Iliana “Lily” Peters was reported missing from her home in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, on Sunday. Her body was found the next day and police began investigating her death as a homicide.
Peters’ father called the police around 9 p.m. Sunday after his daughter didn’t return home from her aunt’s house. By Wednesday, a suspect had been identified in Peters’ death: A 14-year-old boy whom she knew. The boy, who has not been named due to his age, reportedly confessed to investigators that he intended to rape and kill Peters “from the get-go” on Sunday, according to CBS Minnesota. The boy allegedly told investigators that he followed Peters on a trail that evening and eventually attacked her; punching, strangling, and hitting her with a stick before sexually assaulting her and killing her.
“The suspect was not a stranger. The suspect was known to the victim,” Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matt Kelm, according to CBS Minnesota. “We do not believe there is any danger to the community at this time.”
The suspect was arrested at a home near Peters’ aunt’s home, close to where the 10-year-old’s body was found along with a bike believed to belong to her.
The outlet also reported that prosecutors asked the court to hold the teenager on a $1 million cash bond, insisting he poses a threat to the community.
“Protection of (the) community also is necessary in this case given his statements regarding his intentions and his statements regarding that when he did get off the trail, he punched the victim in the stomach, knocked her to the ground, essentially strangled her, hit her with a stick, before strangling her to the point of death — before he then sexually assaulted her,” Chippewa County District Attorney Wade Newell said at the bond hearing, the Associated Press reported.
But the defense team requested a smaller bond of $100,000, arguing he isn’t a flight risk since he can’t drive and has no way to raise money. Chippewa County District Court Judge Ben Lane agreed with prosecutors, holding the suspect on a $1 million cash bond, agreeing that the boy’s crimes pose “a serious threat to the community.”
CBS Minnesota reported that several members of the law enforcement community were in the courtroom during the teen’s hearing, but it appeared as though none of Peters’ relatives attended.
The AP also reported that the teenager has been charged with “first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual assault of a child under age 13 resulting in great bodily harm.”
“While nothing will bring Lily Peters back or change what happened, we are very grateful to be able to deliver this news for the family and for the community,” police chief Kelm said, according to the AP.
Memorials were held for Peters outside Parkview Elementary, where she attended, and near where her body was found. The memorials featured her favorite color, purple.