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A Waukesha County judge has ordered a teenage girl committed for up to 40 years of mental health treatment for her role in the Slender Man stabbing.
The sentence for 15-year-old Morgan Geyser comes after she and another girl plotted to stab a former classmate in 2014 as a tribute to the fictional horror character. Geyser and Anissa Weier stabbed Payton Leutner 19 times, leaving her to die in a wooded area in Waukesha. Leutner survived after crawling to find help. All of the girls were 12 at the time.
Geyser pleaded guilty in October to attempted first-degree intentional homicide, with prosecutors agreeing not to fight her claim that she was mentally ill at the time. After her arrest, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and has been receiving treatment.
Judge Michael Bohren said committing her for the maximum period of time possible would ensure she continues to receive the help she needs. “This is an issue of community protection. This is an issue to be sure there’s no recidivism. This is an issue to be sure Ms. Geyser doesn’t have a revolving door situation,” Bohren said.
The commitment means Geyser could be in a state facility until she is 55, although she will be able to petition for release before then.
The judge also noted that, while Geyser was ill, he could not ignore the seriousness of the crime and the fact that it very could have easily resulted in the death of Leutner. He called it “serendipity” that the stab wounds did not kill the girl and that someone found her.
Weier was committed to 25 years of treatment in December, after a jury found she was not responsible for her actions because of mental illness.