Next court dates for Lily Peters homicide case scheduled for 2023

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (WEAU) - The next court dates for the Lily Peters homicide case have been scheduled for the second half of next year.

According to online court records, the next hearing in the case for the lone teenage homicide suspect is scheduled for Aug. 7, 2023.

Online court records show five days of hearings scheduled for each morning the week of Aug. 7 in Chippewa County Circuit Court. The online records also show the new judge assigned to the case, Steven Gibbs, as the court official.

Gibbs was assigned after the suspect’s attorney, Michael Cohen, applied for a substitution of judicial assignment, which was approved on Sept. 21. According to the document filed with the court on Sept. 21, no reason was given for the request. The filing cited Wisconsin Statute 970.20, which allows a defendant to request one judicial substitution.

Gibbs was appointed to the Chippewa County Circuit Court by then-Gov. Scott Walker in 2016. Benjamin Lane, Chippewa County Circuit Court Judge for Branch 3, had presided over the case since charges were filed in April. Gibbs is the judge for Branch 1.

The suspect is facing charges of 1st-degree intentional homicide, 1st-degree sexual assault resulting in great bodily harm and 1st-degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 13 in the death of 10-year-old Iliana “Lily” Peters. Two of the three charges carry a maximum lifetime sentence in prison.

The suspect waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Aug. 31. Attorney Cohen planned to file for a reverse waiver hearing in an attempt to move the case to juvenile court.

The suspect is being held at the Northwest Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Eau Claire on a $1 million cash bond awaiting his next court appearance.

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