A teenager accused of murdering his 10-year-old cousin and raping her dead body wants to be tried as a child meaning he could be freed from jail by the time he is 25.
Carson Peters-Berger was 14 when he allegedly killed Lily Peters as they walked along a hiking trail in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, on April 24, 2022.
He allegedly told police he punched her in the stomach, knocked her to the ground, hit her with a stick, and strangled her to the point of death before raping her.
Prosecutors told the court Peters-Berger planned to ‘rape and kill the victim from the get-go when he left the house with the victim to go down the trail’.
Police arrested Carson Peters-Berger, 14, in connection with the murder of Lily Peters, 10
Lily Peters, 10, visited her aunt’s home in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin and her body was found in woodland close to a walking trail in the town on Monday morning
The boy was charged as an adult with first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of sexual assault, and faced life in prison.
He has been held at Northwest Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Eau Claire on a $1 million cash bond, where he will stay until he is 18.
But his lawyers argued in a 35-page brief that he should be tried as a juvenile, which would only send him to jail for 10 years, letting him walk free aged 25.
Judge Steven Gibbs ruled on January 22 that he should stay in an adult court, but the Wisconsin Court of Appeals agreed to hear an appeal by the defense.
‘The court disagrees that a possible 10-year confinement in the juvenile system, registering as a sex offender and that the defendant would be vulnerable to the adult system would be punishment enough for the defendant,’ Gibbs wrote in his ruling.
Peters-Berger’s lawyer Michael Cohen objected, arguing sending him to jail for decades wouldn’t deter others and would only be retribution.
‘The Circuit Court correctly found that he could not receive adequate treatment in the criminal justice system and that retaining jurisdiction in adult court is not necessary to deter him or other juveniles,’ he said.
When Berger was sent to jail in May 2018, Peters-Berger’s life was shattered according to his grandmother Mary and family friend Katie Weathers. His grandmother said: ‘Carson has not been very happy with his father being gone’
‘But the Circuit Court erred in finding that transferring jurisdiction would depreciate the seriousness of the offense.
‘In this case, putting [Peters-Berger] in adult prison for life is not necessary. It will not motivate change or cause change.
‘It is only punishment for the sake of punishment, which is not what the law permits for juveniles.
‘There is no evidence that imposing this harsh outcome upon [Peters-Berger] will in any way deter others. We may hope, or wish that it does, but in reality, it will not change others’ behavior.’
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and Assistant AG John Flynn submitted a 25-page rebuttal on Monday, arguing the crime was too serious.
‘[Peters-Berger], intending to murder and sexually assault the victim, convinced her to go down a trail with him,’ they wrote.
‘The court found that [Peters-Berger] ‘admitted that the physical assault of the young victim was vicious and brutal in nature, involving punching the victim, knocking the victim down and hitting the victim with a stick’.’
The child’s body was found on a hiking trail less than a mile from her aunt’s house, near where her bike was discovered
The house where Lily’s aunt lives has been taped off and is currently guarded by police. Toys can be seen in the yard
The pair rubbished Cohen’s claim that ‘retaining adult jurisdiction would only serve retribution’, noting he did so ‘without legal authority or record citation’.
‘Without a record citation, this is merely his opinion, and without a legal citation for why this matters, this argument is undeveloped, and this court should not address it,’ they wrote.
Chippewa County District Attorney Wade Newell estimated the Court of Appeal would take about four weeks to make up its mind with the arguments filed.
No trial date has been set and Gibbs declared the criminal case would not return to court until the appeal was decided.
Peters-Berger is the son of convicted pedophile Adam Berger, 39, who spent three years in jail after being caught with a stash of pornographic images of prepubescent girls on his phone.
Adam Berger’s son Carson Peters-Berger, 14, is now facing a possible life sentence after being charged with three counts over Lily’s death. The father and son are pictured together
According to charging documents, 10 pornographic photos showing very young girls in spread-legged positions were found on his phone.
Some of them had been doctored to include comments such as ‘first in ur little girls a**hole and then in ur mouth mom’. Berger’s own face was superimposed on some of them.
Other pictures showed the children semi-dressed – among them one showing a girl in a green feather boa and black high heels and another girl wearing a pink tutu skirt.
Adam Berger, 37, spent three years in jail after being caught with a stash of pornographic images of prepubescent girls and four crack pipes. Berger is seen in his mugshot
All of the revolting pictures focused on the children’s genitalia according to court papers.
He also had drug paraphernalia including four crack pipes in his home.
When his son was charged, Berger was living in a halfway house in Eau Claire after being released from Oshkosh Correctional Institution in April 2021.
He remained on supervised probation and is on the sex offender registry. He and his lawyers opposed extended probation because he would not have had unsupervised visits with his son – who he described in a letter as being ‘the best of me’.
Other letters filed in support of his bid to regain unsupervised contact with his son describe an unhappy child who never smiled and looked miserable in the company of his mother Lauri Davis, 45.
When Berger was sent to jail in May 2018, Peters-Berger’s life was shattered, according to his grandmother Mary and family friend Katie Weathers.
His grandmother said: ‘Carson has not been very happy with his father being gone.’
Adam Berger wrote a letter from prison to a judge begging to be allowed unsupervised visits with his son, who he described as ‘the best part of me’
Weathers accused Davis of being a bad mother, saying: ‘We have seen him out and about with his mom and he never looks happy.
‘He doesn’t smile, he’s always quiet and just looks at the ground and doesn’t talk.’
She also accused Davis of trying to limit his contact with Berger’s friends and family.
The 14-year-old is the product of a brief relationship between Berger and Davis, who is the sister of Lily’s father Alex Peters, 45.
According to charging documents, 10 pornographic photos showing very young girls in spread-legged positions were found on Berger’s phone
Peters reported his daughter missing at 9pm on Sunday when she failed to return home from visiting her aunt.
Davis, who was in a relationship with convicted fraudster John Repetto, 50, lives in the Chippewa Falls home where Lily was last seen with Peters-Berger.
Davis and Berger split when their son was two and appeared to have had an acrimonious relationship, with Davis suing for child support in 2010.
In 2017, before Berger was convicted of child porn offenses but after he had been arrested and charged, Davis called the police over an incident where he drove his car at her.
Although not allowed solo contact with his son, who was then aged eight, the charging papers say they were in the vehicle together.
Davis said she first noticed a suspicious car lurking in the alleyway behind her home and followed the vehicle before it pulled over into a random driveway.
After Peters-Berger got out, Berger then reversed into Davis who then attempted to stop him leaving.
She said he then drove the car at her, leaving her injured when she rolled off the hood and ended up on the ground.
When Berger was sent to jail, all physical contact ceased but in a jailhouse letter, Berger said he emailed with his son daily, spoke to him regularly while he was with his grandmother and mailed him a crochet blanket he had made in prison.
When Berger was sent to jail, all physical contact ceased. In a jailhouse letter, Berger said he emailed with his son daily, spoke to him regularly while he was with his grandmother and mailed him a crochet blanket he had made in prison
‘Justice for Lily’ signs were seen in the neighborhood near her home. Like her cousin, 10-year-old Lily was the product of a broken home. She lived with her father Alex who has a string of convictions for drug and alcohol offenses including several DUIs
He said he dreamed of a future with his son, adding that he wanted unsupervised contact with his son because ‘he is not a victim of my offense’. He added: ‘My son is the best part of me.’
The motion was denied and it is unclear whether Berger has seen his son since his release on extended supervision in April last year.
Lily’s mother Jennifer Eyerly, 38, is currently on probation after being convicted of multiple counts of theft including for swiping four of her mother’s credit cards and racking up a bill totaling $7,788.31
Lily, who lived less than half a mile from her aunt’s home, was discovered lying a little way off a bike trail on Monday morning.
Locals in Chippewa Falls said she was often seen cycling down the path on her bike which was found close to her body.
The spot where she was discovered is close to the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company which sits on the bank of Star Lake. The location is within view of a row of houses on the other side of the 23-acre lake.
Like her cousin, 10-year-old Lily was the product of a broken home and lived with her father Alex who has a string of convictions for drug and alcohol offenses including several DUIs.
Davis also has multiple convictions for drug offenses, all dating from at least two years before her son was born, and was also arrested for domestic battery in December 2005 following an altercation with her then-husband John Davis.
Meanwhile, Lily’s mother Jennifer Eyerly, 40, is currently on probation after being convicted of multiple counts of theft including for swiping four of her mother’s credit cards and racking up a bill totaling $7,788.31.
She also cheated her aunt and uncle out of $10,000 by inventing fake jobs for them – even conducting false interviews – in a bid to get hold of their banking details.
Eyerly split from Peters in 2018 and, in January 2022, moved more than 60 miles away to the tiny village of Balsam Lake.