The case of 10-year-old Lily Peters will not go to trial. Carson Peters-Berger, now 18, who was accused of killing his young cousin in April 2022, will instead face a resolution hearing scheduled for August 26, 2026, according to an announcement by the Chippewa County District Attorney’s Office. The resolution means the high-profile case, which had been set for jury trial beginning in November, will be concluded without a full trial proceeding.
Peters-Berger was 14 years old when Lily Peters, then 10, was killed on April 24, 2022, in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Lily had been reported missing by her father that evening after she failed to return home from a visit to her aunt’s house. Two hours later, her abandoned bicycle was found near a wooded trail. The next morning, volunteers searching the area discovered her partially nude body in the wooded area adjacent to a walking path.
The autopsy determined Lily died from strangulation and blunt-force trauma to the head. When interviewed by investigators, Peters-Berger told police that when they left the house, it was already his intention to rape and kill Lily. He explained to police that he asked her to explore off the trail, at which point he punched her in the stomach, knocked her to the ground, struck her on the head three times with a heavy stick, and then strangled her until she was dead. He admitted to sexually assaulting her after she died. He then returned home, changed his clothes and showered. When he learned that Lily had been reported missing, he told police he returned to the scene to hide her body better, dragging it a few feet further and covering it with leaves.
Peters-Berger was arrested days after the discovery of Lily’s body and charged with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree sexual assault, and first-degree sexual assault of a child. He was initially held on a $1 million cash bond. Despite his age at the time of the alleged offenses, prosecutors moved to try him as an adult. In January 2024, Chippewa County Judge Steven Gibbs ruled that the case would remain in adult court, rejecting the defense’s petition to move it to juvenile proceedings. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals later upheld that decision, and Peters-Berger’s identity was subsequently unsealed and made public.
The teenager entered not guilty pleas to all charges in December 2024. However, his legal team had continuously challenged various aspects of the case. In June 2025, Judge Gibbs sealed Peters-Berger’s recorded interview with law enforcement, pending trial. The defense filed a motion to suppress statements he made to investigators, arguing his confessions were taken in violation of his Miranda rights and were involuntary. During hearings on that motion, the defense raised questions about whether Peters-Berger’s autism diagnosis affected his understanding of the interrogation process.
Due to extensive pretrial publicity surrounding the case, which included community demonstrations and media coverage, Judge Gibbs granted a change of venue motion in August 2025. The judge determined that jurors from outside Chippewa County would be needed to seat an impartial jury. The anticipated two-week jury trial had been scheduled to begin November 2, 2026, with jury selection set for October 21 and 22.
The announcement of the resolution hearing has shifted the case toward conclusion just months before the scheduled trial. According to legal definitions, a resolution in a criminal court case refers to the conclusion of proceedings without a full trial, which could include a plea agreement and sentencing, a bench trial, or a deferred agreement. The Chippewa County District Attorney’s Office has not provided details about the nature of the resolution that will be presented at the August 26 hearing. Court records regarding the case have been sealed by order of Judge Gibbs.
If convicted at trial, Peters-Berger would have faced a mandatory life sentence, with the possibility of parole left to the discretion of Judge Gibbs. The case has remained in the court system for more than four years since Lily’s death captured widespread attention due to the ages of both the victim and the accused. The resolution hearing will mark a significant development in what has become one of Wisconsin’s most closely watched criminal cases.