Illinois teen charged as adult with killing her mother

STERLING, Ill. – A 15-year-old western Illinois girl accused of fatally shooting her mother will be tried as an adult.

Sauk Valley Media reports that on Thursday, a Whiteside County judge dismissed the juvenile case, allowing prosecutors to immediately charge Anna Schroeder in adult court with first-degree murder, arson and concealment of a homicide.

If convicted, the teen could spend decades in prison. Had she been convicted in juvenile court, Schroeder could not have been held beyond her 21st birthday.

The teen is accused of killing 53-year-old Peggy Schroeder last July. The mother’s body was found in a burning home in Morrison, 130 miles (209 kilometres) west of Chicago. A friend of the daughter — 16-year-old Rachel Helm — has been charged as an adult with arson and concealing a homicide.

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Information from: Sauk Valley Media, http://www.saukvalley.com