Carson Peters-Berger pleaded guilty in Chippewa County Court on Monday to first-degree intentional homicide in the death of Lily Peters, ending the path to a November jury trial. Chippewa County Judge Steven Gibbs accepted the plea, convicted Peters-Berger of the crime and sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of extended supervision after 25 years.
The plea closed out a case that had already gripped readers because Lily was only 10 when she disappeared on April 24, 2022, after leaving her aunt’s home in Chippewa Falls. Her body was found the next morning in a wooded area near a walking trail, and the name Lily Peters has remained part of the region’s grief ever since.
Peters-Berger had previously pleaded not guilty in December 2024 to adult charges of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree sexual assault causing great bodily harm and first-degree child sexual assault. At this hearing, the two sexual assault charges were dismissed but read in, meaning they stayed part of the record the judge could consider when imposing sentence even though they were no longer separate convictions.
The sentence also carried an unusual note from Gibbs: he said Peters-Berger was a minor when he committed the offense, yet the crime was still serious enough to warrant life in prison. In court, the judge said he believes in giving people a second chance after they have paid their debt to society, but added that this offense shook the community. That combination — youth on one side, a homicide sentence on the other — is the part that made the hearing land with such force.
For Lily’s family and friends, the day was less about legal finality than about carrying her memory forward. Kiara Stevens said Lily was “my light” and added, “There were times where I just didn’t want to do it anymore, but Lily was that kind of person that made you want to keep going.” Dana Whitcome said the tragedy had opened eyes to how fragile things are, and she said the family looks forward to moving forward in healing and sharing kindness in Lily’s memory.
District Attorney Wade Newell said trials can be traumatic for families and said there is no closure in the criminal justice system. He said Monday was only one point in time, and that nothing done in court can erase what happened to the young girl. What the hearing did do was end the uncertainty of a scheduled trial and leave Peters-Berger serving a life sentence, with the possibility of extended supervision only after 25 years.
