In a bizarre turn of events, a former Missouri middle school principal has pleaded guilty to concocting a murder-for-hire plot. His target: his pregnant girlfriend, who happened to be a teacher at a local elementary school.

The former principal, who was married at the time, stole money from his school to fund the murder-for-hire plot, which resulted in the tragic death of 30-year-old Jocelyn Peters and her unborn child. This case shocked the community and highlights the disturbing lengths to which some will go to conceal their misdeeds.

A former principal of a Missouri middle school pleaded guilty in the murder-for-hire killing of a teacher he impregnated, federal officials say.

In 2016, Cornelius Green was accused of stealing $2,500 from Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts Middle School in St. Louis to set up the murder-for-hire plot, federal prosecutors said. Green had worked for the school since 2002, KTVI reported.

Green sent the money to his longtime friend, Phillip Cutler, who was directed to kill Jocelyn Peters, according to the federal indictment. Peters, 30, was a third grade teacher at Mann Elementary School in St. Louis, according to KSDK, and was 27 weeks pregnant with Green’s child.

Green, who was married, went to Chicago on March 22, 2016, to establish an alibi as Cutler drove to Peters’ home two days later in Green’s vehicle, prosecutors said.

“Cutler ... unlawfully entered Jocelyn Peters’ apartment ... found Peters in her bed, shot her with a .380 caliber firearm in her head, using a potato as a silencer to muffle the sound of the shot,” according to court records. “Jocelyn Peters and her unborn child were killed as a result of co-defendant Cutler shooting Peters in the head.”

After Cutler murdered Peters, Green drove to her house and dialed 911. He pretended he knew nothing about the killing. Local authorities charged him for his role in the conspiracy months later. A federal grand jury indicted him for murder for hire and conspiracy to commit murder for hire.

Despite having a wife, the former principal had numerous romantic relationships. Green is scheduled to be sentenced on June 5.

Pursuant to Green’s plea agreement, if Green is sentenced to life in prison on the federal charges, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office would drop the charges related to the murders. Prosecutors had originally indicated they would seek the death penalty in his case.

The repercussions of this harrowing incident extend beyond the courtroom. Nicole Conaway, the principal at Mann Elementary School, expressed the profound loss felt by Peters' colleagues and students. "Jocelyn Peters...cared deeply about children, not only about their learning, but about who they were in making them into better people," she said.

This outcome might provide a sense of closure for a local community that lost a teacher in such an unnecessary fashion. But this tragedy will haunt the friends and families of those involved for years to come.