The chilling case of the Slender Man stabbing took a disturbing turn when Morgan Geyser, the woman convicted in the 2014 attack, escaped from a Wisconsin group home in November. Her flight triggered a frantic search, raising fears and reopening old wounds for a community still grappling with the horrific crime.
Geyser, now 23, was quickly apprehended in Illinois, found with a 43-year-old man at a truck stop. The delay in reporting her missing – discovered only in the early morning hours after her escape – added another layer of concern to the unfolding situation. Authorities immediately moved to revoke her conditional release.
A Waukesha County judge has now ordered Geyser’s return to a state psychiatric hospital, effectively ending her brief period of freedom. The Department of Health Services argued strongly for the revocation, citing the escape as evidence she requires the intensive care of a secure mental health facility.
Geyser’s attorney pleaded with the court to prioritize mental health treatment over incarceration. He argued that, having already been found not guilty by reason of mental disease, she belongs in a facility designed to address her needs, not a jail cell.
The brutal attack occurred in 2014, when Geyser and her friend, Anissa Weier, lured 12-year-old Payton Leutner to a park under false pretenses. There, Geyser stabbed Leutner nineteen times, while Weier encouraged her. The sheer violence of the act shocked the nation.
The motive behind the attack was even more unsettling. Both girls confessed they were attempting to murder Leutner as a sacrifice to Slender Man, a fictional internet horror character. They believed failing to appease the creature would result in harm to their own families.
Both Geyser and Weier were ultimately found guilty of being party to attempted intentional homicide, but were deemed not guilty by reason of mental disease. They were sentenced to decades of mental confinement – Weier to 25 years, and Geyser to 40.
Geyser had been granted conditional release in January after spending nearly eight years at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute. This recent escape underscores the complexities of managing individuals with severe mental illness and the enduring trauma of this disturbing case.
