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After spending years in a mental health center, a Wisconsin woman involved in the infamous 2014 “Slender Man” stabbing case will be released, a judge ruled after several months of deliberation, according to The Associated Press.
Morgan Geyser, now 22, confessed in 2017 to stabbing her friend, Peyton Leutner, when Geyser was just 12 years old, as part of a disturbing plan she and co-defendant Anissa Weier devised to appease “Slender Man,” a fictional internet figure.
As part of a plea deal, Geyser was committed to a psychiatric institution, where she has spent the past eight years. On Thursday, a Waukesha County judge approved her conditional release, the AP reported.
The decision follows a lengthy legal process that included expert testimony, prosecutor’s objections and a judicial review of Geyser’s mental health status. In January, mental health professionals testified in favor of her release, which the judge initially approved.
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However, in April, Leutner’s mother voiced concerns over Geyser potentially being placed in a group home roughly 8 miles from their home. Prosecutors opposed the release based on these concerns.
The judge then required the Department of Health Services to develop a revised resettlement plan, which was eventually approved, paving the way for Geyser’s conditional release.
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Geyser and Weier drew national attention in 2014 after luring Leutner into a wooded area after a sleepover and stabbing her 19 times. All three were just 12 years old at the time.
During police interviews, Weier and Geyser told authorities they felt they had to kill Leutner to become Slender Man’s “proxies,” or servants, and protect their families from him.
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Leutner was left for dead but miraculously survived the attack after she crawled out of the woods and was found by a bicyclist.
In 2017, Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in Leutner’s attack but claimed she was not responsible due to her mental illness. She was sentenced in 2018 to a maximum of 40 years of state mental health supervision.
Geyser has been at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute for nearly a decade but asked the court to consider her conditional release every six months.
Weier also pleaded guilty to being a party to attempted second-degree intentional homicide with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to 25 years in a mental hospital. In 2021, she was released on the condition she must live with her father and wear a GPS monitor.
“Slender Man” started with an online post in 2009 as a mysterious specter whose image people edit into everyday scenes of children at play. He is typically depicted as a spidery figure in a black suit with a featureless white face. He was regarded by his devotees as alternately a sinister force and an avenging angel.
As of now, specific details regarding the timing of Geyser’s release and the final placement plan remain undisclosed.
Fox News Digital reached out to Geyser’s lawyer but did not immediately receive a response.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected]
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