The Slender Man Stabbing — Attempted Murder by Two 12-Year-Olds

The Case

The Slender Man Stabbing is a 2014 attempted murder case from Waukesha, Wisconsin, in which two 12-year-old girls, Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier, stabbed their classmate Payton Leutner 19 times in an attempt to become "proxies" of the fictional internet character Slender Man. The case shocked the nation and raised urgent questions about the influence of internet horror fiction on vulnerable children, the responsibility of online platforms, and the criminal justice system's treatment of mentally ill juveniles. Both perpetrators were ultimately found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect and committed to long-term psychiatric care rather than prison.

The attack occurred on May 31, 2014, after a sleepover celebrating Geyser's birthday. What began as a normal friendship among three sixth-grade girls ended in a wooded area near David's Park in Waukesha, where Leutner was stabbed repeatedly and left to die. She survived by crawling out of the woods to a path where a passing cyclist found her. The case became a cultural touchstone for debates about children's exposure to disturbing online content and the intersection of mental illness, criminal responsibility, and juvenile justice.

The Crime

On the night of May 30, 2014, Payton Leutner arrived at Morgan Geyser's house for a sleepover, unaware that her two friends had been planning to kill her for months. Court records reveal that Geyser and Weier had discussed multiple scenarios for the murder, including stabbing Leutner in the neck while she slept, or attacking her in a park bathroom stall where "the blood would then drain" and no one would discover the body.

The next morning, May 31, the three girls went to David's Park. According to police interviews, Weier and Geyser initially planned to carry out the attack in a bathroom, but ultimately lured Leutner into a wooded area under the pretense of playing hide-and-seek. Once deep in the woods, Geyser told Leutner to lie down and then stabbed her 19 times with a five-inch kitchen knife. The wounds struck Leutner's arms, legs, and torso, with one stab coming within a millimeter of her heart.

Weier reportedly encouraged Geyser during the attack, telling her "go ballistic, go crazy." After the stabbing, the two girls told Leutner to lie still and that they would get help. Instead, they left her in the woods to die. Leutner, despite her severe injuries and loss of blood, managed to crawl out of the forest to a bicycle path where a passing cyclist discovered her and called 911. She underwent emergency surgery and survived.

Meanwhile, Geyser and Weier were found hours later walking along Interstate 94, heading north toward the Nicolet National Forest. When police stopped them, they were carrying a backpack containing water bottles, granola bars, and a change of clothes. During interrogation, both girls admitted to the attack and explained their motive: they believed they had to kill someone to become "proxies" of Slender Man, a fictional horror character created in 2009 on the internet forum Something Awful. They claimed Slender Man was real and that by murdering their friend, they would prove their loyalty to him and be allowed to live in his mansion in the forest.

The Victim

Payton Leutner was 12 years old at the time of the attack, a sixth-grader at Horning Middle School in Waukesha. She had been friends with Morgan Geyser since fourth grade and considered both Geyser and Weier close companions. The betrayal was devastating not only physically but emotionally—Leutner was attacked by girls she trusted.

Despite suffering 19 stab wounds, Leutner displayed remarkable resilience. Her survival was attributed to her determination to crawl toward help and the quick response of emergency services. She spent weeks recovering in the hospital and underwent both physical and psychological rehabilitation. In victim impact statements read during the sentencing hearings, Leutner's family described the profound and lasting trauma the attack inflicted on her and their family.

In 2019, Leutner gave her first public interview, speaking with ABC News about her recovery. She described the long process of healing and her desire to move forward with her life. She expressed a mix of emotions about her attackers—understanding that mental illness played a role, but also grappling with the horror of what they did to her.

Investigation

The Waukesha Police Department responded immediately after Leutner was discovered on the bicycle path around 12:45 p.m. on May 31, 2014. She was conscious and able to provide officers with crucial information: she identified her attackers as her two friends, Morgan and Anissa. This information allowed police to quickly issue alerts for the missing girls.

Later that afternoon, a sheriff's deputy spotted Geyser and Weier walking along Interstate 94 near the town line between Waukesha and Jefferson Counties. The girls were approximately five miles from the scene of the attack, heading toward the Nicolet National Forest where they believed Slender Man lived. They cooperated with police and were taken into custody without incident.

During separate police interrogations, both girls confessed to the crime in detail. Geyser admitted to stabbing Leutner and expressed little emotion, explaining matter-of-factly that it was necessary to appease Slender Man. Weier described how she had encouraged Geyser and detailed the various plans they had considered. The interrogation videos, later made public, showed the chilling disconnect between the girls' age and the calculated nature of their planning.

Investigators recovered the knife used in the attack, along with other physical evidence linking the girls to the crime scene. They also examined the girls' internet search histories and discovered extensive research into Slender Man lore, including visits to the Creepypasta Wiki website where fictional horror stories about the character were shared. This digital evidence became central to understanding the motive and the girls' deteriorating grasp on reality.

Trial and Verdict

Geyser and Weier were initially charged as adults with attempted first-degree intentional homicide, a charge that carried a potential sentence of up to 65 years in prison. This decision to charge 12-year-olds as adults sparked national debate about juvenile justice. Defense attorneys for both girls argued that they should be tried in juvenile court and that mental illness, not criminal intent, drove their actions.

Psychiatric evaluations became the cornerstone of both cases. Morgan Geyser was diagnosed with early-onset schizophrenia, a severe mental illness that caused her to experience hallucinations and delusions. Mental health experts testified that she genuinely believed Slender Man was real and that she and her family were in danger if she did not comply with his demands. Geyser's family revealed a history of mental illness, including undiagnosed symptoms that had been present for years before the attack.

Anissa Weier underwent similar psychiatric evaluation. While she did not have schizophrenia, experts determined she suffered from a shared delusional disorder, heavily influenced by Geyser's psychosis. Weier's belief in Slender Man was less entrenched, but she was deemed mentally ill at the time of the crime nonetheless.

In August 2017, Anissa Weier pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree intentional homicide as a party to a crime, with the agreement that the question of her mental state would be decided by a jury. The jury found her not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, and she was sentenced to 25 years in a mental health institution rather than prison. The judge noted that Weier required treatment, not punishment.

Two months later, in October 2017, Morgan Geyser entered a similar plea agreement, pleading guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide. A jury also found her not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. In February 2018, Judge Michael Bohren sentenced Geyser to 40 years in a psychiatric hospital, stating that while she was not criminally responsible due to her mental illness, she remained a danger to herself and others without intensive treatment.

Today

As of 2024, the Slender Man stabbing remains one of the most discussed cases involving juvenile offenders, internet culture, and mental illness. Anissa Weier was released from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute in September 2021 after a court determined she was no longer a threat to herself or others. Her release came with strict conditions: she is required to live with her father, wear a GPS monitor, undergo continued mental health treatment, and is prohibited from using the internet unsupervised.

Morgan Geyser remains in psychiatric custody at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, where she continues to receive treatment for schizophrenia. Her attorneys have periodically sought reduced sentences or transfers to less restrictive settings, but as of now, she is expected to remain institutionalized for the duration of her 40-year commitment, with the possibility of conditional release if she is deemed stable.

Payton Leutner has largely remained out of the public eye since her 2019 interview, focusing on her education and personal healing. She has expressed a desire to move beyond being defined by the attack and to live a normal life.

The case has inspired extensive media coverage, including the HBO documentary Beware the Slenderman (2016), which explored the internet origins of the Slender Man mythos and the psychological vulnerabilities that made two young girls susceptible to its influence. The case also prompted discussions among parents, educators, and mental health professionals about recognizing early signs of mental illness in children and monitoring online activity.

Legally, the case set important precedents regarding how courts handle juvenile defendants with severe mental illness, affirming that psychiatric treatment, rather than incarceration, can be the appropriate response even in cases of violent crime. It also highlighted the complexities of the insanity defense in the modern era, where the line between reality and online fiction can become dangerously blurred for vulnerable minds.