven't been here. You know what? When we get to the point at the end of this, you want justice to be served.

[Mark Biondolino]

You want everything to be laid out there.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

So, Scott, it's interesting here his reaction, right, Cornelius, he had been cooperative up until this one thing, and now all of a sudden, he seems argumentative and, dare I say, defensive.

[Scott Weinberger]

You know, I always refer to it anestiga as the picture of possib. Right. I think that's what Mark is doing here, to completely eliminate him. Or does it open up another possibility? The Green has established a pretty solid alibi. He truly was in Chicago while Jocelyn was still alive and while she had obviously stopped answering the phone. Cell phone records and videos prove that to the detectives. So does that completely eliminate him, or does it open up at a Sega another possibility. And for whatever the real reason was for Green's resistance, Mark just wouldn't take no for an answer.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

It is always interesting to think about why people react the way that they do. And certainly when it comes to these sort of dramatic, tragic situations, people react differently. And again, we don't know his experience as a person and his feelings about the police, whether he's had good experiences or bad, and whether that plays in. But, you know, as you said, Scott, at the end of the day, right now, it is this woman who supposedly was very important to him, who's dead. And he is putting a hand up to investigators when they want to get into his car and is something they will need to look into further.

[Mark Biondolino]

My gut feeling is there was something related to this murder inside that vehicle at the time and that he didn't want us to take a look inside of that vehicle.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Unbeknownst to Cornelius, Mark had his car towed to the police station. In anticipation of getting a search warrant. While they spoke to him, they had taken now a break. And when they left the room, Cornelius himself began to push the investigation forward.

[Mark Biondolino]

At some point during the interview, he asks, he wants to call his daughter. And at that point, we let him take a break. The rooms are audio, video recorded. He immediately makes a phone call, and it's not to his daughter. He calls his wife that he's separated from and asks her to meet Philip to give him the key to the vehicle. Because at that point, Mr. Green believed his vehicle was still at the victim's residence, parked on the street.

[Scott Weinberger]

And then he made a second call. And that call added a new person potentially into the mix.

[Mark Biondolino]

It's to Philip Cutler. This is the first time that he comes into play. We would have no idea who he was at this point.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Here's a portion of that phone call.

[Philip Cutler]

Jocelyn was murdered. I'm down at the police department. I'm gonna text your number. Steph's number. Could you call her? Get the keys to my car. Go get my car from the address I'm about to text you to. I need that to happen. Like, right now.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

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[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Today a St. Louis middle school principal, Cornelius Green, was being interviewed by police after he found his girlfriend, Jocelyn Peters, dead in her home.

[Scott Weinberger]

During a break in the interview, he made a flurry of calls to an old friend of his, a man named Philip Cutler. He also made calls to his estranged wife.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Those calls were recorded on audio and video, and it certainly seems that Cornelius didn't realize that his words and demeanor were being captured on tape.

[Scott Weinberger]

He arranged for his wife to meet Cutler and give him the keys to Cornelius's car so that Cutler could move the car away from the area of the crime scene.

[Mark Biondolino]

At this point, we're still within the first few hours of being from the scene and trying to piece things together. So at that point, besides his contrived type alibi and his strategic answering to these questions and oddly specific timeframes, it started to weigh a little heavier on us. And then we also want to speak with whoever he's having to go get his car.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Finding Philip Cutler wouldn't be hard. Cornelius had given Cutler the address of a meeting place during that call in the station that had been recorded by police.

[Mark Biondolino]

We had investigators and a marked car go out there and make contact with them. And then we brought Mr. Cutler back to obviously be interviewed. My partner goes in and is the first time he speaks with Mr. Cutler and just ask him, hey, do you need to use the restroom? Do you want a glass of water or anything like that? I don't remember exactly specifically what he said to him, but Mr. Cutler asks, Can I go? Or he indicates, what am I here for? And Detective Herzberg tells him, we need to speak to you regarding a homicide.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Here's a portion of that interview with Philip Cutler.

[Philip Cutler]

You're not being detained or yes, you're being detained. We need to talk to you about homicide. So just give us a few minutes, okay?

[Mark Biondolino]

First time anybody's ever said anything to Mr. Cutler related to we need to speak to you about a homicide. And then he doesn't want any water, doesn't need to use the restroom.

[Scott Weinberger]

As detectives prepared to interview Cutler, he waited in the interview room and his every move was being recorded. He paced the space, almost appearing like a trapped man before Mark and another detective returned.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Philip Cutler was 36 years old and had been friends with Cornelius Green since the two were in middle school. He also had a record for felony theft. Cutler's interview lasted almost two hours. He told detectives that he'd come into town to visit Cornelius and that he was staying at Cornelius sister's home.

[Scott Weinberger]

Cutler persistently denied knowing anything about Jocelyn's murder or where she lived other than hearing about it from Cornelius over the phone that night.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

So detectives then worked to try and establish a timeline. Cutler had arrived in St. Louis at about 10:30pm Monday night, which was two days before Jocelyn was murdered. Here's another piece of his conversation with detectives.

[Philip Cutler]

Just give me a timeline from like now though, and you guys hang out. You're in Cornelius hang out like the.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Next day or what.

[Philip Cutler]

He. He had to leave town. He went out of town to go on some trip to do something.

[Scott Weinberger]

I forget. So Cornelius left to go out of town a very short time after his lifelong friend had taken a six hour bus ride to visit. But before he went, Cornelius left something behind for Cutler.

[Mark Biondolino]

Greene leaves Cutler his car, the Kia Optima. So he have a car to take his sister Selena's to work because she didn't drive the entire time Cutler was in town. Never gave her a ride, never gave her a ride to work. And she indicated he never even asked. And those keys to the apartment building were left with that Kia Optima during this time.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

So not only does Cutler never use the car to help Cornelius sister, but by having those keys to the car, he also had the keys to Jocelyn's apartment. Evidence? Maybe yes, maybe no. But detectives now needed to look closely to try and find out those things.

[Mark Biondolino]

That when we asked at the time, weren't like big red flags or light bulbs going off, but they were important to set the basis of what happened down the road.

[Scott Weinberger]

After the interview, Cutler was free to go and follow along with me here for a moment. Mark also spoke with Cornelius's wife that night, whom he supposedly separated from. It was Cornelius's wife that met with Philip Cutler and had given him the keys to Cornelius's car and Then when they spoke with her, detectives found out more than they really expected.

[Mark Biondolino]

Cornelius and Jocelyn Peters, she was aware of a relationship years back when she had found out about his infidelity. She had no idea that it was still going on. And then one of the things that really stuck out and was kind of a theme related to Cornelius as he lied to her about why he was going to Chicago. You know, he tells us he's going to visit old friends, which they were, and he did. He tells her he's going to chaperone a school field trip. And this is a pattern. He tells various different women he's involved with, various different reasons why he's gone.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

As police looked deeper, it became clear that Cornelius Green was involved in multiple relationships with other women and that he was apparently lying to them all in different ways.

[Scott Weinberger]

Mark also spoke with Jocelyn's mother. Her knowledge and perspective was eye opening the walls around Cornelius Green's story. And maybe this case were beginning to crack.

[Mark Biondolino]

Ms. Peters was very open with how their relationship was at the time of Jocelyn's death and how it was in the previous years. And I think with him remaining to be married and not getting into divorce, it became a point of contention with Jocelyn. And then we fast forward to the day prior to Jocelyn's murder. She was upset because Green had went out of town and was supposed to be going to finalize his divorce, as he told her, and going to court. And so she said she was ending it. She told him she was ending it, ending the relationship, and she was going to move back home with her mother.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

The revelations about the state of Jocelyn and Cornelius relationship were painting a far different picture than Cornelius had given to detectives. Jocelyn's mom also revealed that Cornelius had called her that day to say that he couldn't reach Jocelyn.

[Mark Biondolino]

He was coming in from out of town. He was reaching out to the victim's mother, telling her that he can't get ahold of Jocelyn. She had talked to her daughter at lunch the previous day, and she had told us that she knew that her daughter was done with this and they were fighting. So she thought in her head, she's probably just ignoring him.

[Scott Weinberger]

So just going through this anesthesia, I'm thinking to myself, is Greene attempting to get ahead of investigators with respect to potentially a failed relationship? Is that a potential motive that they would be looking at? And obviously there's some lying going on here.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

There's so many different ways and possibilities, you know, that have to be looked at here. 1. So is it just a coincidence that he calls Jocelyn's mom the very same day that she's now going to be found murdered. Or like you said, is he starting to set something up for himself? Or at least try to, but also now come to light not just one relationship outside of his marriage, but multiple. So again, people can have messy relationship lives and that doesn't equate to murder, and certainly most of them. But it is something that needs to be looked at much more closely. And then there's also Cutler Scott.

[Scott Weinberger]

Yeah, his lifelong friend takes a grueling bus ride to St. Louis to visit him. And it's only for a very short period of time. So they're establishing a timeline. Right. Cutler arrives around 10:30 at night and according to him, he spends the night at Green's sister's house. So where are they going with this?

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

It's just odd, right? He comes in to visit his friend, but then the friend leaves town and all these things happen while Green's still there. But you know, detectives clearly were suspicious of Cutler and maybe even Greene's story at this point. But suspicion, as we know, is far from enough. They continued their investigation after Cutler had left the station. But Cutler, he didn't stick around town much longer.

[Mark Biondolino]

The next day he goes back to Oklahoma.

[Scott Weinberger]

Cutler left St. Louis taking an early morning bus out of state. And as much as the lies and denials or the stories Greene told the people in his life, Cutler's quick departure raised big red flags. And over the next few weeks, Mark worked to piece together a dizzying web of lies.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

And the picture it ultimately painted would be more complex and even darker than anyone would have imagined.

[Scott Weinberger]

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[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

And there was a wealth of it to go through. And detectives sifted through the pieces, hoping to untangle the truth about the relationship surrounding her boyfriend, Cornelius Green. And from there, what happened to Jocelyn.

[Mark Biondolino]

It was these small little bricks of building this case.

[Scott Weinberger]

Mark pulled subpoenas for Green and Cutler's phones. He also looked for security cameras on and near Jocelyn street, hoping they may have captured something relevant to the investigation. And luckily for the case, he found what he was looking for.

[Mark Biondolino]

The surveillance video was maintained by the Central West End neighborhood stabilization Unit. I reviewed between 12 and 15 hours of surveillance video, and one of the things I noticed is a white KEY OPTIMA At 2:59 in the morning, turning onto Jocelyn Peter Street. And it's there till about between 2:59 and 3:47 in the morning, which fits in the time frame of when this murder occurred for sure.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

A white Kia Optima, the car belonging to Cornelius Green that he'd left behind with his friend. During his interview, Cutler told detectives that he'd never been to Jocelyn's home and didn't even know where she lived. But with Green out of town, his car being parked by her apartment told a different story.

[Mark Biondolino]

That was a light bulb or a red light. Hey, this, this vehicle's on the scene. Now we know Green is in Elgin, Illinois.

[Scott Weinberger]

Now, Mark also knew Green had lent Cutler his car while he was away. Cutler claimed that that was because he was asked to drive Green's sister to and from work. But those trips never happened.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

The one trip that was now confirmed was Green's car, now in the possession of Philip Cutler, going to Jocelyn's home in the mid middle of the night, the very same night that she'd been murdered next. From there, investigators turned to the phone data.

[Mark Biondolino]

We get the information back from Cutler's phone and Green's phone. The cell tower triangulation on Green's basically puts him where he says in Elgin, Illinois.

[Scott Weinberger]

Phone records confirmed that Green was out of town as he claimed. So it couldn't have been him who parked the car near Jocelyn's home on the night she was killed.

[Mark Biondolino]

The Cutler phone puts him in the area of Ms. Peters apartment the night of the murder. It had his phone where the triangulations were good and it was in the area and it was closed 21 meters. It had him inside the apartment complex. That was kind of okay. Now we have the car here, and we have him here. So then it's more than just their stories are not matching up. It is, hey, we have a definite instance of this guy is now leaning towards being a suspect.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

As Cutler rose to the top as a potential suspect, Mark also did a deeper dive into Cornelius Green. Some of the Google searches he'd been doing were especially damning and horrifying.

[Mark Biondolino]

He was searching how to crush mifepristone or abortion pills, what to do, how you can mask the taste of these certain type of medicines, how to make an abortion pill, things like that. And those started coming up closer to the point of when she was murdered. He has ones that he's trying to determine, okay, can you take an abortion pill when you're five months pregnant? You know, and at the same time, he's reaching out to Philip Cutler the end of February. You can sense after looking back at it, the time's getting closer to where Cornelius is trying to probably get this abortion pill plan in motion, and it's not working.

[Scott Weinberger]

You know, Anastiga, the digital evidence here is paying huge dividends for the investigators. One that paints a really disturbing picture.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

It's a picture that might also be looked at as possible motive. Right? So it's like, we know obviously, unfortunately, that Jocelyn is dead, but of course, it's like, why, right? They're not married, they're together. We find out that she's pregnant. But here, Scott, you have searches of how to terminate that pregnancy, clearly, in a way that would seem like someone is doing it without letting the person who is pregnant potentially know. And again, you know, a search itself doesn't equate putting the handcuffs on someone. But this picture is just getting darker. Each piece they find shocking, for sure.

[Scott Weinberger]

You know, all of these pieces are becoming bricks to building a case. But there were still not enough anestiga to form a solid wall.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

So Mark kept digging for evidence and building his evidentiary wall. The next pieces came from Green's cell phone and an exchange between him and Philip Cutler.

[Mark Biondolino]

And then there's a text, and it's probably the most damning text that we've seen between the two, where Green texts him and says, ask him when he's coming here. Cutler's like, hey, when do you want me to come there? And Green says, the week of March 20th. And then Cutler responds, okay, that'll work. You're going to be sending me the package. And then Greene just cuts him off on text and says, I'll call you tomorrow.

[Scott Weinberger]

Mark zeroed in on the mention of a package. That text was sent on February 29, not long before Cutler left for St. Louis.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Mark found that an actual package had been sent to Cutler by Green via UPS. It traveled from St. Louis to Oklahoma, where it was signed for by Cutler on March 8. It was an envelope, and although Mark had its weight in size, he had no way of actually knowing what was inside. But he did have his suspicions.

[Scott Weinberger]

Mark believed he had gathered enough evidence to make his move.

[Mark Biondolino]

This information was put together, we went through the grand jury and were able to get arrest warrants for Mr. Cutler.

[Scott Weinberger]

With arrest warrant in hand, Mark arrested Philip Cutler for the murder of Jocelyn Peters in June of 2016.

[Mark Biondolino]

You know you have the right to remain silent.

[Philip Cutler]

You understand that anything you say can and will be used against you in.

[Mark Biondolino]

A court of law.

[Philip Cutler]

Do you understand that?

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

That's the interview room recording. As Mark read Philip Cutler his Miranda rights after he arrested him and brought him back to St. Louis, Mark hoped that Cutler would realize he'd been caught and decide to be straightforward during the interview and in doing so, hopefully help Mark strengthen his case.

[Mark Biondolino]

You'd hope someone would have the common sense to say, okay, the gig's up. I need to come help myself out. But he was not having any of that.

[Scott Weinberger]

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[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Two months after 30 year old Jocelyn Peters was murdered, her boyfriend Cornelius Green's lifelong friend Philip Cutler was arrested for the crime.

[Scott Weinberger]

In the weeks since Jocelyn had been killed, Marquette collected multiple pieces of circumstantial evidence against him.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

The investigation had revealed that Green had sent an envelope to Cutler suddenly, soon before the homicide the question remained, what had been inside?

[Mark Biondolino]

We were going in there and we had no idea what was in that envelope. We all assumed it was just because how it was packaged, the weight of it, that it was probably currency of some sort.

[Scott Weinberger]

Cutler was questioned after his arrest. Mark hoped to finally learn what had been inside the envelope. And he also hoped to be able to conclusively connect his other prime suspect, Cornelius Green, the victim's boyfriend, to this crime.

[Mark Biondolino]

And what did he send you?

[Philip Cutler]

And we know so, I mean, it's not a big deal. I know. How much money did he send you? I don't remember.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Later, in that same interview, Mark questioned Cutler about the money he now admitted that Green had sent to him. This time around, his I don't remember changed.

[Philip Cutler]

It's about 2500 bucks. 2500 bucks. My job to remember. Just sitting there thinking, remember was it.

[Scott Weinberger]

That Cutler just remembered? Unlikely. The more plausible scenario had more to do with some of the evidence Cutler now knew that police were in possession of because in between the first time he had asked about the envelope's contents. And now Mark had informed Cutler that his phone and Green's car were tracked to Jocelyn's apartment the night of the.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Murder and confronted with the cell site evidence placing his phone in Green's car near Jocelyn's apartment the night she was killed. Well, he had an answer for that.

[Mark Biondolino]

Too, as ludicrous as it was. Instead of just telling us to pound sand and walk out the door, he admits that that's his phone. But then he goes on to say, but his statement as to why that, why his phone would be in that area and why that vehicle would be in that area is that it was stolen. Someone must have stole that vehicle and they must have driven over there in the same time that Mrs. Peters was murdered. And then they must have drove it back and left his phone, because he's saying his phone was in the car.

[Scott Weinberger]

A stolen car with a cell phone inside, coupled with all the other bricks of evidence Mark had been piecing together, Cutler's scenario was sounding too far fetched at best. What? Mark was also building a case against Green and he knew that the evidence needed to be solid. And the more he dug in, the more pieces of evidence he uncovered after Cutler's arrest.

[Mark Biondolino]

And we're still moving forward with putting together the case related to Mr. Green. That's when we identify a report that was taken at the Carlane School where he was the principal, related to this theft. The dance team fundraisers, they made this report and Mr. Mr. Green was there when they made it. And it was money between January through February that had been taken from their fundraising area, and he knew where it was at. And it totaled $2,700. At that point, we went out and we arrested Mr. Green, unrelated to the murder. On the school theft.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Money taken by a principal from his own school. Awful. A similar amount of money sent to his friend that was now under arrest for Jocelyn's murder. Well, that's evidence. The wall of evidence against Green was quickly solidifying. And with each new brick, the scenario became all the more shocking.

[Scott Weinberger]

As investigators reviewed all of their evidence, some of the smaller oddities started to take on new meaning. For example, during Cutler's first interview with.

[Mark Biondolino]

Police, you see Mr. Cutler stand up right after my partner leaves the interview room telling him he's going to be questioned about a homicide. And he removes a notebook from his pants pocket. He tears out a piece of paper from that notebook and eats it, and then he thumbs a couple pages up and tears out another piece of paper, and he eats it and chews and chews and swallows both of those pieces of paper and then sits down. Nobody was watching his screen at that point because he wasn't actively being interviewed. And it was something that was found later, but it was extremely, extremely damning when it came time to trial.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Eating paper isn't a crime, though. Unusual to say the least. But when taken together with the other evidence now gathered the inference that he was trying to hide and destroy whatever was written on those pages, that became clear. By this point, police had gathered enough evidence to charge Cornelius Green, too.

[Scott Weinberger]

Cutler, along with Cornelius Green, were ultimately charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit murder. For various reasons, the case languished. Ultimately, it was moved to federal court, where it was prosecuted.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Cornelius Green didn't go to trial and instead pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder and one count of murder for hire.

[Scott Weinberger]

Philip Cutler pled not guilty and went to trial. He was convicted after the jury deliberated for just over one hour. Both men were sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Eight years after the murder, Mark is still bewildered by Cornelius Green and the lack of impact his murder of his pregnant girlfriend seemed to have on him.

[Mark Biondolino]

Through the history of him being arrested. And even when he was arrested and saying, you're being charged with murder, he was more upset that we were charging him with theft that day. He was just beside himself when we told him he was being charged with theft from the school at Car Lane. That always stuck in the back of my head how he was More upset with that.

[Scott Weinberger]

Green's coldness went beyond even what he did to Jocelyn. And it still sticks with Mark to this day. It pertains to the call he made to Jocelyn's mom after he knew that his friend had completed the agreed upon task and murdered Jocelyn.

[Mark Biondolino]

He didn't want to be the one discovered her. He was coming in from out of town, he was reaching out to the victim's mother, telling her that he can't get ahold of Jocelyn. And it was from how she explained it to us, it was very apparent that he was trying to get this poor lady to go discover her daughter that he had just arranged to have been murdered less than 20 hours ago.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Green's motive? Apparently he wasn't as estranged from his wife as he'd claimed. It also seemed that he had another girlfriend apart from Jocelyn. It it was believed that Green saw Jocelyn and their soon to be born daughter as a threat to his relationships with both those other two women.

[Mark Biondolino]

I felt like Mr. Green was probably feeling like with this baby's born and she's leaving me and I can't control her.

[Scott Weinberger]

He saw Jocelyn as an obstacle and he answered that self created scenario by deciding to get rid of his problem not by breakup, but by murder. Murder kill Jocelyn and in doing so, terminate her pregnancy to keep his wife and his new girlfriend in play. Callous, cruel, inhumane.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Mark and their team of investigators solved this case and moved on to the next. But what happened to Jocelyn and the cruelty of it all still stays with.

[Mark Biondolino]

Him to this day. Just by hearing from families and friends how many people she touched in that short period of time that she taught in the St. Louis Public School system. It was, you know, it was heartbreaking that she was a victim of such a heinous crime. Justice for her is the whole reason we're doing this.

[Scott Weinberger]

Just based on the dynamics of this investigation. A school principal on the outside, an upstanding, solid member of the community who in the end betrayed everyone. To carry out his twisted plot, Mark and his team really needed to keep his approach and conversations with Greene close to the vest. From the very beginning. When your prime person of interest is not just the love interest of your victim, but also the one who hired a friend to commit murder, it becomes an intricate puzzle to unravel. These are fluid situations. The smallest new piece of information can shift the whole investigation into a completely different direction. Mark needed to be very systematic and cautious about every minute detail and reaction, especially as Greene's alibi began to unravel. Now another key piece being able to present a narrowing list of options to Philip Cutler, who saw no path better than saving himself.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Green thought he had crafted the perfect crime and would get away with what he'd done. Luckily, Mark and his fellow investigators pieced together his plan and followed the trail of evidence that he and Philip Cutler had left behind. Greene betrayed many people in his life, but the ultimate betrayal was to Jocelyn. Whether the two would remain a couple or not wasn't yet clear, but they were soon to be parents to a child, a baby that Jocelyn very much wanted and already loved. She never got to see her baby's eyes or feel her heartbeat as she held her daughter in her arms. Today we remember and lament the loss of both Jocelyn and her soon to be born daughter, Micah Lee Tune in next week for another new episode of Anatomy of Murder.

[Scott Weinberger]

Anatomy of Murder is an audio Chuck.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

Original produced and created by Weinberger Media and Fretti Media.

[Scott Weinberger]

Ashley Flowers is Executive Producer.

[Anna Sega Nicolasi]

This episode was written and produced by Morgan Beatty, researched by Kate Cooper, edited by Ally Sirwa, Megan Hayward and Phil Jean Grande so what do you think Chuck? Do you approve?

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When your two passions are completely at odds and threaten to extinguish each other, how do you choose between them? Is it possible to hide one from the other? At what cost? This is unfit for service. The harrowing, tragic and redemptive true story of one soldier's battle to live his life honestly. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.