John Jefferson
Left inset: Lily Peters (Chippewa Falls Police Department). Main: an aerial shot of the wooded area where the 10-year-old girl was found slain in 2022 (KARE).
A now 16-year-old boy in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, who, at the age of 14, allegedly admitted that it “was already his intention to rape and kill” 10-year-old Lily Peters when she was lured down a trail, beaten with a stick, and strangled to death in April 2022, has failed to convince state appellate judges that a sexual assault and intentional homicide trial should unfold in juvenile court. The appellate panel on Tuesday determined the “vicious and brutal” murder case is far too serious and best suited for adult court given the “specific factual circumstances surrounding the charged crimes.”
The suspect, identified in the caption of the case only as C.T.P.-B. and referred to by the pseudonym “Christopher” throughout the ruling, had argued based on witness testimony of doctors that a “depressive disorder,” an “anxiety disorder,” autism, and “obsessive sexual thoughts” traceable to the “compulsive viewing of increasingly violent pornographic videos” were all potential factors behind the shocking alleged offenses and that his “treatment needs” more than likely wouldn’t be met if he ends up in an adult prison.
The appellate court, however, agreed with the trial court that the defendant was “unpersuasive” and “failed to show” that moving the case to juvenile court “would not depreciate the seriousness of his offenses.”
Charging documents in the case have revealed that Peters’ father reported her missing when she didn’t return home from visiting her aunt a few blocks away. The next day, Peters’ bicycle was found near a wooded trail and so was her body, “naked from the waist down.”
Authorities alleged that the defendant, then in the eighth grade, admitted days later that he rode on a hoverboard and Peters rode the bike as he lured the victim, down a trail, having already decided that it was his “intention to rape and kill” her. Peters was hit in the head three times with a “large stick,” strangled to the point where the suspect believed she was dead, and then she was sexually assaulted, investigators said.
According to the complaint, the defendant — described as “not a stranger” to Peters and reportedly a cousin — “became scared,” stopped the sexual assault, “fled the area,” went home, showered, “put his dirty clothes in the laundry,” and then, when news of Peters’ disappearance started to circulate, he returned to the crime scene and “covered her with leaves.”
At the circuit court level, the defendant failed to persuade a judge that the case could be transferred to juvenile court, since the set of alleged facts, which are even more graphic than described above, were too serious to be potentially punished with “possible confinement in the juvenile system for ten years and the requirement to register as a sex offender[.]”
The appellate court has now declined to disturb that ruling.
“As such, the court determined that Christopher had not met his burden to show that reverse waiver would not depreciate the seriousness of the offenses. The court’s decision shows that it examined the relevant facts, applied a proper standard of law, and used a demonstrated rational process to reach a decision that a reasonable judge could reach,” the court said. “As such, the court did not erroneously exercise its discretion.”
In a footnote, the ruling emphasized that the 16-year-old is charged with Class A felonies that are punishable by life in prison, the most serious crimes under Wisconsin law:
Two of the charges against Christopher—first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree sexual assault of a child under age thirteen with resulting great bodily harm—are Class A felonies. See WIS. STAT. §§ 940.01(1)(a), 948.02(1)(am). The penalty for a Class A felony is life imprisonment. WIS. STAT. § 939.50(3)(a). However, when sentencing a person to life imprisonment, a circuit court “shall make an extended supervision eligibility date determination … and choose one of the following options”: (1) the person is eligible for release to extended supervision after serving twenty years; (2) the person is eligible for release to extended supervision on a specified date set by the court after serving more than twenty years; or (3) the person is not eligible for release to extended supervision. WIS. STAT. § 973.014(1g)(a). Thus, if convicted of either Class A felony, Christopher would be subject to life imprisonment, but with the possibility of being eligible for release to extended supervision after twenty years.
In July, NBC affiliate KARE reported that Peters’ case, just like in the aftermath of similar tragedies, led to expansions in state law surrounding Silver Alerts for missing kids.
Read the appellate ruling here.
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