A Wisconsin woman, Morgan Geyser, is set to be released from a mental hospital after more than a decade since her involvement in a brutal attempted murder that occurred in 2014. At the age of 12, Geyser and her friend Anissa Weier stabbed their classmate Payton Leutner in an act they claimed was inspired by the fictional horror character Slender Man. A Waukesha County Circuit Judge, Scott Wagner, approved a conditional release plan for Geyser, now 22, from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute where she has spent seven years. In January, another judge determined that Geyser could be released after expert testimonies indicated she had made significant progress in addressing her mental health issues.
The original release plan faced objections from prosecutors, particularly after Leutner's mother expressed concerns regarding the proximity of Geyser's proposed group home, which is situated only eight miles from where Leutner lives. Following these concerns, Judge Wagner instructed the Department of Health Services to formulate a revised release plan, which was later accepted in court. Specifics regarding the timing and details of Geyser's release were not disclosed during the court proceedings, and her attorney did not respond to media inquiries concerning the matter.
The harrowing incident took place in Waukesha, Wisconsin, when Geyser and Weier lured Payton Leutner to a park after a sleepover. Geyser infamously stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier urged her on. The attack was premeditated, and the girls believed they needed to commit the crime in order to gain favor with Slender Man, fearing that he would harm their families if they failed to act. Following the stabbing, the two fled but were apprehended as they walked along Interstate 94. Throughout their confession, they maintained that their actions were motivated by a desire to become servants of Slender Man and had plans to reach his alleged mansion in northern Wisconsin.
Leutner miraculously survived the brutal attack and subsequently Geyser pleaded guilty to being a party to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in 2017, asserting she was not responsible for her actions due to mental illness. The presiding judge at that time, Michael Bohren, committed her to a psychiatric facility for a term of 40 years. In March 2023, health officials raised doubts about Geyser's trustworthiness, particularly after learning she had read a novel involving murder and black market organ trade. Moreover, allegations surfaced that she had been in touch with a man who collects murder memorabilia, and even sent him illustrations of violence. However, her attorney argued that Geyser’s actions were misunderstood and that she had ceased communication with the collector upon discovering he was profiting from her artwork.
Judge Wagner, who took over Geyser's case after Judge Bohren’s retirement in April 2023, showed support for the continued development of a release plan after determining that Geyser had not been intentionally deceptive in regard to her activities. In contrast to Geyser's case, her co-defendant Weier had previously pleaded guilty to being a party to attempted second-degree intentional homicide and was released in 2021 after agreeing to live with her father and wear a GPS monitor. The intricacies of this case have garnered extensive media attention, particularly due to the chilling influence of the Slender Man character, initially conceived online by Eric Knudson in 2009 as part of a viral horror phenomenon.
