A 14-year-old boy has been charged with murder and sexual assault after allegedly raping and killing Iliana ‘Lily’ Peters, a 10-year-old girl.
Prosecutors in Wisconsin have demanded a $1million (£797,850) bond for the suspect, who was initially arrested and charged with homicide and sexual assault in Chippewa County.
The teenager, who is identified only by the initials C P-B, had his first court appearance on Wednesday, when he appeared via video link, ABC News reports.
He was charged with three counts, including first-degree murder intentional homicide, first-degree sexual assault, and first-degree sexual assault with a child under 13 resulting in great bodily harm.
The boy had planned to “to rape and kill the victim from the get-go when he left the house with the victim going down the trail”, Wisconsin County Attorney Wade Newell said.
He claimed the 14-year-old “punched his victim in the stomach, knocked her to the ground, essentially strangled her, hit her with a stick before strangling her to the point of death before he then sexually assaulted her”.
Prosecutors requested the cash bond for the teenage suspect on the condition that he has no contact with any juveniles and does not possess dangerous weapons - a request granted by the judge due to the severity of the crime.
He would no longer be allowed to be left alone with his siblings either, if visits were requested, according to Mirror Online.
Officials have said the boy left the same house as Lily, who was a student at Parkview Elementary School, but have not confirmed how they knew each other.
The girl’s body was found just blocks from her aunt’s home near a trail and brewery parking lot.
Authorities had been searching for the fourth-grade student after her father reported her missing when she failed to return home from a family visit.
They found what appeared to be her bicycle abandoned along the wooden trail, and soon discovered what the Chippewa County Coroner confirmed were her remains.
Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm spoke during a Tuesday night news conference and said there was no present danger to the community following the suspect’s arrest.
‘While nothing will bring Lily Peters back or change what happened, we are very grateful to be able to deliver this news for the family and for the community,’ he said.
It was believed that Lily was last seen by members of her family before her assault and death.
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