Appeals court: Case against teen charged with killing Lily Peters will stay in adult court

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals affirmed a Chippewa County judge's decision earlier this year to keep the criminal case against a teen charged with killing 10-year-old Iliana "Lily" Peters in adult court.

The court issued a 23-page decision Tuesday siding with Judge Steven Gibbs, who agreed with prosecutors in January to not have the case waived into juvenile court.

The teen is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of first-degree sexual assault in Lily's April 24, 2022, death. Lawyers for the suspect, who is now 16 and identified in court papers as C.P.-B., argued at the time the case was more appropriate to be heard in juvenile court because of his age.

The ruling also could mean the juvenile suspect eventually will be publicly identified. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is withholding the suspect's name because of his age.

In its ruling Tuesday, the appeals court affirmed the Chippewa County court’s order denying the original petition for reverse waiver, stating “(C.P.-B) failed to show that reverse waiver would not depreciate the seriousness of his offenses. (C.P.-B's) arguments to the contrary are unpersuasive.”

What is Wisconsin's law about juvenile defendants?

Wisconsin is one of only three states that require all 17-year-old criminal defendants to be charged as adults.

State law allows for children as young as 10 to be charged as adults for certain serious crimes, at least to start the case. Those crimes include first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide.

Attempted first-degree reckless homicide or attempted second-degree intentional homicide, and other lesser charges typically start in juvenile court.

Court documents recount what was said during the teen's reverse waiver hearing earlier this year

In all, 10 witnesses were called by the teen's attorneys during a reverse-waiver hearing in the case in January. They pushed to have the matter adjudicated in juvenile court, arguing he would receive better treatment there. The state presented no witnesses.

Among those who testified were Casey Gerber, director of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections Office of Juvenile Offender Review, and three psychologists.

Gerber testified a juvenile placed at Lincoln Hills School for Boys is assigned to a mental health clinician within 24 hours of admittance and is provided individual therapy and medication management.

The Serious Juvenile Offender program a Lincoln Hills offers longer-term supervision than the standard correctional order for certain statutorily eligible offenses. Another program, limited to first-degree intentional homicide offenders, allows a juvenile a "dispositional order" until he or she turns 25 with “a minimum confinement of one year before the juvenile can be released ... (in)to the community."

The psychologists each diagnosed the suspect with autism spectrum disorder and persistent depressive disorder, and argued his exposure to internet pornography "probably played some roles in the offenses," court documents say.

They recommended he get treatment in a residential adolescent treatment program, rather than long-term adult incarceration, because "the crime(s) for which he is charged reflected an ‘adolescent crisis’ rather than the culmination of a long-standing pattern of delinquent and aggressive behavior in childhood," court records say.

It was the night of April 24, 2022, that Lily’s father reported her missing. She hadn't returning from a visit to her aunt’s house in the 400 block of North Grove Street in Chippewa Falls.

Her bike was found later that night in woods less than a mile from where Lily’s aunt lives.

Lily's body was found the next day. She had been strangled, sexually assaulted and beaten to death with a large stick. The suspect was 14 at the time of the killing.

What's next for the case against the teenage suspect?

The teen's lawyers can petition the Wisconsin Supreme Court to review the opinion. If it does not, the case will proceed to arraignment in adult court.

The teen faces a mandatory life sentence, if he's convicted on only the homicide charge.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Case against teen charged with killing Lily Peters stays in adult court