Cousin of 10-year-old Wisconsin girl pleads guilty and receives life sentence

Lily Peters was cycling home from her aunt’s house in Chippewa Falls on April 24, 2022 when her cousin, Carson Peters-Berger, persuaded her to leave the path and wander into the surrounding forest. Her body was recovered the following day, and a medical exam revealed she had suffered beating, strangulation and sexual assault. Peters-Berger, who was 14 at the time, was taken into custody the day after the discovery and later entered a guilty plea to first-degree intentional homicide.

Chippewa County Judge Steven Gibbs accepted the plea and sentenced him to life in prison, while dismissing two related sexual-assault counts under the agreement. Attorneys Michael Cohen and Alicia Linzmeier sought to move the case to juvenile court, arguing for mental-health treatment, but the judge declined, deeming the offenses too serious for such a transfer.