Teen accused of murdering Lily Peters waives right to preliminary hearing
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (WCCO) -- The Wisconsin teenager charged in the homicide of 10-year-old Lily Peters was back in court Thursday afternoon.
In court, the boy waived his right to a preliminary hearing. The defense indicated that they plan to file a reverse waiver petition, which would request the case be moved from adult court down to juvenile court. A hearing on that has been scheduled for Sept. 29.
In April, police found Peters' body just blocks away from her aunt's home in Chippewa Falls. The teenage suspect was 14 when Peters was killed, and he told police he planned it.
According to the unsealed criminal complaint, the boy told police that he and Peters were on the trail after he helped her get her bike at a residence. She was biking and he was on a hoverboard. At some point, they left the trail and went into the woods after the boy asked Peters if they could "go exploring."
The boy allegedly admitted to then punching the girl, hitting her with a stick, strangling her, and sexually assaulting her.
The complaint says the boy then fled the area and returned home to shower and wash his clothes. He also told police that when he heard the victim was missing, he determined he needed to "hide her better," so he returned to the scene, pulled her body a few feet and covered her with leaves.
Peters' body was discovered the next morning in the woods, not far from the trail, near the Leinenkugel's brewery parking lot.
The boy is facing charges of first-degree murder, as well as two charges of sexual assault. Two of the charges carry the maximum penalty of life in prison.