In a pivotal courtroom moment, the Wisconsin teenager accused of the 2022 murder of his young cousin, Lily Peters, has confessed to first-degree intentional homicide. This admission on Wednesday seals his fate with a life sentence.
Carson Peters-Berger, who now stands at 18, was just 14 years old when he tragically ended the life of 10-year-old Lily in the quiet town of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. However, there’s a silver lining: he holds the possibility of supervised release after spending 25 years behind bars.
Chippewa County Judge Steven Gibbs formally recognized the plea and delivered the sentence on August 26, according to the Associated Press. In a move to streamline justice, two other serious charges — first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual assault of a child under 13 with great bodily harm — were dropped as agreed in the plea bargain, the AP reports.
With this plea, a high-stakes trial that was on track for November has reached its conclusion. The court had signaled earlier this month, during a hearing planned for August 26, that a resolution might be reached, clearing the way for this plea and sidestepping a lengthy jury trial.
The heart-rending loss of Lily Peters, aged just 10, has left an indelible mark on Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, since her death 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.
The appellate court later noted that Peters-Berger told police he rode a hoverboard while Lily rode her bicycle and that, before they left the house, he already intended to kill and sexually assault her.
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The complaint said Peters-Berger then attempted to sexually assault Lily before leaving the area. He later returned after learning she had been reported missing, moved her body several feet and covered it with leaves, according to investigators.
Lily Peters, 10, was found dead near a wooded area in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, in April 2022 after being reported missing by her father. (Chippewa Falls Police Department)
Peters-Berger was originally charged with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual assault of a child under 13 resulting in great bodily harm. Because of the homicide charge, the case was handled in adult court from the start.
His attorneys later asked a judge to move the case to juvenile court, arguing that he would not receive adequate mental health treatment in the adult system.
A memorial for Lily Peters is displayed on April 25, 2022, in Chippewa Falls, Wis. (Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP, File)
Gibbs denied that request in January 2024 after a three-day hearing on whether the case should remain in adult court. The judge found that Peters-Berger had raised valid concerns about whether he could receive adequate treatment in the criminal justice system and that keeping the case in adult court was not necessary to deter others. Gibbs ultimately ruled, however, that moving the case to juvenile court would not reflect the seriousness of the alleged crimes.
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals upheld Gibbs’ ruling in September 2024, finding that the judge acted within his authority in keeping the case in adult court.
News Media has reached out to Peters-Berger’s attorneys, Michael Cohen and Alicia Linzmeier, for comment.