After he allegedly lured 10-year-old Iliana “Lily” Peters into the woods and strangled her, a juvenile suspect bit the girl’s body, according to a complaint that was unsealed Friday.
Police found Peters around 9 a.m. April 25 near a walking trail in Chippewa Falls, Wisc. She had visited her aunt’s house April 24 and was reported missing that night when she did not return home.
According to the criminal complaint posted by Law & Crime, Eau Claire Police Detective Wayne Bjorkman interviewed the juvenile suspect April 26. The suspect admitted that he planned to rape and kill the victim when he saw her April 24.
Local news station WEAU reported that the suspect was a 14-year-old identified as C. P.-B. Some outlets have reported that he was Peters’ cousin, but information about the suspect was redacted in the criminal complaint.
“The suspect was not a stranger. The suspect was known to the victim,” Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm said during a news conference last month.
While the victim rode her bike and the alleged killer rode a hoverboard, he asked her to explore the trail, located near the Leinenkugel’s Brewery Parking lot. Once they were on the trail, the he punched the victim in the stomach, knocking her to the ground, and then hit her in the head three times with a large stick. He allegedly straddled the victim while she was on her back and strangled her until he thought she was dead.
He then took off her pants and attempted to rape her, said the complaint. At some point before becoming afraid and fleeing the scene the suspect also bit the victim, he told authorities. A forensic pathologist confirmed there were bite marks on the buttocks through a forensic autopsy.
By 9 p.m. that evening, Peters’ father reported her missing. He found her bike at around 11 p.m. near Leine’s Lodge in Chippewa Falls.
When the suspect heard that the victim had been reported missing, he returned to the area to cover her body with leaves after showering and putting his dirty clothes in the laundry, according to the complaint.
The suspect faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide, for which he could get a life sentence; first-degree sexual assault, for which he could get a sentence up to 60 years and first-degree sexual assault of a child under 13 with great bodily harm, for which he could also get a life sentence.
As of Friday, C. P.-B. was being held at the Northwest Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Eau Claire awaiting his next court appearance. A cash bond for his release has been set at $1 million, said WEAU.
A status conference in the case is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. June 24 in Chippewa County Circuit Court, said the outlet. The defendant and his attorney, Michael Cohen, are expected to appear virtually.
Related
Related
