Lily Peters Case: Boy Returned To Hide Her Body, Complaint Says

CHIPPEWA FALLS, WI — The boy accused of killing and raping 10-year-old Iliana "Lily" Peters returned to the scene to try to hide her body, according to the criminal complaint released Friday.

Peters, 10, died of blunt force trauma and strangulation before she was found in a wooded area of Chippewa Falls on April 25 — a day after she was reported missing — the county coroner ruled.

A 14-year-old boy was charged with multiple crimes in her death, including first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree sexual assault of a child under age 13 resulting in great bodily harm. Due to the boy's status as a minor, his identity has not been released.

• Dad Of Teen Charged In Peters' Death Has Child Porn Conviction: Report

The boy is being held in a juvenile detention center with bail set at $1 million.

On April 25, just before 9 a.m., the Chippewa Falls Police Department was told that Peters' body was found not far from where her bicycle had been found earlier.

Peters' body was naked from the waist down, police said. The autopsy conducted on April 26 found bite marks on Peters' buttocks and evidence of sexual assault, as well as blunt force trauma on the left side of her face.

During a police interview, the boy charged in the case said he was already planning to rape and kill Peters when they left a house together, according to the criminal complaint.

While the two were on a trail, the boy suggested they go exploring into the nearby woods, police said.

After they left the trail, the boy punched Peters in the stomach — knocking her to the ground — before hitting her in the head about three times with a stick, the criminal complaint states.

The boy then strangled her to the point where he thought she was dead, removed her pants and sexually assaulted her, according to police.

The boy told police that at that point "he became scared" and fled the area, the criminal complaint states.

The boy said that when he heard about Peters going missing, he decided he needed to hide her body better, police said. He returned to the scene, dug a hole, and covered her with leaves, according to the criminal complaint.

Reporting from the Associated Press was used in this story