The teen accused in the killing and sexual assault of 10-year-old Wisconsin girl Lily Peters is no longer set to go before a jury in the disturbing case that shocked the Chippewa Falls community.
Carson Peters-Berger, now 18, had been scheduled for a November trial on homicide and sexual assault charges tied to the April 2022 death of Peters, his younger cousin.
Chippewa County District Attorney Wade Newell said Wednesday that the case will instead move to a resolution hearing on Aug. 26, according to WEAU, bringing the proceedings closer to an end more than four years after Lily’s death.
Details about what will be addressed at that hearing were not immediately available, as Chippewa County Judge Steven Gibbs has sealed the online court records.
Peters-Berger was 14 at the time prosecutors say he killed Peters and left her body in a wooded area.
Lily’s father reported her missing on April 24 after she did not make it home from her aunt’s house in Chippewa Falls by 9 a.m., Fox9 reported.
About two hours after she was expected to return, her father discovered her bicycle abandoned near a wooded area in Chippewa Falls.
The following morning, volunteers searching the area found the child’s partially unclothed body in the woods near a walking trail.
Her death was ruled a homicide by blunt force trauma and strangulation.
Peters-Berger allegedly told police he had been walking the trail with his younger cousin when he asked her to explore off the path before he allegedly launched into the deadly sexual attack, according to a criminal complaint viewed by the outlet.
The older cousin was carrying his hoverboard while Peters carried her bike.
The teen admitted to police that “when they left the house it was already his intention to rape and kill [Lily],” the complaint stated.
When they were off the trail, Peters-Berger said he punched his cousin in the stomach, knocked her to the ground, hit her three times with a large stick before strangling her to the point of death.
He sexually assaulted his cousin after believing she was dead, he told police.
The teen then allegedly got scared, ran home, changed his clothes and showered.
He returned to Peters’ body the same night after hearing she was reported missing, and dragged her body a few feet further before covering her in leaves.
Peters-Berger was arrested days later and charged with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual assault of a child.
The teen has been held in jail on a $1 million cash bond since his arrest.
During his time behind bars, prosecutors successfully sought to try Peters-Berger as an adult and the teen’s identity was made public after it was initially not released because he was a juvenile.
Attorneys for Peters-Berger had requested a change in venue and certain jury selection requirements, arguing they would get an unfair trial in Chippewa County because of the extensive media coverage of Peters’ death.
Judge Gibbs granted the changes, and jury selection was set to be held between October 21 and 22, with the 10-day trial kicking off on Nov. 2.
Peters-Berger faced life in prison if he was found guilty in the trial.
