The murder case against Carson Peters-Berger, the man accused of sexually assaulting and killing 10-year-old Lily Peters in Chippewa Falls, will not go to trial. A resolution hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 26, more than four years after the girl's death shocked the small Wisconsin city and reshaped state law around missing children.
Peters-Berger, now 18, was 14 years old when investigators say he sexually assaulted and murdered Peters in 2022, according to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS. He faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide, sexual assault causing great bodily harm, and child sexual assault. A jury trial had been scheduled for November, but the case will instead wrap up following the Aug. 26 resolution hearing, which the Chippewa County District Attorney's Office has confirmed is on the calendar.
Peters was last seen leaving her aunt's house before her family reported her missing that night. Volunteers searching the area found her body the next day on a nearby walking trail, where investigators say Peters-Berger had left her. Court filings previously noted the wooded trail sits near Leinie's Lodge, roughly a quarter-mile from the Chippewa County Courthouse in Chippewa Falls, according to WTMJ.
How the Case Moved Through the Courts
Because Peters-Berger was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, Wisconsin law placed his case directly in adult criminal court from the start. Under the state's statutory scheme, adult courts hold original jurisdiction over juveniles aged 10 and older facing that charge, meaning the burden fell to the defense to request a so-called reverse waiver to move the case into juvenile court, per Justia Law.
Peters-Berger's lawyer tried to move the case to juvenile court in 2023, arguing that his client had an adverse childhood and diagnosed psychological disorders. That effort failed, and in 2024 a Wisconsin appeals court decided he would be tried as an adult. Earlier in the case, Chippewa County Circuit Court Judge Benjamin J. Lane set bail at $1 million cash in April 2022, granting a state request after prosecutors argued the 14-year-old posed a severe community danger and had intended to commit the attack from the start, according to Law & Crime. The defense had sought $100,000 cash bail, arguing he was not a flight risk.
Investigative and court records indicate that after the initial assault, Peters-Berger returned home to shower and wash his clothes, then went back to the trail to drag Peters' body and cover it with leaves once he learned she had been reported missing. The same records describe the pair initially setting out to explore the trail together, with Peters on her bike and Peters-Berger on a hoverboard.
A Case So Public It Needed an Outside Jury
The intense local attention surrounding the case led Chippewa County Circuit Court Judge Steven Gibbs to grant a defense motion for a change of venue in August 2025, ordering that trial jurors be selected from outside Chippewa County and sequestered. Defense counsel argued that pervasive media coverage and community memorial displays made a fair local jury impossible to seat.
Preliminary autopsy findings released by Chippewa County Coroner Ronald Patten in 2022 established that Peters died of strangulation and blunt force trauma, with her death officially ruled a homicide.
Legal Stakes if Convicted
A conviction on the Class A felony charge of first-degree intentional homicide carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment under Wisconsin law. Because the state abolished traditional parole for offenses committed after 1999, only the timing of extended supervision eligibility would remain up to the sentencing judge, not the possibility of release itself, per WSAU.
A Killing That Changed State Law
Peters' death set off a wave of grassroots organizing in Chippewa Falls. A Change.org petition launched by a local resident calling for a lower-threshold “Lily Alert” system gathered more than 190,000 signatures before state lawmakers acted, with the petition drawing tens of thousands of signatures within days of the crime.
That pressure culminated in April 2024, when Governor Tony Evers signed 2023 Wisconsin Act 272, known as the Prince Act, creating a new Missing Child Alert system for children under 10 who don't meet strict Amber Alert criteria. Previous state guidelines had barred Amber Alerts without specific suspect or vehicle information, a gap exposed by Peters' case and the disappearance of 5-year-old Prince McCree. By August 2025, the Wisconsin Department of Justice reported issuing 17 Missing Child Alerts for 14 missing children during the alert system's first full year, broadcast through the Wisconsin Crime Alert Network and local lottery terminals.
What exactly the Aug. 26 resolution hearing will produce — a negotiated plea, a formal sentencing, or another procedural step — has not been detailed publicly. The Chippewa County District Attorney's Office has confirmed only that the hearing is scheduled, leaving the precise terms of how the case will conclude still unclear.
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