Slender Man stabbings: Teen denies trying to kill classmate to please bogeyman
A girl who attempted to stab to death her 12-year-old classmate in order to please fictional horror character Slender Man has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
Morgan Geyser, now 14, and her friend Anissa Weier reportedly lured their victim Payton Leutner into the woods in May 2014, after inviting her to a sleepover in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
It was there the duo allegedly stabbed Leutner 19 times before fleeing, leaving her along and bleeding in the woods.
Leutner managed to crawl to a road where she was found by a passing cyclist.
The girls told police they wanted to appease Slender Man, a bogeyman that was created online as an internet meme in 2009.
They believed the tall faceless figure with unnaturally long limbs would harm their families if they didn’t kill their friend.
Geyser appeared in court on Friday after her appeal to be sentenced in a juvenile court was denied.
Her lawyers have entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease, with Weier’s lawyers not commenting on whether their client will be doing the same.
Geyser was diagnosed with early-onset schizophrenia after the incident in 2014 and experts have testified that she continues to have relationships with imaginary characters.
Both girls are charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide and if convicted, they face up to 45 years in prison.
If Geyser is found to be mentally unstable, she could be confined to a mental hospital.
News break – August 22
