Carson T. Peters-Berger sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to murdering then 10-year old cousin, Lily Peters, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin girl. Said he wanted to know what it felt like ‘to take a life.’
An 18-year old Wisconsin man who pleaded guilty to the 2022 murder of his then 10-year-old cousin was on Wednesday sentenced to life in prison. He will be eligible for extended supervision after 25 years spent in incarceration.
Carson T. Peters-Berger who was 14 when he lured ten year old Chippewa Falls girl, Lily Peters into the woods before stabbing her multiple times and s*xually ab*sing her, pled guilty to first-degree intentional homicide, according to his online court records cited by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
His charges of first-degree s*xual assault/great bodily harm and first-degree s*xual assault of a child under 13 were dismissed but read-in, which means the defendant acknowledges the judge can consider those accusations for sentencing.
Then 14-year-old boy wanted to know what it ‘felt like to take a life’
Lily, 10, disappeared on the evening of April 24, 2022 while on her way home from her aunt’s house in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.
Her cousin Carson T. Peters-Berger was arrested a day later, with the teen confessing horrific details to investigators of the girl’s slaying.
Investigators say a then 14 year old Peters Berger killed Peters as he was escorting her home after spending a day with her aunt in the spring of 2022.
According to the criminal complaint reviewed by PEOPLE, Peters-Berger said he lured Lily off trail and had plans to s*xually assa*lt her.
He punched Lily and after she dropped to the ground, he hit her head multiple times and strangled her ‘until he believed the victim was deceased,’ the complaint states. He then proceeded to s*xually ass*ult her before getting scared and fleeing, he told police.
After Lily was reported missing, he told police he returned to the scene, dragged her body and covered her with leaves according to the criminal complaint.
During questioning, Peters Berger told investigators he had been planning the incident and wanted to know ‘what it felt like to take a life.’
Months after his arrest, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled that Peters-Berger would be tried in adult court.
Loss of childhood innocence
Family members of Lily Peters spoke during the sentencing hearing. They discussed the impact the loss had on their families in the community and shared how much they missed Lily. Those connected to the family also shared concerns about the possibility of Peters-Berger being eligible for release and the worries that another crime may be committed.
Peters-Berger did not wish to speak in the hearing, WEAU reported.
In an online obituary posted shortly after her death, Lily’s family said the fourth-grader loved to play in the snow with her friends and ride her bike.
A photo posted by a loved one featured an “I wish” poem written by Lily, where she wrote: ‘I wish people were kind to each other.’
‘I wish that people would stop littering. I wish there was peace in this world,” the poem continued, ending with: “I wish it was summer all the time.’
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