Court delays decision on juvenile court for Peters defendant
Jun. 24—CHIPPEWA FALLS — The 14-year-old suspect accused of killing 10-year-old Lily Peters on April 24 in Chippewa Falls appeared via video in Chippewa County Court on Friday.
The suspect, identified in court records as C.P-B., has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of sexual assault. He is being held in the Northwest Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Eau Claire on a $1 million cash bond. Because he is a juvenile, Judge Ben Lane has prohibited the media and general public from taking video or pictures of him during court proceedings. He sat next to is attorney, Michael Cohen, and didn't speak during the hearing.
Lane set a preliminary hearing for 12 p.m. Sept. 1 and is expected to last four or more hours. No further court dates were set at this time.
Cohen said he intends to be present in the courtroom for the hearing, but it is unknown if the juvenile also will appear in person.
Chippewa County District Attorney Wade Newell said that some witnesses be allowed to appear via audio or video means. Lane approved appearing remotely, as long as all documents are filed ahead of time, so the judge and both attorneys are able to follow along with records.
The juvenile is charged as an adult. At this time, Cohen has not filed any request for it to be moved into a juvenile proceeding.
Cohen also asked for a "gag order," saying he is frustrated with media publicity possibly tainting the jury pool. He contends that certain documents were leaked about the case, which has resulted in a 30-minute video that has been posted on Youtube.com, and it has been seen by more than 800,000 people.
"They have made my client into a cartoon figure. They have provided false information," Cohen told Lane. "This is the type of concern I have about this case."
Newell said he wasn't aware of the Youtube video, so he couldn't comment on it. He asked Cohen to provide him with the URL so he could review the video and see if any documents had been leaked to the media or public.
"I don't know how you stop people from filing things (online)," Newell said to Lane. "Obviously, neither party controls the media."
Cohen clarified that he isn't trying to shut down public records. However, the information in the video includes items that have not been publicly filed in court records and includes "inappropriate commentary."
Lane said he also will review the video to see if there is anything he can do to curtail the spread of un-released documents.
According to the criminal complaint, when Peters' body was discovered the morning of April 25, she was partially undressed. She was already deceased.
When interviewed, the boy told police he punched Peters in the stomach, struck her on the head three times with a heavy stick, then strangled her until she was deceased. He then had sex with her body. He went home and put his dirty clothes in the laundry. He later returned to the scene, "drug her a few feet," and covered her body with leaves.
