Teen pleads guilty to killing 10-year-old Lily Peters in Wisconsin, sentenced to life in prison
An 18-year-old man has pleaded guilty to killing 10-year-old Lily Peters in Wisconsin four years ago. He was then given a life sentence with the possibility of extended supervision after 25 years.
On Wednesday morning, the judge accepted Carson Peters-Berger's guilty plea to first-degree intentional homicide during a hearing in Chippewa County court.
As part of the plea agreement, charges of first-degree sexual assault and first-degree child sexual assault were dismissed but read into the record. He was also given credit for four years already served and ordered to pay $30,197.20 in restitution.
Peters was reported missing by her father on April 24, 2022, when she left her aunt's house but failed to return home. Her body was found in the woods near the aunt's home the following morning.
Peters-Berger, who was 14 years old at the time, told investigators that he planned to rape and kill Peters "from the get-go" on Sunday night, when he began following her down a trail after she left her aunt's home.
He fled the area after killing the girl and then returned home to shower and wash his clothes. He also told police that when he heard the victim was missing, he determined he needed to "hide her better," so he returned to the scene, pulled her body a few feet and covered her with leaves.
Memorials, which included balloons, teddy bears and candles, were set up outside of Parkview Elementary, where Peters went to school, and on a bridge near where her body was found, CBS Minnesota reported. The décor was mostly purple, which her friends said was Peters' favorite color.
