Girls In Slender Man Stabbing Case To Remain In Adult Court

Two 13-year-old girls accused of luring a classmate into the woods during a sleepover and stabbing her 19 times to please the fictional online horror character “Slender Man” will continue to face charges in adult court.

Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren announced Monday that he was rejecting a request from the attorneys of Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier to move the proceedings to juvenile court. The decision means that the girls, both of whom were 12 at the time of the June 2014 attack, could face up to 65 years in prison if found guilty of attempted first-degree intentional murder. If the two were tried in a juvenile court, they could be released in five years.

The girls are charged with stabbing 12-year-old Peyton Leutner 19 times last May and leaving her for dead. A passing bicyclist found Leutner, who survived the attack.

Geyser has been diagnosed with early-onset schizophrenia. However, the judge said both girls can get better and more lengthy treatment if they are tried and sentenced as adults and sent to the state’s women’s prison. He said if they were to remain in the juvenile system, they would be released at age 18 and there would be no opportunity to mandate treatment for either of them, or monitor their activities in the community.

“For Miss Geyser’s situation, based in the nature of schizophrenia and mental health law, once she left the juvenile system, there would be no oversight or control — no ways to protect public safety,” said Bohren.

Bohren also said because there is clear evidence the two planned the stabbing for several months, leaving their case in juvenile court would depreciate the nature of their crime.

Before issuing his ruling, Bohren noted that Weier has expressed remorse for the stabbing and has given up her belief in the fictional Slender Man. He said Geyser was apparently the more dominant of the two in planning the stabbing and continues to claim he is real. He said she also claims to talk to other fictional characters and believes she has supernatural powers.

Both girls are being held in a Waukesha juvenile center, where they are reported to be well-behaved and doing well in school, although the judge said Geyser eats her meals under the table and doesn’t interact much with the other teens in detention.

The judge set an arraignment date that signals the start of a full fledged trial for Aug. 21.

The lawyer for Anissa Weier, the other defendant, said she is considering an appeal and still believes that her client belongs in the juvenile system.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with more information about the judge’s decision.