The Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser case began on May 31, 2014, when the two 12-year-olds stabbed their classmate Payton Leutner 19 times in a Waukesha, Wisconsin park, believing the attack would make them servants of the fictional internet character Slender Man. Both were charged as adults with attempted first-degree intentional homicide, both were found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, and both were committed to state psychiatric care rather than sent to prison. As of late 2025, Weier has been living under supervised conditional release since 2021. Geyser’s own conditional release was revoked in December 2025 after she cut off her ankle monitor and fled a Madison group home.
What Happened in the Waukesha Park
The morning after a birthday sleepover at Geyser’s home, the three girls walked to a wooded area in David’s Park. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times with a kitchen knife while Weier urged her on. The wounds struck Leutner’s arms, legs, and torso. One blade penetrated her diaphragm, liver, and stomach. Another came within a hair’s width of a major artery near her heart.
Weier and Geyser left Leutner in the woods. She dragged herself to a nearby road, where a passing cyclist found her and called 911. She spent roughly six hours in emergency surgery and survived.
Police apprehended the two girls shortly afterward. Both confessed and told investigators the attack was necessary to become “proxies” for Slender Man, and that if they did not kill Leutner, he would harm their families.
The Slender Man Delusion
Slender Man is a fictional character created in 2009 on an internet horror forum: a tall, faceless figure in a black suit associated with fabricated accounts of child abductions. One web series introduced the concept of “proxies,” humans who fell under Slender Man’s control and carried out his will. Weier and Geyser had immersed themselves in Slender Man content for months before the attack and came to believe the character was real and watching them.
Why They Were Tried as Adults
Both girls were charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide. Under Wisconsin law, adult criminal courts have exclusive original jurisdiction over any juvenile aged 10 or older who is accused of attempting or committing first-degree intentional homicide.1Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 938.183 – Original Adult Court Jurisdiction for Criminal Proceedings The case landed in adult court automatically, with no discretionary decision by prosecutor or judge.
Defense attorneys for both girls filed for a “reverse waiver,” asking the court to transfer the case to juvenile court. Under Wisconsin’s reverse waiver statute, the juvenile carries the entire burden of proof and must satisfy a three-part test.2Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 970.032 – Preliminary Examination; Juvenile Under Original Adult Court Jurisdiction The judge concluded the defense had not met that burden and kept the case in adult court.
The Mental Illness Findings
Forensic evaluations revealed that both girls were experiencing genuine psychiatric disorders at the time of the attack, though different ones.
Morgan Geyser was diagnosed with early-onset schizophrenia. Evaluators determined she had been experiencing hallucinations and delusions, including a belief that Slender Man communicated with her directly. The diagnosis came only after her arrest.
Anissa Weier was diagnosed with a shared psychotic disorder, a condition in which a person develops delusional beliefs through close association with someone who already holds them. A forensic psychologist who evaluated Weier described the dynamic as a “shared special relationship” in which the two girls reinforced each other’s distorted beliefs.
Both defendants entered pleas of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Wisconsin law provides that a person is not responsible for criminal conduct if, because of a mental disease or defect, she lacked the substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions or to conform her conduct to the law.3Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 971.15 – Mental Responsibility of Defendant The defendant carries the burden by the greater weight of the evidence.
The two cases followed different paths to the same legal outcome. Weier reached a plea agreement in which she pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted second-degree intentional homicide as a party to a crime. A jury then evaluated her mental responsibility and concluded in September 2017 that she had been suffering from a mental defect and was not legally responsible. Geyser pleaded guilty to the original charge of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and a judge, rather than a jury, found her not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect based on the schizophrenia diagnosis.
Commitment Instead of Prison
A finding of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect does not mean release. Wisconsin law requires the court to commit the defendant to the custody of the Department of Health Services for institutional care, for a period that cannot exceed the maximum sentence for the underlying crime.4Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 971.17 – Commitment of Persons Found Not Guilty by Reason of Mental Disease or Defect
The court committed Morgan Geyser to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute for a maximum of 40 years. Anissa Weier, whose guilty plea was to the lesser attempted second-degree homicide charge, received a commitment of up to 25 years. Both commitments were framed as treatment rather than punishment, but the practical effect was indefinite confinement in a locked psychiatric facility until a judge determined that release was safe.
Where Anissa Weier Is Now
In 2021, Weier petitioned for conditional release, arguing that years of treatment had stabilized her mental health and that she no longer posed a danger. The court granted her petition, and she was released to live with her father under strict supervision.
Her conditions include GPS monitoring and significant restrictions on her internet access. Wisconsin’s conditional release framework requires the court to find that the person can reasonably be expected to comply with treatment and all supervision conditions before authorizing release. Weier’s conditional release can last through the remainder of her 25-year commitment period, and any violation could send her back to institutional care.
Where Morgan Geyser Is Now
Geyser’s path out of Winnebago was rockier. She petitioned for conditional release in 2022 but withdrew the request. She kept petitioning, and in September 2025, on her fourth request, a judge approved a conditional release plan placing her in a group home in Madison, Wisconsin.
The arrangement lasted roughly two months. On November 22, 2025, Geyser cut off her GPS ankle monitor and fled the group home. A multi-state search ended the following day when police arrested her in Posen, Illinois, a suburb south of Chicago. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services quickly filed a petition to revoke her conditional release. On December 23, 2025, Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Scott Wagner granted the revocation. Geyser’s attorney indicated she would not contest it. She was ordered back to a state psychiatric facility.
Prosecutors had expressed reservations about her release earlier, and the Waukesha County District Attorney’s office publicly supported the revocation. Any criminal charges stemming from the escape itself were referred to the Dane County District Attorney’s office, since the group home was in Madison.
Payton Leutner’s Recovery
Leutner survived injuries her doctors described as nearly fatal. After six hours of emergency surgery and a lengthy hospital stay, she spent months in physical recovery. In a 2019 interview, her first public comments about the case, she said she never wants to see or speak to either Weier or Geyser again and described what Geyser did as “probably unforgivable.”
She also addressed the prospect of her attackers eventually being released. She said she did not fear Geyser’s release, adding that if Geyser ever approached her, “she would go right back where she was.” Her mother, Stacie Leutner, was more cautious, saying she was not comfortable with early release and that if the full 25- and 40-year commitments were what it took, “then that’s how long it takes.” Leutner has largely stayed out of the public eye since.