wisconsin teen sentenced to 40 years in mental hospital ... · attorneys for weier said she...

2/6/2018 Wisconsin Teen Sentenced To 40 Years In Mental Hospital For 'Slender Man' Stabbing : The Two-Way : NPR

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/02/582618068/wisconsin-teen-sentenced-to-40-years-in-mental-hospital-for-slender-man-stabbing 1/10

the two-way

Wisconsin Teen Sentenced To 40 YearsIn Mental Hospital For 'Slender Man'StabbingFebruary 2, 2018 · 7:17 AM ET

SCOTT NEUMAN

Morgan Geyser leaves court after being sentenced to 40 years of institutional confinement at

Winnebago Mental Health Facility.

Rick Wood/AP

ON AIR NOWWGTE



A Wisconsin girl who pleaded guilty to stabbing a classmate as partof a bizarre attempt to gain favor with a fictional Internet characterhas been ordered committed to a mental institution for 40 years, themaximum penalty sought by prosecutors.

Morgan Geyser had pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murderin the near-fatal stabbing of Payton Leutner. Geyser's cohort, AnissaWeier, pleaded guilty to being a party to the crime and was sentencedin December to 25 years in a mental institution. All three girls,including the victim, were 12 at the time of the stabbing.

Geyser and Weier, now teenagers, were tried as adults. Leutnersurvived the attack.

"I just want to let Bella and her family know that I'm sorry," a tearfulGeyser said, using Leutner's nickname. "And I hope she's doingwell."

The two girls apparently carried out the attack to impress a horrorcharacter known as Slender Man.

As member station WUWM in Milwaukee has reported, in the springof 2014, Geyser and Weier lured Leutner to the woods in Waukesha,attacked her and left her to die.

WUWM writes:

"The victim was able to crawl from the site of the attack and flag downa bicyclist who came to her aid."



"Weier and ... Geyser said they planned the stabbing in order toplease the Internet horror character Slender Man. Attorneys forWeier argued that she believed Slender Man would harm her family ifshe did not attack her classmate."

Attorneys for Weier said she believed Slender Man would hurt herfamily if she did not go through with the attack on Leutner.

During testimony in October, Geyser cried as she told Judge MichaelBohren: "Anissa and I took [Leutner] in the forest and said that wewere going to play hide-and-seek."

"Anissa said that she couldn't do it and that I had to," Geyser said,referring to the stabbing.

Bohren asked how Geyser carried out the attack, to which shereplied: "I tackled her. I stabbed her."

Where? Bohren asked. "Everywhere," Geyser replied. How manytimes? "19."

"Anissa told her to lie down so she wouldn't lose blood so quickly,and told her to be quiet, and we left," Geyser said.

"slender man" stabbing

Teen Gets 25 Years In Mental Hospital In Wisconsin's 'Slender Man'

Stabbing



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