Topline: The decision comes more than a decade after Geyser and a friend attacked their classmate to impress a fictional horror character.
Published: July 18, 2025 8:00 am ET
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Background: Morgan Geyser appears in court during a hearing approving her conditional release from a mental health facility, more than a decade after the Slender Man stabbing. Inset: Payton Leutner, the classmate she nearly killed in the 2014 attack. (Photos via AP/Leutner family)
WAUKESHA, WI — A Wisconsin woman who once claimed she tried to kill a friend to appease the fictional internet horror character Slender Man will soon walk free—under close watch—after a judge approved her conditional release from a state mental hospital.
According to WTMJ-TV, Morgan Geyser, now 22, has spent the past seven years at Winnebago Mental Health Institute following her role in the 2014 stabbing of classmate Payton Leutner in a Waukesha park.
At the time, all three girls were just 12 years old.
Investigators say Geyser, along with friend Anissa Weier, lured Leutner into the woods after a sleepover, where Geyser stabbed her 19 times as Weier urged her on, the Telegraph reported.
The girls told police they believed the attack would win them favor with Slender Man, a faceless, mythic internet entity who, they claimed, would harm their families if they failed to comply.
Leutner miraculously survived the assault, crawling out of the woods and being discovered by a cyclist. Geyser and Weier were later found walking along Interstate 94, reportedly en route to what they believed was Slender Man’s mansion in northern Wisconsin.
Both girls were ultimately found not criminally responsible due to mental illness. Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in 2017, and the following year, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren committed her to a psychiatric facility for up to 40 years.
But earlier this year, a different judge, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Scott Wagner, determined Geyser was eligible for release. Three mental health experts testified she had made significant progress in treatment. Her initial release was postponed, however, after prosecutors raised concerns about the location of a proposed group home—just eight miles from Leutner. Geyser’s release was delayed until a new placement could be found.
That placement has now been approved. At a hearing on Thursday, Judge Wagner finalized a plan that will see Geyser leave Winnebago Mental Health Institute on August 4.
As reported by WTMJ-TV, she will be moved to a group home equipped with GPS monitoring. The exact location will remain confidential, though her attorney, Tony Cotton, confirmed it would not be in Milwaukee or Waukesha counties.
According to The Telegraph, the Department of Health Services previously questioned Geyser’s readiness for release, citing troubling behavior. They noted she had read a novel involving murder and black-market organ sales without telling her therapists and had sent disturbing drawings to a man who collects murder memorabilia.
The state also flagged a postcard she reportedly sent the man expressing a desire for intimacy. Her attorneys countered that the communications were known to staff and that she ended contact with the man in 2024 after learning he was selling items she had sent.
Despite these concerns, Judge Bohren earlier ruled there was no evidence Geyser intended to deceive her treatment team and instructed the state to move forward with planning her release.
Anissa Weier, who also pleaded guilty in 2017 to attempted second-degree intentional homicide, was granted conditional release in 2021 and currently lives under supervision with her father, wearing a GPS monitor.
The case shocked the country and drew international media attention, not only for its brutality but for its eerie link to a modern digital myth.
Slender Man, first introduced in 2009 on an internet forum by Eric Knudson, was designed to haunt the digital imagination—a faceless, elongated figure who lurks in the periphery of altered photographs, a villain stitched into viral storytelling.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Morgan Geyser to Be Freed from Mental Institution After Conviction in 2014 Slender Man Case
The decision comes more than a decade after Geyser and a friend attacked their classmate to impress a fictional horror character.
By Jacob Charles
Published: July 18, 2025 8:00 am ET
Background: Morgan Geyser appears in court during a hearing approving her conditional release from a mental health facility, more than a decade after the Slender Man stabbing. Inset: Payton Leutner, the classmate she nearly killed in the 2014 attack. (Photos via AP/Leutner family)
WAUKESHA, WI — A Wisconsin woman who once claimed she tried to kill a friend to appease the fictional internet horror character Slender Man will soon walk free—under close watch—after a judge approved her conditional release from a state mental hospital.
According to WTMJ-TV, Morgan Geyser, now 22, has spent the past seven years at Winnebago Mental Health Institute following her role in the 2014 stabbing of classmate Payton Leutner in a Waukesha park.
At the time, all three girls were just 12 years old.
Investigators say Geyser, along with friend Anissa Weier, lured Leutner into the woods after a sleepover, where Geyser stabbed her 19 times as Weier urged her on, the Telegraph reported.
The girls told police they believed the attack would win them favor with Slender Man, a faceless, mythic internet entity who, they claimed, would harm their families if they failed to comply.
Leutner miraculously survived the assault, crawling out of the woods and being discovered by a cyclist. Geyser and Weier were later found walking along Interstate 94, reportedly en route to what they believed was Slender Man’s mansion in northern Wisconsin.
Both girls were ultimately found not criminally responsible due to mental illness. Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in 2017, and the following year, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren committed her to a psychiatric facility for up to 40 years.
But earlier this year, a different judge, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Scott Wagner, determined Geyser was eligible for release. Three mental health experts testified she had made significant progress in treatment. Her initial release was postponed, however, after prosecutors raised concerns about the location of a proposed group home—just eight miles from Leutner. Geyser’s release was delayed until a new placement could be found.
That placement has now been approved. At a hearing on Thursday, Judge Wagner finalized a plan that will see Geyser leave Winnebago Mental Health Institute on August 4.
As reported by WTMJ-TV, she will be moved to a group home equipped with GPS monitoring. The exact location will remain confidential, though her attorney, Tony Cotton, confirmed it would not be in Milwaukee or Waukesha counties.
According to The Telegraph, the Department of Health Services previously questioned Geyser’s readiness for release, citing troubling behavior. They noted she had read a novel involving murder and black-market organ sales without telling her therapists and had sent disturbing drawings to a man who collects murder memorabilia.
The state also flagged a postcard she reportedly sent the man expressing a desire for intimacy. Her attorneys countered that the communications were known to staff and that she ended contact with the man in 2024 after learning he was selling items she had sent.
Despite these concerns, Judge Bohren earlier ruled there was no evidence Geyser intended to deceive her treatment team and instructed the state to move forward with planning her release.
Anissa Weier, who also pleaded guilty in 2017 to attempted second-degree intentional homicide, was granted conditional release in 2021 and currently lives under supervision with her father, wearing a GPS monitor.
The case shocked the country and drew international media attention, not only for its brutality but for its eerie link to a modern digital myth.
Slender Man, first introduced in 2009 on an internet forum by Eric Knudson, was designed to haunt the digital imagination—a faceless, elongated figure who lurks in the periphery of altered photographs, a villain stitched into viral storytelling.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
Must Read
Editor Picks
Latest Articles
Morgan Geyser to Be Freed from Mental Institution After Conviction in 2014 Slender Man Case
The decision comes more than a decade after Geyser and a friend attacked their classmate to impress a fictional horror character.
By Jacob Charles
Published: July 18, 2025 8:00 am ET
Background: Morgan Geyser appears in court during a hearing approving her conditional release from a mental health facility, more than a decade after the Slender Man stabbing. Inset: Payton Leutner, the classmate she nearly killed in the 2014 attack. (Photos via AP/Leutner family)
WAUKESHA, WI — A Wisconsin woman who once claimed she tried to kill a friend to appease the fictional internet horror character Slender Man will soon walk free—under close watch—after a judge approved her conditional release from a state mental hospital.
According to WTMJ-TV, Morgan Geyser, now 22, has spent the past seven years at Winnebago Mental Health Institute following her role in the 2014 stabbing of classmate Payton Leutner in a Waukesha park.
At the time, all three girls were just 12 years old.
Investigators say Geyser, along with friend Anissa Weier, lured Leutner into the woods after a sleepover, where Geyser stabbed her 19 times as Weier urged her on, the Telegraph reported.
The girls told police they believed the attack would win them favor with Slender Man, a faceless, mythic internet entity who, they claimed, would harm their families if they failed to comply.
Leutner miraculously survived the assault, crawling out of the woods and being discovered by a cyclist. Geyser and Weier were later found walking along Interstate 94, reportedly en route to what they believed was Slender Man’s mansion in northern Wisconsin.
Both girls were ultimately found not criminally responsible due to mental illness. Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in 2017, and the following year, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren committed her to a psychiatric facility for up to 40 years.
But earlier this year, a different judge, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Scott Wagner, determined Geyser was eligible for release. Three mental health experts testified she had made significant progress in treatment. Her initial release was postponed, however, after prosecutors raised concerns about the location of a proposed group home—just eight miles from Leutner. Geyser’s release was delayed until a new placement could be found.
That placement has now been approved. At a hearing on Thursday, Judge Wagner finalized a plan that will see Geyser leave Winnebago Mental Health Institute on August 4.
As reported by WTMJ-TV, she will be moved to a group home equipped with GPS monitoring. The exact location will remain confidential, though her attorney, Tony Cotton, confirmed it would not be in Milwaukee or Waukesha counties.
According to The Telegraph, the Department of Health Services previously questioned Geyser’s readiness for release, citing troubling behavior. They noted she had read a novel involving murder and black-market organ sales without telling her therapists and had sent disturbing drawings to a man who collects murder memorabilia.
The state also flagged a postcard she reportedly sent the man expressing a desire for intimacy. Her attorneys countered that the communications were known to staff and that she ended contact with the man in 2024 after learning he was selling items she had sent.
Despite these concerns, Judge Bohren earlier ruled there was no evidence Geyser intended to deceive her treatment team and instructed the state to move forward with planning her release.
Anissa Weier, who also pleaded guilty in 2017 to attempted second-degree intentional homicide, was granted conditional release in 2021 and currently lives under supervision with her father, wearing a GPS monitor.
The case shocked the country and drew international media attention, not only for its brutality but for its eerie link to a modern digital myth.
Slender Man, first introduced in 2009 on an internet forum by Eric Knudson, was designed to haunt the digital imagination—a faceless, elongated figure who lurks in the periphery of altered photographs, a villain stitched into viral storytelling.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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