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Slender Man stabbing

Coordinates:42°58′53″N88°13′26″W/ 42.9814°N 88.2239°W/42.9814; -88.2239
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Slender Man stabbing
Waukesha is located in Wisconsin
Waukesha
Waukesha
Waukesha (Wisconsin)
Waukesha is located in the United States
Waukesha
Waukesha
Waukesha (the United States)
Location of Waukesha in Waukesha County, Wisconsin[1]
LocationWaukesha, Wisconsin
Coordinates42°58′53″N88°13′26″W/ 42.9814°N 88.2239°W/42.9814; -88.2239
DateMay 31, 2014;10 years ago(2014-05-31)
TargetPayton Leutner
Attack type
Attempted murderbystabbing
WeaponsKnife
Injured1 (Payton Leutner; 19 stab wounds toarteryof the heart,diaphragm,liver,andstomach)
PerpetratorsMorgan Geyser and Anissa Weier
Motive
VerdictNot guiltybyreason of insanity
ChargesGeyser:
Attempted first-degree intentional homicide
Weier:
Attempted second-degree intentional homicide
Criminal statusGeyser:
Institutionalized atWinnebago Mental Health Institute
Weier:
Released; under supervision until age 37
Criminal penaltyGeyser:
40 years to lifein mental health institution
Weier:
25 years to life in mental health institution (released after 7 years)

On May 31, 2014, inWaukesha, Wisconsin,United States,two 12-year-old girls, Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser, lured their friend Payton Leutner into a wooded area of a local park andstabbedher 19 times to appease the fictional characterSlender Man.[2]Weier and Geyser were both foundnot guiltybymental disease or defectand committed to mental health institutions. Weier received a sentence of 25 years tolifeand Geyser was sentenced to 40 years to life. After seven years in custody, Weier was granted early release and will be under supervision until age 37.

Background

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Main article:Slender Man
An artist's rendition of the fictional Slender Man character

Slender Man is a fictional entity created onSomething Awful,anonline forum,for a 2009paranormalimagePhotoshopcontest.[3]The Slender Man myth was subsequently expanded online withfan fictionand visual art depicting the entity.[4]

Slender Man is an unnaturally tall and thin character with a white, featureless head. He is depicted wearing a black suit, black tie, black shoes, and white collared shirt. He is sometimes shown withtentaclesgrowing out of his back. In the Slender Manmythos,the entity causesamnesia,bouts of coughing, andparanoid behaviorin his victims. He is often depicted hiding in forests.[4]

Events of the attack

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The stabbing took place on May 31, 2014, during a game ofhide-and-seekin heavily wooded Davids Park nearWaukesha, Wisconsin.The perpetrators, Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser, pinned down Payton Isabella Leutner (also known as Bella, a nickname used at the time of the crime)[5]and stabbed her nineteen times in the arms, legs, and torso with a five-inch-long (13 cm) blade. Two wounds were to major organs. One stab wound missed a major artery by less than a millimeter and another went through her diaphragm, cutting into herliverandstomach.[6]After the attack, Weier and Geyser told Leutner to lie down while they found help, which they did not do.[4]Afterwards, Leutner dragged herself to a nearby road where she was found by a cyclist who called emergency services.[7]Surgeons operated for six hours to repair critical trauma to organs and tissue in her torso and abdomen.

Five hours after the attack, Weier and Geyser were apprehended by police near Steinhafel's Furniture Store onInterstate 94,[8]approximately 4.9 miles (7.9 km) from the attack location. They were in possession of the knife used in the stabbing, which was found by police in a bag they carried. They said they were traveling to meet Slender Man at his home, called Slender Mansion, in theNicolet National Forest,200 miles (320 km) from where they were apprehended.[5]During their interrogations, which were not conducted with aguardianorcounsel,Geyser was described as displaying noempathyand Weier was described as displayingguiltfor stabbing Leutner, although both stated that the attack was necessary to appease Slender Man.[9]

Leutner left the hospital seven days after the attack.[10]She returned to school in September 2014.[6][11]

Geyser's mental state

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During the police investigation and pre-trialpsychiatric evaluations,Morgan Geyser disclosed life-long visual and auditoryhallucinationsbeginning in early childhood. These hallucinations typically included figures she interpreted as ghosts, colors melting down walls, and imaginary friends named Maggie and Sev.[5]One recurring hallucination was a man Geyser named "It", whose body she described as the color of smoke and ink. She would perceive him as standing behind her in mirrors or shifting around corners.[5]

After Geyser's arrest, her mother, Angie Geyser, described her as becoming "floridly psychotic." Correctional officers reported Geyser frequently talking to herself, pretending to be a cat, and keeping ants as pets. She reported seeing unicorns and believed she was having ongoing conversations with Slender Man and other fictional characters, such asSeverus Snape.[12][5]

In the fall of 2014, Geyser was relocated to theWinnebago Mental Health Instituteto determine if she was competent to stand trial.[5]On October 22, 2014, Geyser was diagnosed withearly-onset childhood schizophrenia.[5]

Geyser's treatment forschizophreniawas erratic and inadequate for nineteen months, which is believed to have exacerbated her cyclic regressions intopsychosisand reduced her ability to recognize delusions against reality.[12]In December 2015 she began a consistent, long-term regimen ofantipsychoticmedication, which enabled Geyser to understand what she had done and display appropriate feelings related to her crime, such as guilt and remorse. On March 23, 2016, Geyser was returned to the county jail to await trial. Although she was appropriately medicated, Geyser's mental health deteriorated. Her deterioration was linked tostressorson her already fragile mental health that are typical to forced confinement and incarceration.[5]

During trial, Geyser was committed to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, where she was the youngest patient.[13]

Court case and negotiations

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Geyser was charged withattempted,first-degree homicide,aClass A felony,and Weier was charged with attemptedsecond-degree homicide,a Class B felony.[14][15]Due to the nature of the offenses, both Weier and Geyser were waived out ofjuvenile courtto betried as adults.[16]

In 2017, Weier pleaded guilty to being a party to attempted second-degree homicide.[17]A jury then found her "not guilty by mental disease or defect."[18][19]Geyser accepted aplea offerthat stipulated she would not undergo a trial if she pleaded guilty and agreed to further evaluation by psychiatrists to determine appropriate duration of commitment to aforensic psychiatric hospital.[20]She later pleaded guilty as arranged by the plea offer, but was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect due to a final diagnosis of schizophrenia by court-appointed psychiatrists.[21][22]

Weier was sentenced to 25 years tolife,an indeterminate sentence requiring at least three years confinement and involuntary treatment in a state forensic psychiatric institute, followed by communal supervision until age 37.[23][24]

Geyser was given the maximum sentence, 40 years to life, an indeterminate sentence requiring at least three years confinement in addition to involuntary treatment in a state forensic psychiatric institute until complete resolution of symptoms or until age 53, whichever may happen first. If released, she will remain under communal supervision and undergo periodic reevaluations intended to identify need for reinstitution and/or further treatment as required by the sentence imposed.[13][25]

At a hearing on March 10, 2021, Weier, who was then 19 years old, submitted a letter to the court stating that she was "sorry and deeply regretful for the agony, pain, and fear I have caused," not just to Leutner, but to "my community as well." Weier stated that, "I hate my actions from May 31, 2014, but through countless hours of therapy, I no longer hate myself for them." On July 1, 2021,Waukesha CountyJudge Michael Bohren ordered Weier released from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, gave state officials sixty days to draft a conditional release plan, and required that Weier be assigned Wisconsin Department of Health Services case managers to supervise her progress until she is 37 years old, the length of her commitment.[26]

On September 13, 2021, Weier was released with multiplestipulations,including 24-hourGPS monitoringthat required her to request permission before leaving Waukesha County. On September 11, 2023, the GPS stipulation was removed.[27]Weier's Internet use is restricted and monitored. As part of her supervised release, she is not allowed to use any form of social media. Weier is required to take court mandated psychiatric medication and is escorted to regular counseling sessions by a case worker. She is required to live with her father while under supervision of the court.[28]

In 2020, an appeals court rejected Geyser's petition to be retried as a juvenile. Her attorney, Matthew Pinix, argued that she should have been charged with attempted second-degree intentional homicide rather than first-degree, and argued that Geyser gave statements to investigators before being read herMirandarights.[29]He petitioned theSupreme Court of Wisconsinto review the ruling.[30]In early 2021, the Wisconsin Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal.[31]

In January 2024, Geyser petitioned the court for release, two years after withdrawing a petition in 2022 two months after filing.[32]A judge denied this request for release at a hearing in April 2024.[33]

Aftermath

[edit]
External videos
video iconAnnouncement video for the Creepypasta live stream[34]

After the attack, the Creepypasta Wiki, which houses the bulk of Slender Man lore, was blocked throughout theWaukesha School District.[35]On June 5, 2014, Slender Man creator Eric Knudsen released a statement of condolence: "I am deeply saddened by the tragedy in Wisconsin and my heart goes out to the families of those affected by this terrible act."[36]

Sloshedtrain, a former administrator of the Creepypasta Wiki,[37]stated that the stabbing was an isolated incident that did not accurately represent thecreepypastacommunity. He also argued that the Creepypasta Wiki is a literary website and that its community of creators and administrators do not condonemurderorsatanic rituals.[38][39]

Members of the creepypasta community held a 24-hour live stream onYouTubeJune 13–14, 2014, to raise money for Leutner (whose name had not then been released). Joe Jozwowski, an administrator on a creepypasta website, said the purpose of the stream was to show that members of the community care for the victim and do not condone real-world violence.[40]

GovernorScott Walkerissued a proclamation declaring Wednesday, August 13, 2014, "Purple Hearts for Healing Day", and encouraged the people of Wisconsin to wear purple to honor the victim of the stabbing. He also praised the "strength and determination" exhibited by the victim during her recovery.[41]

On August 29, 2014, the city ofMadison, Wisconsin,held a one-daybratwurstfestival to honor Leutner.Hot dogsand bratwurst were sold to raise money towards the her medical costs. The event was run by over 250 volunteers and raised over $70,000.[11]

On October 24, 2019, survivor Payton Leutner, then 17 years old, spoke publicly about her experience for the first time toABC's20/20.She discussed her scars, saying, "I don't think much of them. They will probably go away and fade eventually." She described how she met Geyser in fourth grade and became her friend because Geyser was alone a lot and Leutner wanted her to feel less alone. She also reported how Weier, who Geyser introduced to Leutner, had seemed jealous of the friendship between her and Geyser. When asked what she would say if she ever saw Geyser again, Leutner replied she would "thank" her because the attack inspired Leutner to pursue a career in medicine.[42]

In September 2021, after Weier's release, it was reported that Leutner no longer lived in Waukesha County and was attending an undisclosed college as a sophomore student.[43]

Debate on the effect of the Internet on children

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The stabbing generated extensive public debate about the role of theInternetin society and its effect on children.[44]Waukesha Police Chief Russell P. Jack argued that the stabbing "should be a wake-up call for all parents" because although the Internet "is full of information and wonderful sites that teach and entertain, it can also be full of dark and wicked things."[4]John Egelhof, a retired agent of theFederal Bureau of Investigation,argued that the Internet has become a "black hole" that risks exposing children to a more sinister world.[45]Egelhof suggested that parents should monitor their children's Internet use and educate them on the differences between right and wrong.[45]Shira Chess, an assistant professor of mass media arts at theUniversity of Georgia,described creepypasta as no more dangerous than stories aboutvampiresorzombies.She argued that creepypasta websites are beneficial as creative communities that provide feedback and help participants become better writers.[37]

[edit]

A documentary film on the incident calledBeware the Slendermanwas released byHBO Filmsin March 2016, and was broadcast onHBOon January 23, 2017.[46]A season 16 episode ofLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit,titled "Glasgowman's Wrath",is loosely based on the event.[47]TheCriminal Mindsepisode "The Tall Man" (Episode 14.05, airdate October 31, 2018) was also inspired by this story.[48]

On October 14, 2018, a movie inspired by the Slender Man stabbing, calledTerror in the Woods,aired onLifetime.The film stars Ella West Jerrier, Sophia Grace McCarthy, Skylar Morgan Jones,Angela Kinsey,Drew Powell,and Carrie Hood.Christina Ricciserves as the executive producer of the film.[49][50]

On March 31, 2019, another movie inspired by the Slender Man stabbing titledMercy Black,starringDaniella Pineda,was released onNetflix.Directed by Owen Egerton and produced byBlumhouse Productions,it tells the story of two girls withpre-schizophreniawho attempt to murder their friend, believing that a spirit named Mercy Black will offer them a gift in return. Later, the protagonist is released from psychiatric care and must confront the real and paranormal consequences of her actions.

The 2024 novelIn A Dark Mirrorby Kat Davis is heavily based on the case, with only minor details changed.

See also

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References

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  51. ^"Brian Draper (17) and Torey Adamcik (17) stabbed Cassie Jo Stoddart (16) to death".Archivedfrom the original on March 29, 2019.RetrievedJuly 27,2011.

Further reading

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