[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
The Lily Peters murder case has quickly become one of the most horrific we’ve ever covered.
For those who haven’t been following, the Chippewa Falls 10-year-old didn’t return home from a visit to her aunt’s house on Sunday night. Her father reported her missing when she wasn’t back by about 9 p.m. and a search ensued. She was found dead in the woods the next morning, and after a terrifying press conference discussing a potential child predator on the loose, police were clued in that they might actually be looking for something scarier: another child.
Eventually they arrested her 14-year-old cousin, Carson Peters-Berger. The DA claims he confessed to the premeditated murder — and yes, sexual assault — of his young relative. It was discovered pretty quickly thereafter that the teen’s father, Adam Berger, had gone to prison in 2018 for possession of child porn — sexual photos of prepubescent girls, not unlike the one his son would rape and kill a few short years later.
Related: Josh Duggar’s Child Porn Sentencing Delayed By Months
But even before that family connection was uncovered, there were social media critics coming out of the woodwork, apparently to judge Lily’s parents for what happened to her.
We don’t know what people think they could have done differently. The 10-year-old rode her bike to her aunt’s house less than half a mile away. She was with family, she should have been safe. But the more that’s come out about the family, the more they’re finding themselves judged.
What has come out? Well, it turns out this isn’t the first time they’ve been in the news. Jennifer Eyerly, Lily’s mother (seen in her mug shot above), was apparently charged on multiple counts of forgery and identity theft back in 2019, for allegedly stealing thousands from her own mother, aunt, and uncle. There was allegedly some other interpersonal drama as it’s been reported she used to date the current live-in boyfriend of Lily’s aunt — her murderer’s de facto stepdad. We can’t corroborate any of that, but just understand it’s these types of connections that internet “sleuths” have been grabbing onto, especially before the arrest.
Jennifer wasn’t having any of it, she posted in response to some of the vitriol:
“What makes zero sense is how quickly you judge my family based on a timeline and assumptions u can only speculate on since its privy to the investigation that those details not be released.”
She added:
“As Lily’s mother, I can only say I am ashamed of you folks out there judging us from behind a screen!
Speaking to the true crime fans who were throwing around theories, she wrote:
“I hope you never ever endure this kind of heartache! If you cannot offer kindness, don’t offer anything. My daughter was kind! If you truly want to be part of bringing justice … you can do right by my daughter and model something she lived by …. kindness!”
It’s a fair request. People shouldn’t be jumping to any conclusions or developing any theories of the crime with basically no facts at all. They certainly don’t need to be attacking parents of murdered children, criminal records or not.
As for this case and this family… considering the actual arrest, we have a feeling we haven’t heard the last of it.
[Image via Locate The Missing/Facebook/Chippewa Falls Police Department.]
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