Chippewa Falls Killing: Carson Peters-Berger Sentenced to Life for Death of Lily Peters

Life sentence imposed in the 2022 killing of 10-year-old Lily Peters

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. — Carson Peters-Berger pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree intentional homicide and was sentenced to life in prison for the 2022 killing of his 10-year-old cousin, Lily Peters, in Chippewa Falls. Peters-Berger, now 18, was 14 when authorities said he lured the girl from a trail into nearby woods before killing her.

Chippewa County Judge Steven Gibbs accepted the guilty plea and imposed the life sentence, bringing an end to a case that shocked the western Wisconsin community after Lily Peters was reported missing while riding her bicycle home from her aunt’s house on April 24, 2022.

According to the criminal complaint, Peters-Berger persuaded Lily to leave the trail and explore surrounding woods with him. Her body was found the following day. An autopsy determined that she had been beaten, strangled and sexually assaulted.

Peters-Berger was arrested one day after Lily’s body was discovered. The homicide drew widespread attention in Chippewa Falls and beyond, both because of the victim’s age and because the accused was also a child at the time of the attack.

Other sexual-assault charges dismissed under plea agreement

As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed two additional counts: first-degree sexual assault causing great bodily harm and first-degree child sexual assault involving a child younger than 13. The homicide conviction, however, carries the life prison term ordered by Gibbs.

Peters-Berger’s attorneys, Michael Cohen and Alicia Linzmeier, did not respond to emailed requests for comment, according to reports.

Defense lawyers had previously sought to move the case to juvenile court, arguing that Peters-Berger needed mental-health treatment that would be more appropriately addressed in the juvenile justice system. Juvenile proceedings are generally confidential, unlike criminal cases handled in adult court.

Gibbs rejected that request, finding that the allegations were too serious for the case to be transferred. A state appeals court later upheld the decision to keep the prosecution in adult court. Information on Wisconsin’s court system and appellate process is available through the Wisconsin Court System.

A case that remained in adult criminal court

Wisconsin law allows some juveniles accused of particularly grave offenses to be prosecuted as adults, though judges may consider requests to return cases to juvenile jurisdiction. The dispute over Peters-Berger’s court placement became a central issue before his guilty plea, underscoring the difficult legal questions that arise when a serious violent crime is alleged to have been committed by a minor.

With the plea accepted and sentence imposed, Peters-Berger remains subject to the life prison sentence ordered in Chippewa County. The criminal case has concluded at the trial-court level.