A JUDGE has denied Morgan Geyser's petition to be released from a mental institution nearly a decade after she brutally stabbed one of her classmates.
Geyser was in sixth grade when she and her classmate, Anissa Weier, lured their friend Payton Leutner into the woods and stabbed her several times to appease the fictional character, Slender Man.
Two psychiatrists testified on Thursday that Geyser, now 21, is no longer a threat to society and should be released from a psychiatric hospital.
She has actively participated in therapy, medication management and all the treatments that are available," said Dr. Kayla Pope in a Waukesha County court, in Wisconsin.
"At this point, she is safe to return to the community. I don't know that much more could be done to make her safer."
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However, two psychologists testified on Wednesday that it was still too soon and Judge Michael Bohren agreed.
Geyser's accomplice, Anissa Weier, was released from a mental health institution on September 13, 2021, with several stipulations, including 24-hour GPS monitoring.
However, the GPS stipulation was removed two years after her release on September 11, 2023.
Still, Weier's internet use is restricted and as part of her supervised release, she is not allowed to use any form of social media.
Weier is also required to take court-mandated psychiatric medication and is to attend regular counseling sessions with a case worker.
NEAR FATAL STABBING
After a sleepover, Geyser and Weier were able to persuade Leutner - all three girls were 12 years old at the time - to play hide-and-seek in a heavily wooded area of Davids Park on May 31, 2014.
Geyser and Weier pinned Leutner down before stabbing her 19 times, hitting two major organs.
The girls told Leutner to stay on the ground while they got help but they instead left her for dead, forcing the girl to drag herself to a nearby road where a cyclist found her.
Leutner ultimately survived and had to undergo six-hour emergency surgery to repair trauma to her organs and tissue in her stomach.
Geyser and Weier quickly confessed to the crime, saying they attacked Leutner to please Slender Man, a character created in 2009 through the Something Awful online forum.
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Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide and was sent to a mental health facility.
She was diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorder but has been off antipsychotic drugs since 2022 and has no new symptoms, said Dr. Ken Robbins.
"Morgan has improved quite dramatically. ... The kinds of things Morgan needs in my view — help with socialization, help with education, help with becoming independent — are things Winnebago can no longer provide in an effective way," Robbins said, referencing Winnebago, the mental health facility Geyser is currently being held at.
