Woman who stabbed classmate in 2014 won’t be released: See timeline of the Slender Man case

A Wisconsin woman who, at age 12, admitted she stabbed a classmate to appease a fictitious horror movie character, will remain at a psychiatric hospital despite her attorney's plea for her release.

Morgan Geyser, who turns 22 next month, will remain at the mental institution where she has been committed since 2018 for treatment, a judge ruled Thursday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.

Following a two-day motion hearing, Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren denied the petition for Geyser's conditional release which means she will remain under the care of the Winnebago Mental Health Institute.

In 2014, Geyser and a friend Anissa Weier, lured Payton Leutner into the woods and stabbed her 19 times with a 5-inch blade, leaving her for dead. Leutner crawled to a trail where she was found by a passing bicyclist.

Geyser was found not guilty by reason of mental defect in 2017 in Leutner's attempted slaying on the southern edge of Waukesha, a city part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area.

The girls said they carried out the stabbing to appease the 'Slender Man' − as seen in the 2018 film, thus the case being referred to as the Slender Man case.

As of Friday, Geyser remained at the institute under a 40-year commitment term ordered by Bohren six years ago.

Here is a timeline of the case that drew national media attention:

May 2014: Payton Leutner stabbed in the woods

After a sleepover on May 31, 2014, the girls lure Leutner into the woods and attack her. Geyser and Weier are found hours later by police on the side of the road and tell investigators they are on their way to live with the fictional Internet character Slender Man. They are charged with attempted first-degree murder the next day. 

August 2014

Judge Michael Bohren finds Geyser incompetent and suspends the prosecution of the charges against her.

December 2014

Bohren rules both girls can understand the charges against them and aid in their own defense.

February 2015: 'Kill or be killed' belief

During a preliminary hearing, Geyser's attorney tells the judge his client believed she had to kill or she would be killed herself by the Slender Man.

Bohren rejects the argument that the girls acted under a "kill or be killed" belief, which would have made the offense attempted second-degree intentional homicide and required the girls to be tried in juvenile court.

June 2015: History of schizophrenia revealed

Geyser's family history of schizophrenia is revealed at a court hearing, in which an expert witness reveals that Geyser's father had suffered from a similar mental illness as an adolescent and was hospitalized at least four times when he was 14 or 15.

January 2016

A civil judge approves sending Geyser to a state mental hospital where she gets her first treatment for schizophrenia, including medication that her lawyer says quells the voices from imaginary friends like Slender Man.

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July 2016: Charged as adults

Weier and Geyser are charged as adults, affirming a trial judge's ruling in 2015 that the two girls had failed to show "by a preponderance of evidence" that they should be transferred from adult court to juvenile court. The girls' lawyers have repeatedly said their client's cases should take place in juvenile court.

August 2016

Geyser enters a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease.

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September 2016

Weier pleads not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

August 2017

Weier pleads guilty to attempted second-degree homicide, and will proceed to trial only on whether her mental condition at the time should make her legally responsible for the crime.

September 2017

A jury finds Weier not guilty as a result of mental disorder.

Geyser also pleads guilty but not be held criminally liable and will remain at the state mental hospital where she has been getting treatment for nearly 18 months.

December 2017: Anissa Weier sentenced

At age 15, Weier is committed to 25 years at a mental health institution. She is to spend at least three years in the institute before seeking release on community supervision. Her supervision will last until she is 37.

February 2018: Morgan Geyser sentenced

Geyser is committed to 40 years of mental health treatment and monitoring and ordered to remain at a mental health institute.

Bohren orders the maximum commitment term for Weier after hearing from experts who said Geyser, now 15, could receive more effective treatment for her schizophrenia somewhere other than where she is currently housed with adults who have committed crimes. 

July 2021

Bohren granted Weier conditional release after finding she does not pose a risk to herself to the community.

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September 2021: Anissa Weier released

Weier is released from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute on Sept. 13 and will serve out the rest of her commitment in the community. She will be monitored with a GPS tracking device and will be supervised with case managers until she's 37 years old.

September 2023: Anissa Weier freed from GPS monitor

Weier was subsequently freed from electronic monitoring in 2023.

April 2024: Morgan Geyser denied release

Bohren denied the petition for conditional release of Geyser. She will remain at the mental institution where she has been committed since 2018 for treatment.

Contributing: Christopher Kuhagen

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.