A Wisconsin woman will be released from a mental hospital more than a decade after she nearly stabbed a classmate to death to please the horror character Slender Man, a judge decided Thursday.
Waukesha County Circuit Judge Scott Wagner signed off on the conditional release plan during a review hearing on Thursday, July 17, for Morgan Geyser, one of two girls convicted in the 2014 Slender Man stabbing case.
Geyser and Anissa Weier were both 12 years old when they lured their friend, Payton Leutner, to the woods, where Geyser stabbed her 19 times, nearly killing her.
Both Geyser and Weier were found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect and were committed to mental institutions. While Weier was released in 2021, Geyser has remained at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute after her conditional release to a group home was delayed multiple times.
Watch: Judge approves release plan for woman convicted in 2014 Waukesha stabbing
A judge granted her conditional release into a group home earlier this year, but there was a delay in finding the right group home because the state previously picked one that was within eight miles of the victim.
On Thursday, Judge Wagner approved Geyser’s group home placement, which will include GPS monitoring. She is expected to leave the mental health institution in about two weeks, on Aug. 4, according to the judge.
The location of the group home will not be released to the public. However, Geyser’s attorney, Tony Cotton, said it will not be in Milwaukee or Waukesha counties.
This story was originally published by Jay Sirkin with the Scripps News Group station in Milwaukee.
