Lily Peters Case: Teen Planned to Rape And Kill Girl, Complaint Says

Warning: This article includes graphic content, which may be disturbing for readers.

CHIPPEWA FALLS, WI — A Chippewa County judge has granted requests to release the criminal complaint surrounding Iliana "Lily" Peters' homicide case to the public, a judge announced in a hearing on Thursday. It will not identify the teen accused of killing her.

Peters, 10, died of blunt force trauma and strangulation before she was found in a wooded area of the Wisconsin city on April 25, the county coroner ruled. A 14-year-old boy was charged with multiple crimes, including first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual assault of a child under age 13 resulting in great bodily harm.

Peters was reported missing after leaving her aunt's house in Chippewa Falls on April 24, a copy of the criminal complaint posted by the crime podcast Pretty Lies and Alibis said. Her body was found the next day in a wooded area near a walking trail, with blunt force trauma to her head and some of her clothes were missing.

The unnamed 14-year-old told a Eau Claire Police Department detective that he intended to rape and kill the girl when he invited her to explore the walking trail near the Leine Lodge on the 100 block of Elm Street, the complaint said. He carried his hoverboard and the girl carried their bike as they walked uphill and into the woods.

The teen told the detective he punched the girl in the stomach, which knocked her to the ground, the complaint said. He struck her in the head several times with a large stick and strangled her until he believed she was dead, before removing her pants and trying to have sex with her body.

The teen got scared, got up and left the scene to go home, shower and put his dirty clothes in the laundry, the complaint said. When he heard Peters was missing, he returned to the walking trail, moved her body and covered her with leaves.

The Chippewa County Clerk of Courts received "numerous requests" from media outlets for the criminal complaint to be unsealed, Chippewa County Circuit Court Judge Benjamin Lane said in a hearing Thursday. He agreed to release it, but said the names and dates of birth of minors will continue to be withheld.

Prosecutors agreed to the request since the victim's information isn't contained in the complaint, they said in a court hearing. Attorneys for the teen defendant objected, not wanting the case to be "tried in the media," a defense attorney said.

The teen's father was convicted of possessing child pornography, and his parents had a long court battle over his custody after their breakup, The Star Tribune reported. The boy appeared to be a normal 14-year-old who played video games and did well in school, neighbors said.

RELATED:

• Lily Peters, 10, Died Of Strangulation, Blunt Force Trauma: Coroner
• Boy Sexually Assaulted Lily Peters, 10, After Killing Her: Prosecutor