Bond set at $1M for teen accused of killing Chippewa Falls girl

By KSTP

[anvplayer video=”5105549″ station=”998122″]

Bond has been set at $1 million for a teenager accused of killing a 10-year-old Chippewa Falls girl earlier this week.

A bond hearing was held at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Branch 3 in Chippewa County court for a teen identified by the initials of C.P.B. in the death of Illiana “Lily” Peters.

Police say Peters was found dead near a walking trail around 9:15 a.m. Monday after she was reported missing by her family members Sunday evening. Her father contacted the police at 9 p.m. after he said she had not returned from a visit to her aunt’s house.

Prosecutors charged the 14-year-old eighth-grader with one count of first-degree intentional homicide, one count of first-degree sexual assault, and one count of first-degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 13 resulting in great bodily harm.

Iliana "Lily" Peters. (courtesy: Chippewa Falls Police Department)

The severity of the charges was discussed during Wednesday’s hearing. Due to the graphic nature of the incident involving two juveniles, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS is choosing not to describe the alleged crimes in detail at this time.

“The information disclosed by district attorney shows this was a serious threat to the community, and so the court is concerned that this could be a further threat if the individual was no longer in custody,” Chippewa County Circut Court Judge Benjamin Lane said Wednesday.

After court, Chippewa County District Attorney Wade Newell talked about the fear in the community since Peters’ death.

“That’s a very terrifying thing for parents to have to deal with — to worry about, ‘Can my child be the next victim of the crime?’ until you find out who you believe the perpetrator to be, that is very concerning,” Newell said.

Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm said Tuesday the “suspect was known to the victim” and added “he is in custody.”

On the block where police say Peters left a family member’s home before disappearing, there’s a home guarded by police, sealed in crime scene tape, where investigators have been since Tuesday, according to neighbors.

“It’s very tragic what happened around here, a little sense of our security has come back,” Shelby Macknik, whose kids played with Peters, said. “But it’s still going to take us a while around here to go back to normal.”

Police reported a bicycle believed to belong to the girl was found in the woods a short distance from her aunt’s house, near the walking trail between the end of North Grove Street and the Leinenkugel brewery’s parking lot.

A GoFundMe page has been established to help the family with expenses related to Peters’ funeral.