Slender Man Trial Update: Morgan Geyser Sentenced To 40 Years In Mental Hospital

Morgan Geyser, the Wisconsin girl charged with stabbing her classmate 19 times when she was 12-years-old, has been sentenced to 40 years in a mental hospital.

SLENDER MAN TRIAL: MORGAN GEYSER SENTENCED TO 40 YEARS

Geyser stabbed a classmate, Peyton “Bella” Leutner, in the woods to curry favor with the internet meme Slender Man. She claims she believed that if she and her friend, Anissa Weier, carried out his bidding, that the harrowing character would spare the lives of them and their families.

Judge Michael Bohren granted the maximum penalty that the prosecutors asked for, and discounted the fact that Geyser, now 15, was 12 when she committed her crime. “What we can’t forget is this was an attempted murder,” Bohren said at the sentencing. He also called the teen “a fragile person” whose suffering from delusions make her a risk to herself and others.

Geyser broke down at her sentencing, and apologized to Leutner. “I just want to let Bella and her family know that I’m sorry,” she said. “And I hope she’s doing well.”

Geyser and Weier admitted that they lured Leutner to the woods, where Geyser stabbed their victim 19 times as Weier urged her on. The girls left Leutner for dead, but she was crawled out of the woods and was found by a passing bicyclist. She survived but still faces health problems from her wounds. Weier was sentenced to 25 years in a mental hospital in December after she pleaded guilty to being a party to an attempted second-degree intentional homicide.

At Geyser’s sentencing, doctors who evaluated her gave conflicting opinions on the type of care that she required. One reported that Geyser had heard voices from someone named “Maggie” as recently as September. Dr. Brooke Lundbohm acknowledged that Geyser has made significant improvements over the past three years, but says she believes she is still a danger. “This is not a close call,” she said.

Geyser’s attorneys are arguing that she should be placed in a less restrictive facility with children her own age. “I believe that at the present time, she is no more dangerous than any adolescent her age,” said Dr. Kenneth Robbins. Currently, Geyser is staying at a state mental facility, at which she is the youngest patient.

Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in October. She may seek a conditional release before her 40 years are up.