'Swung him off the edge': Teenager who tossed 13-year-old with autism off a pier to his death changes his plea

Inset: Jakob Bowerman (Bowerman Funeral Home). Background: News footage of Peyton Carnot during a court appearance (WBAY).

One of two people accused in the death of a Wisconsin teenager has changed his plea.

Peyton Carnot, 17, pleaded no contest to second-degree reckless homicide in connection with the death of 13-year-old Jakob Bowerman. Carnot and 22-year-old Tylor Birch were accused of picking up Jakob by his hands and feet and tossing him off a pier into a lake in Wisconsin's Marinette County on Aug. 20, 2025. Jakob, who had autism, could not swim, and he died of drowning three days later.

Carnot, who was 16 years old at the time, was charged as an adult.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by local Fox affiliate WLUK, both Birch and Carnot told police that they and Bowerman jumped into the water off the pier together. They said that when they noticed that Bowerman could not swim, they tried to help him get back to land.

But as the investigation progressed, police determined that Birch's and Carnot's story was not true. According to the complaint, Carnot eventually told police that he and Birch "had actually thrown the victim into the water after the victim has expressed he didn't want to go in."

The complaint read: "Carnot told [police] that he grabbed Bowerman's hands and [Birch] grabbed Bowerman's feet and they swung him off the edge, into the water."

More from Law&Crime: Man who allegedly threw 13-year-old with autism off a pier to his death now claims he didn't know it was wrong to do that

Carnot is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 22, 2027.

Birch pleaded not guilty to the same charge and was ordered to stand trial after being declared competent. He is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 19.