Lily Peters Killing: Pedophile's Son Carson Peters-Berger Charged with Rape and Murder

Carson Peters-Berger, the 14-year-old boy charged with the Lily Peters killing, is the son of a pedophile who was in prison for three years because he was caught with photos of young girls on his phone.

When Adam Berger, 37, was arrested in 2018, police found a stash of drug paraphernalia inside his house, apart from 10 photos of prepubescent girls on his gadget. The father is under supervised probation and has been staying at a halfway house since his release in April 2021.

Now, his son has been charged as an adult in the rape and murder of Lily, 10, in Wisconsin. Carson admitted to the police that he had intended to sexually attack and kill from the get-go, per CBS News. The judge has set the boy's bond at $1 million because the community has to be protected from Carson, given his admission.

Carson Peters-Berger, the Best Version of His Father

According to Daily Mail, Adam and his lawyers appealed his probation before his release because he could not have unsupervised visits with Carson. The father said Carson was the best version of himself, but the minimal contact with his son since his arrest made the 14-year-old unhappy.

Carson lives with his mother, Lauri Davis, who had her son after his brief relationship with Adam. However, Katie Weathers, a family friend, said Davis was preventing Carson from making contact with his father's family. They believe that the boy's life with his mom was making him miserable because he's the type of teenager who hardly smiled, hardly talked, and just looked at the ground.

Davis is the sister of Alex Peters, the father of Lily, which makes Carson the victim's cousin. On Sunday, Alex called the police because Lily didn't return home at 9:00 p.m. after visiting her aunt a few houses away. Witnesses said that they last saw the girl with her cousin.

The autopsy in the Lily Peters killing showed that she was "strangled to the point of death" and then raped. Carson admitted hitting Lily in the stomach, knocking her on the grand, and strangling her. He also said he hit his cousin with a stick and sexually assaulted her when she was down and possibly dead.

Chippewa Falls Community Shocked By the Crime

Dad Carl Smiskey told Kare that he struggled to find the words and understand how a 14-year-old could commit a violent crime against a 10-year-old. He said he started bawling when he found out the details and immediately called his daughters because he felt helpless.

About 13,000 families live in Chippewa Falls and Smiskey, who runs The Chippewa Store, feels a personal connection with the locals. They are raising funds to help the Peters pay for Lily's memorial and counseling. Locals have been flocking the store for donations as well.

Teri Ouimette from the Chippewa Falls Main Street, Inc. has been distributing ribbons and signs to put up in homes and businesses to mourn the 10-year-old and seek justice for the Lily Peters killing. Ouimette said there are mixed emotions from the locals, especially parents with kids.