An 18-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2022 murder of his 10-year-old cousin, Lily Peters, in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. The case deeply affected the local community, and the sentence reflects the seriousness with which the court viewed the killing.

He pleaded guilty to first-degree intentional homicide after luring Lily into nearby woods during a bike ride, where prosecutors said he assaulted and strangled her. Sexual-assault charges were dismissed under a plea deal but considered at sentencing; he may seek extended supervision after 25 years, rather than the 20 years initially contemplated by prosecutors. He was 14 at the time of the offence, but courts rejected attempts to move the case to juvenile jurisdiction.