Teen Charged In Lily Peters Killing Due Back In Court Thursday

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WCCO) --- The teenager charged with killing a young Wisconsin girl will be back in court Thursday.

The 14-year-old eighth grader is facing charges of first-degree murder, as well as two charges of sexual assault, in connection to the death of 10-year-old Lily Peters.

According to prosecutors, the boy confessed to investigators that he intended to rape and kill Peters "from the get-go" on April 24, when he followed her on a trail as she left her aunt's home in Chippewa Falls. The boy allegedly admitted to punching the girl, hitting her with a stick, strangling her, and sexually assaulting her.

Peters' body was discovered the next morning in the woods, not far from the trail, near the Leinenkugel's brewery parking lot. According to the preliminary autopsy results, Peters died of strangulation and blunt force trauma.

The boy was arrested the next day, which was the same day a search warrant was executed at a residence owned by Peters' aunt. Investigators said that the boy and Peters knew each other.

The boy's identity has not been released. At a previous court hearing, he was referred to only as C.P.B. and prosecutors said he's lived in Chippewa County his entire life. His criminal complaint remains sealed.

He's being held at an Eau Claire detention center on a $1 million bond.

His case will automatically start in adult court, but the defense can ask to have it moved.