Prosecutors charged the teen, identified in court documents only as CTP-B, as an adult with first-degree murder and two counts of sexual abuse in connection with the death of Iliana “Lily” Peters. Investigators say Peters was riding her bike home from her aunt’s house in Chippewa Falls on April 24, 2022, when the teen, who was 14 at the time, convinced her to leave a trail and explore the surrounding woods with him.

The girl’s body was discovered the next day. An autopsy revealed that she had been beaten, strangled and sexually assaulted.

The teen’s attorneys, Michael Cohen and Alicia Linzmeier, last year asked Chippewa County Judge Steven Gibbs to move the case to juvenile court, where proceedings are secret. They argued that the teen would not receive the mental health care he needs in the adult criminal justice system. The judge refused, ruling earlier this year that such a move would lessen the seriousness of the offenses.

The 3rd District Court of Appeals upheld that decision Tuesday, ruling that Gibbs properly exercised his discretion. The appeals court noted that Gibbs had detailed the severity of Peters’ injuries, that the teen had told investigators he had attacked her, that he had lured her into the woods and that the crime was premeditated.

A message left at Cohen’s office was not immediately returned.