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A Wisconsin teenager who was 14 when he fatally attacked his 10-year-old cousin has pleaded guilty to first-degree intentional homicide and received a life sentence. Carson Peters-Berger entered the plea on Wednesday, bringing closure to a case that had been scheduled for trial this November.
The incident occurred in Chippewa Falls in April 2022, when Lily Peters was reported missing after failing to return home from her aunt’s residence. Her body was found the next day near a wooded area, with investigators determining she suffered blunt-force trauma to the head, manual strangulation, and sexual assault.
According to court documents, Peters-Berger admitted to the attack, stating that he struck Lily multiple times, strangled her until he thought she was dead, and attempted a sexual assault before leaving the scene. He later returned, moved her body, and covered it with leaves after learning she had been reported missing.
As part of the plea agreement, two additional charges-first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual assault of a child under 13 resulting in great bodily harm-were dismissed. Chippewa County Judge Steven Gibbs accepted the plea on August 26 and sentenced Peters-Berger to life in prison, with eligibility to seek extended supervision after 25 years.
The case was handled in adult court from the outset due to the severity of the charges. Efforts by Peters-Berger’s attorneys to transfer the case to juvenile court were denied by the judge, a decision later upheld by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.
Representatives for Peters-Berger’s legal team have not commented publicly on the plea.