Court Affirms Decision to Try Teen Accused of Killing Girl as Adult

An appeals court in Wisconsin affirmed a decision this week to try a teen, who is accused of killing a 10-year-old girl, as an adult.
On Tuesday, a state court of appeals in Wisconsin ruled to keep a teenager—identified only as C.T.P.-B—in adult court, despite arguments from his attorneys.
Prosecutors have charged the teenager as an adult with first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of sexual assault in the death of 10-year-old Liana “Lily” Peters. According to investigators, Peters was riding her bike home from her aunt’s house in Chippewa Falls on April 24, 2022, when the then-14-year-old boy convinced her to leave the trail and explore the nearby woods with him.
The body of the slain girl was found the day after the crime occurred and an autopsy report determined that her body had been strangled, beaten and sexually assaulted.
Lawyers for the boy, Michael Cohen and Alicia Linzmeier, previously asked Chippewa County Circuit Judge Steven Gibbs to move the case to juvenile court. In juvenile court, proceedings are secret, and the lawyers argued that the adult criminal justice system would not allow their client to receive the same mental health services as he could in the juvenile systems.
However, Judge Gibbs refused their arguments, stating that moving the case to juvenile court could undermine the severity of the crimes.
On Tuesday, the 3rd District Court of Appeals upheld the decision, ruling that Judge Gibbs acted within his discretion. The appellate court emphasized that Gibbs had outlined the severity of Peters’ injuries, noted the teenager’s admission to investigators that he attacked and lured her into the woods, as well as underscored that the crime was premeditated.
According to Law & Crime, the panel of judges on the 3rd District Court of Appeals said that the “vicious and brutal” case should not be moved to a juvenile court because of the “specific factual circumstances surrounding the charged crimes.”
Law & Crime also reported that witness testimony from doctors described the teen boy as having a”depressive disorder,” an “anxiety disorder” and also having “obsessive sexual thoughts.” However, the panel of judges on the appeal court said in response that the teen’s arguments were “unpersuasive” and “failed to show” that moving the case to juvenile court would not undermine the severity of the incident.
Authorities previously said that the teen had an “intention to rape and kill” the 10-year-old girl.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.