Slender Man stabbing suspects to remain in adult court
WAUKESHA, Wis. - A Wisconsin judge ruled Monday that two girls accused of stabbing a classmate to please the fictional horror character Slender Man will be tried in adult court, where they could face decades in prison.
Attorneys for Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser, both 13, had sought to transfer their cases to the juvenile court system, where they could be held for only five years. Psychologists called by defense lawyers testified that they would get more suitable mental health treatment in a juvenile institution. At least one of the girls - Geyeser - has been diagnosed by a psychiatrist as having schizophrenia.
But Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren, after hearing testimony during four days of hearings in May and June, decided that the girls should remain in adult court.
Both Weier and Geyser were charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the May 2014 attack on their classmate, Payton Leutner.
According to a criminal complaint, Weier and Geyser plotted for months before they lured Payton into some woods after a sleepover and attacked her with a knife. Payton was stabbed 19 times but survived.
Weier and Geyser told investigators they hoped killing Payton would please Slender Man, a character they had read about in online horror stories. All three girls were 12 years old at the time of the attack.
The charges automatically put Weier and Geyser in adult court under Wisconsin law. They could face 65 years in prison if they're convicted as adults.
The girls' defense attorneys also had asked the judge to declare the underlying law that put the case in adult court unconstitutional, alleging the statues lead to cruel and unusual punishment. The judge denied that motion on Thursday, writing that juveniles aren't as culpable for their actions as adults but that doesn't exempt them from getting adult sentences.