Judge sentences Lily Peters' killer 4 years after 10-year-old found dead in woods
The Wisconsin teenager accused of killing his 10-year-old cousin, Lily Peters, in 2022 pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree intentional homicide and was sentenced to life in prison.Carson Peters-Berger, now 18, was 14 when he killed Lily in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.He will be eligible to seek release to extended supervision after 25 years.Chippewa County Judge Steven Gibbs accepted the plea and imposed the sentence Aug.
26, according to The Associated Press.Two additional charges — first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual assault of a child under 13 resulting in great bodily harm — were dismissed as part of the plea agreement, AP reported.The plea ends a case that had been headed toward a November trial.
Earlier this month, the court scheduled an Aug.26 hearing to discuss a possible resolution, raising the possibility that the case would conclude without a jury trial.TEEN ACCUSED OF KILLING 10-YEAR-OLD COUSIN LILY PETERS MAY AVOID NOVEMBER TRIAL AFTER NEW HEARING SCHEDULEDLily Peters was 10 years old when she was killed in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, in April 2022.
(Chippewa Falls Police Department)Lily was reported missing on the evening of April 24, 2022, after she did not return home from her aunt’s house, according to the criminal complaint.Her bicycle was found near a wooded area in Chippewa Falls, and her body was discovered the following morning.Investigators said Lily had injuries consistent with blunt-force trauma to the head.
A forensic autopsy later documented evidence of manual strangulation and sexual assault, according to a Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision.Police interviewed Peters-Berger on April 26, 2022.According to the criminal complaint, he told investigators that he and Lily had been traveling along a trail before he asked her to go exploring in the woods.
Peters-Berger said he punched her in the stomach, struck her in the head with a large stick and strangled her until he believed she was dead.GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL SHO...