Sexual assault charges dropped in plea deal
Carson Peters-Berger, now 18, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Chippewa County Court to first-degree intentional homicide in the April 2022 killing of his 10-year-old cousin, Lily Peters, the Associated Press reported.
Chippewa County Judge Steven Gibbs accepted the plea and immediately sentenced Peters-Berger to life in prison.
Peters-Berger was 14 at the time of the killing.
According to the criminal complaint, Lily Peters was riding her bike home from her aunt’s house in Chippewa Falls on April 24, 2022, when Peters-Berger persuaded her to leave a trail and explore the surrounding woods with him.
Peters’ body was discovered the next day. An autopsy determined she had been beaten, strangled and sexually assaulted.
Peters-Berger was arrested the day after Peters’ body was found.
In addition to the first-degree intentional homicide charge, Peters-Berger had faced two other counts: first-degree sexual assault causing great bodily harm and first-degree child sexual assault involving a child under 13. Under a plea deal, those two sexual assault charges were dismissed.
The case was reported from Madison, Wisconsin, by Associated Press writer Scott Bauer.