CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. — Editor's note: The video above first aired on KARE 11 on April 27, 2022.
The case involving the murder of 10-year-old Lily Peters in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin will stay in adult court, a judge ruled this week.
The 15-year-old boy is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual assault of a child under 13 resulting in great bodily harm in Lily's death, which happened when he was just 14 in April 2022. His lawyer wanted the case moved to juvenile court, but the judge ruled that doing so would depreciate the seriousness of the crime.
The defendant will turn 16 in March.
According to court documents filed shortly after Lily's death, prosecutors claimed the teen ran from the scene after strangling and assaulting Peters. The criminal complaint said the boy then went home, showered and put his dirty clothes in the laundry. After hearing that Peters was considered missing, authorities said he returned to the scene to hide her body by moving it and covering it with leaves.
Investigators said the defendant told law enforcement in an interview that he intended to "rape and kill the victim from the get go." A judge went on to set his bail to $1 million with the conditions that he would not have contact with any juveniles, wouldn't possess dangerous weapons and would only be allowed to see his siblings under supervised visits.
Mitchell Hamline law professor Brad Colbert told KARE 11 back in 2022 that it would be the murder charge that would land the teen in adult court, per Wisconsin law.
“Each state does it differently,” Colbert said. “In Minnesota, we have a cut off at age 14, where someone who is under the age 14, cannot be certified to adult courts. In Wisconsin it's different. In Wisconsin, someone who is charged with a murder conviction is presumptively put into adult courts.”
After considering the defense's request to move the case to juvenile court, it was ultimately denied by a Wisconsin circuit court judge.
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist: