78: 10-Year-Old Girl BRUTALLY Killed & Sexually Assaulted Post-Mortem
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Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

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Hey everybody, welcome back to an all-new bonus episode of Serialistly. It's me, Annie, your true crime bestie, here to talk all things true crime with you. Now, the reason why I had to jump on here and drop this bonus episode outside of the normal release schedule is because I need to talk to you about this case.

It is so wild. There is so much to talk about. So we got to get right into it. Before we do it, please take a quick second. Just make sure that you are following along on the podcast so that you don't miss any future episodes and bonus episodes like these that drop. And also follow along on the Serialistly Facebook page where we drop episodes.

All information regarding giveaways, behind the scenes information, guest episodes, Q&As, all sorts of good stuff. All right, now let's get into today's case. So the case we're talking about today, guys, it's crazy because at the start of it, you think you understand it. You think it's pretty open and shut, but it has a twist that never happens.

nobody and I'm telling you nobody saw coming actually a couple twists but one really big one so Lily Peters was a 10 year old girl and fourth grade student at Parkview Elementary School in Chippewa Wisconsin now Chippewa has a population of approximately a little over 14,000 so it's a very small town and very tight-knit community

On Sunday, April 24, 2022, Lily rode her bike over to her aunt's house, and her aunt lived approximately four blocks or a quarter mile away from Lily's house. Later that evening, though, Lily was reportedly seen leaving her aunt's house on her bike again, but she never returned home. So Lily's family checked the area and contacted friends and family members, but they couldn't find Lily anywhere.

Around 9 p.m. that evening, Lily's father notified the police that she was missing. Now, as I mentioned before, her house was only four blocks away from her aunt's house. So what could have possibly happened to Lily in less than five minutes, in the less than five minutes that it would have taken her to get back home? So police began searching for this little 10-year-old girl immediately that Sunday night.

Eventually, they found her bicycle near a wooded area near a walking trail, and that walking trail was near her aunt's house. But Lily was nowhere to be found. So when their initial searches failed to actually turn up Lily, additional resources were brought in. They had additional police units, they had canine teams, drones, all these different people and avenues of searching were asked to come in and assist and help find Lily.

Search teams also went door to door throughout the night in an effort to determine where Lily was. But unfortunately, just 12 hours later, on Monday, April 25th, Lily's body was finally discovered in the woods. She was found near her aunt's house, close to that walking trail, at the end of Grove Street in a brewery parking lot.

the same location where her bike had been found just the night before, just a two-minute ride from her aunt's house. Now, when you look at Google Maps, the walking trail that she was found on and that her bike was found on is pretty hard to see through the satellite images. However, the entrance to the walking trail appears to have a lot of terrain and woods on both sides of it, lots of tall greenery, making it extremely easy for someone to hide and potentially attack someone.

Although it may seem risky and potentially dangerous for Lily to take this path in hindsight, remember, this trail is only a two-minute bike ride, and after those two minutes, you're back on the public streets. So I'd imagine that Lily had taken this trail before, and that she wasn't really concerned about it because it's, again, just such a short ride.

But what's interesting is there's another path that you can take from her aunt's house to Lily's house. It's actually two minutes shorter, and it appears to be on public streets the entire time. So I couldn't help but wonder, why would Lily take that path? Or did she? And could she have been lured or taken to that wooded trail instead?

So who did this? Who was this monster that was literally lurking in the shadows that night who chose to blitz attack this sweet, innocent little girl, Lily, attacking her in less than the two minutes it took for her to enter and exit that trail. Good afternoon and thank you for coming. My name is Matthew Kelman. I'm the chief of police for the Chippewa Falls Police Department. This is an update on the missing person case that was first reported last night at about 9 o'clock last night. The Chippewa Falls Police Department

received information that Ileana Lilly M. Peters, age 10, was missing from the city of Chippewa Falls. Lilly's father reported that she had not returned home from a visit from her aunt's house in the 400 block of North Grove Street. Officers later located a bicycle in the woods near the walking trail between the end of North Grove Street and the line of Kuhl's Brewery parking lot. Numerous agencies and resources were called to assist with the search for Lilly. At about 9.15 this morning, a body was located in the wooded area near the walking trail.

The Chippewa County coroner's office has now confirmed that this is the body of Lily Peters. At this point, we are considering this a homicide investigation. We do not have anyone in custody at this time, and we are continuing to follow up on multiple leads.

So at this point, police automatically, of course, suspected that Lily was a victim of homicide, but no arrest had been made. Without any suspects or leads, rumors led to speculation, and fear was beginning to heighten among many in the community. Among these rumors, one was that she was strangled, another was that she was located in a river, and most disturbingly, that her relatives were actually the ones who had discovered her body.

Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.

Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. An official message from Medicare.

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Now, what kind of crime could have claimed the life of a 10-year-old girl in just the blink of an eye? Was this a concern to the community, and should all parents in this small, close-knit community now be worrying for all their children, and on high alert, I know I would be.

Police encouraged parents and the community to stay hypervigilant in case there was, in fact, a sick and deranged predator out there. Rightfully so. Lily's elementary school even sent out letters to the parents recommending that they physically pick up or drop off their children themselves. The community didn't want to risk one more child walking or biking alone.

After receiving well over 200 tips, on Tuesday, April 26th, authorities issued a search warrant for Lily's aunt's house, where they actually ended up arresting a suspect.

The suspect of this horrific crime was a 14-year-old boy. And what is more awful than a 14-year-old being capable of doing this is that the 14-year-old is her cousin. Her cousin Carson. Yes, her own family. They are blood cousins. And guys, it gets way worse.

When the criminal complaint was unsealed, it revealed something far more sinister than anyone could have ever imagined. Because Carson actually confessed.

First, he admitted to tricking Lily, saying he specifically had this entire thing planned out. He knew what he was going to do to Lily before they even left the house, apparently. When Lily was going to go home, Carson offered to go with her, and then as they left, Lily walked with her bike alongside her, and Carson took his hoverboard.

Carson then asked Lily to go off and explore on the trail with him. It was her cousin, her older cousin, right? Why not go with him? Why not trust him? He was walking her home. So once they were off the trail, Carson hit Lily with a large stick in the head three times. Once Lily was then on the ground, laying on her back, he straddled her and strangled her.

After Carson believed that Lily was deceased, he removed her pants and he went on to rape her post-mortem. He told investigators that at some point he also bit her. Carson then said he got scared, so he ran home, he showered, and put all of his dirty clothing in the laundry. Then later that night, when he heard that people were out looking for Lily, he went back to where her body was. He moved it and he covered it with leaves.

So apparently also, after he had killed his little cousin and then raped her dead body, he confessed to his younger sister. And he said that he had been planning this the entire time. And he also had told her that if she were to tell anybody, this would happen to her as well. His little sister, like some sort of sick intimidation tactic, but also trying to brag about what he did, it is 666.

So when Lily's body was found, she wasn't wearing any pants. And I just want to pause really quickly here because there are just so many thoughts behind this.

First off, did nobody in the family notice that Carson was gone or was acting strangely at home? Because when Lily's dad was questioning where everybody was, what happened to Lily, did Carson's mom not question where the last time Carson saw Lily at was? That he was the one who walked her home? Especially if they knew that he had left the house with her that night. Wouldn't they have asked, okay, well, where did you leave her off the trail? Or did you walk her all the way home? Why wasn't there any piece of information there connecting?

Also, the way that Carson just casually went home and showered and then put his clothing in the laundry. It's just beyond creepy and really gives me Aiden Fucci vibes.

It shows that maybe he was scared, maybe doesn't really show any remorse, at least to me anyway. He was going on with business as usual. And then when he heard that people were looking for his 10-year-old cousin Lily, he went back to the scene of the crime. He dragged her lifeless body a few more feet and then covered her with leaves. And at that point, he didn't attempt to put her pants back on either, meaning that he didn't care if she was found that way, which again leads me to believe that there was just no remorse here.

Not to mention, of course, that this was all planned out before it even happened. It wasn't something that he just did in the heat of the moment. This was premeditated."

intentional and calculated. But what I also wonder about is that when he went back to her body the next morning to move her, was nobody keeping tabs on this kid at all? Because if somebody's niece was missing or family member, first of all, you wouldn't allow them out of the house because at that point too, all of the school district wasn't necessarily on lockdown, but they certainly were on high alert.

The police advised parents not to allow their children to walk to school or walk home from school because they said that there was a predator on the loose. But also, if his mom knew that he was the last one to see her alive, why wouldn't she be keeping tabs on him to see where he's going?

You obviously don't want to let him out of your sight for his own safety, but then if he does say he's going to go somewhere, and you knew that he was the last one with Lily, wouldn't that pique your interest a little bit? I don't know. To me, there is just a lot of disconnect here. According to the people in the community, Carson was also at Lily's vigil the very next day, that night that she was found.

Now, we've heard of suspects and perpetrators often inserting themselves into the investigation or showing up at the vigil to gauge what the response is and what people are saying. But people in the community mentioned seeing him comforting his family and hugging them. And the fact that he was there doing that, knowing that he's the one that not only took Lily's life, but the one who brutally assaulted her dead body, is just beyond evil and personally, in my opinion, demonic.

Here's where it gets worse, too, if you can even believe it. The autopsy showed that Lily had bite marks on her left butt cheek, that she had sexual assault trauma anally, and blunt force trauma to the left side of her head.

Carson admitted he had hit her with that stick three times in the head to subdue her and to get her to the ground. He also admitted to investigators to biting her, but she had tearing on her anal cavity, so there is an assault that took place in Lily's rear end. It's unknown if it took place in the front area as well, but it is confirmed that she had tearing.

It is heartbreakingly sad that this poor, innocent 10-year-old girl was not only subjected to this kind of violence, hatred, and physical brutality, but also that she was subjected to it by her own cousin, who is a 14-year-old boy. If a 14-year-old boy can be that evil, disconnected, calculated, and cold to his very own blood-related cousin...

Imagine what he could possibly unleash to other people in the public as he grows into adulthood and maturity. In the sense of learning how to hide things more easily or wanting a challenge, things escalating to the next level, it is just really unsettling to think about. The most upsetting and sad piece of information in all of this, I think, is how scared Lily must have been in those final moments of her life.

walking home from her aunt's house with her cousin, thinking that he's just walking her home to get her home safely and wants to go explore the trail with her, which you do with family members and friends just to see what's going on. Innocent enough, right? Then to look back and be struck by a stick three times until you are on the ground and then you see your cousin, who you love, on

on top of you, falling onto her stomach, him strangling her, and then doing those horrible, horrible acts of violence to her body post-mortem.

It's devastating to think about the level of true disgust that is packed into this case. And it haunts me because not only do you have murder, but you have incest, you also have necrophilia. I mean, it is just packed with so much. And we're going to get into possibly the why here in just a second. As it often is revealed many times, crimes that are committed by children are because they too may have been victims themselves.

And Carson's father is a convicted pedophile. Adam Berger is 37 years old, and he has served three years in prison for possession of child pornography, specifically of young girls.

In a very eerie letter from his time in prison back in 2020, he begged the judge to allow him unsupervised visits with his son, calling his boy the best of him. In this letter, other members of the family cited how Carson has not been happy since his father was arrested back in 2018. He was unhappy with his mother about this and never smiled in her company, apparently. His paternal grandmother called his mother, who is Lily's father's sister...

a bad mother who limited the boy's interactions with his father's family, so much so that his grandmother was granted grandparents' rights while his father was incarcerated. The judge denied the motion to allow Adam to see his son unsupervised, and it's unclear if he has ever seen his son since his release.

Now my question here is, could Carson have blamed his mother for his father's incarceration? Did that result in Carson carrying a hatred for females in general?

Now, obviously, photos don't always attest to someone's true character, but as I was pulling some photos of Carson and some of the older photos that I was able to find of him, he looks like a very normal, happy, young boy. Nothing like the person who would commit such a vicious act on anybody, let alone their cousin.

Again, pictures don't always tell the whole story, but to me, when I look at the two of these photos side by side, the mugshot and the older pictures of him, they don't even look like the same person.

There's a new kind of evil behind the eyes, and I can't really explain it. I have it over on my YouTube, and I will link it in the show notes for you. I can't help but wonder, too. When I had first heard that he had confided in his younger sister about all of this, it seemed really odd. So, and again, this is all alleged at this point, but apparently he had confided in his sister and told her what he did after the fact.

Then the younger sister apparently told the grandmother, and then the grandmother called the police, and everything kind of unraveled from there. But my question with that, and what got me thinking, is why did he tell his younger sister? Was it to brag? Or again, could it have been to scare her? And could it have been to scare her into silence if she had been experiencing something from him, such as him molesting her?

Why else would you candidly tell somebody what crime you just committed and why, unless you were trying to brag about it? I don't know, something just doesn't sit right with me in that regard. Something is telling me that there was a reason, and that there was a calculated reason behind him telling her.

Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.

Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.

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Carson's grandmother sent a letter to the judge, to Judge Ben Lane, pleading with him to send Carson to juvenile court. In her letter, she said that Carson is and always has been a kind, caring, giving, and loving person. Also saying, and I quote,

And I'm sure that's true, considering all of the different facets and layers of this family that have been accumulating through generations to create this horrible murder. I mean, I can only guess that this grandmother is also the grandmother of Lily Peters, because she said that her family has already lost too much and went through so much pain. But it still feels so weird to me, because they also are defending Carson's actions and his character.

She went on to write about Carson's accomplishments in school, that his peers view him as a great role model, and how he has never been in trouble, as if that somehow lessens the things that he has done, and the fact that he took the life of his 10-year-old cousin and then brutally raped her after she was dead. Saying things like he has excellent character and positive behavior seems in very poor taste and almost like enabling behavior, to me at least.

Going on to excuse his behavior as just a young boy who got mixed up and lost control just seems like a poor excuse for the actions he took, and actions he took in a premeditated manner. In August of 2023, there was a court hearing to determine whether or not Carson will be tried as an adult. He is currently being charged as an adult, but his defense is trying to argue against that.

The defense tried to demonstrate that Carson has autism spectrum disorder. They called several witnesses who testified that he shows signs of poor decision-making, along with a lack of impulse control. The defense also presented testimony from specialists who work for the Department of Corrections. The specialists explained what treatment and or rehabilitation for a person who had committed a violent sexual act would look like.

This included an explanation of the differences in care that someone convicted of such acts might receive should the accused be convicted as an adult versus being convicted as a juvenile, arguing that Carson would fare better in a juvenile facility because adult facilities might not be able to provide the kind of therapeutic support necessary to help him. However, prosecutors pointed to the violent way that Lily was killed.

and argued that moving Carson to juvenile court would diminish the fact that he needed to be held accountable for his alleged actions. The judge is expected to issue a decision later this year or early in 2024. We know that Carson was 14 years old when he allegedly murdered and violently sexually assaulted Lily.

There are a lot of mixed opinions on whether minors should be tried as adults in court. However, at least in my opinion, it's important to remember the real victim here, Lily, and ensure that justice is served adequately. I mean, I am not an expert in criminal rehabilitation by any means, but what happened in this case is just so heinous and sick that I'm not really sure what kind of rehabilitation could actually work here or what that outcome looks like.

In another case that I had covered in another podcast episode, a 12-year-old girl in Canada, Jasmine Richardson, who planned to wipe out her whole family with her disgusting 23-year-old boyfriend, was only sentenced to 10 years in prison. It was an extremely brutal crime. All of the details were horrific and very shockingly evil. A lot of people, myself included, felt like this was an extremely light sentence. But what do you think?

As I mentioned also, this case reminds me a little bit of Aiden Fucci, who was the same age when he brutally stabbed and murdered Tristan Bailey in Florida. He ended up pleading guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. The wheels of justice have moved very slowly in this case, but hopefully after the judge issues his decision, there will be a trial scheduled for Carson.

What do you guys think about this case, and do you think that he can be rehabilitated, or do you think he would escalate, given the fact that he did this to his own flesh and blood? Let me know what you guys think.

Alright guys, thank you so much for tuning in to another bonus episode with me. Like I said at the top of this episode, make sure you're following the podcast so that you don't miss any more bonus episodes in the future. And if you would be so kind as to just quickly rate this podcast, review it. It takes 30 seconds max to leave a review. And it really does help the algorithm and help push this podcast out to more people so that these victim stories get heard, which we know is the goal.

So thank you guys so much for tuning in to another bonus episode, and I will be talking to you again very, very soon. All right, it's me, Annie, signing off. An official message from Medicare.

A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's Extra Help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov slash extra help. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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