A woman who once tried to murder her childhood friend to appease a fictional internet monster has just proven that some people simply cannot be trusted with freedom.
Story Highlights
- Morgan Geyser, who stabbed her friend 19 times in 2014 to please “Slender Man,” fled supervision and sparked a nationwide manhunt
- The brutal attack occurred when Geyser was just 12 years old, leaving victim Payton Leutner fighting for her life
- Geyser cut off her monitoring bracelet and escaped from a group home before being recaptured within 24 hours
- The case highlights dangerous gaps in our supervision of violent offenders released back into society
The Internet Monster That Drove Children to Murder
Morgan Geyser and her accomplice Anissa Weier weren’t your typical middle schoolers planning sleepovers and homework sessions. In May 2014, these two 12-year-old girls from Waukesha, Wisconsin, lured their friend Payton Leutner into Davids Park with murder on their minds. Their motivation defied comprehension: they believed they had to kill to prove their devotion to Slender Man, a fictional internet horror character.
The attack was methodical and merciless. Geyser and Weier stabbed Leutner 19 times, leaving her for dead in the woods. Miraculously, Leutner crawled to a nearby road where a cyclist found her and called for help. The victim survived, but barely. Meanwhile, police apprehended the two perpetrators hours later near Interstate 94, walking toward what they believed was Slender Man’s forest mansion.
Justice System Grapples With Child Killers
The legal proceedings that followed exposed uncomfortable truths about juvenile violence and mental illness. Both girls were tried as adults despite their tender age, a decision that sparked nationwide debate. Geyser received a diagnosis of schizophrenia, while Weier was found to have shared delusional disorder. The courts sentenced both to lengthy terms involving psychiatric treatment and supervision.
In 2021, Weier earned conditional release after demonstrating progress in her treatment. Geyser remained under strict supervision, living in a group home with electronic monitoring. For years, this arrangement appeared to work. The public gradually forgot about the horror that had unfolded in that Wisconsin park, assuming the system had contained the threat these young women represented.
Freedom Betrayed and Public Safety Compromised
On November 22, 2025, those assumptions crumbled. Geyser deliberately cut off her monitoring bracelet and vanished from her group home, triggering a nationwide manhunt. The woman who had once plunged a knife into her friend’s body repeatedly had decided she no longer wanted supervision. Law enforcement agencies across the country scrambled to locate someone who had already proven capable of shocking violence.
The Madison Police Department located and apprehended Geyser within 24 hours, but the damage was done. Her escape exposed fundamental flaws in how we monitor dangerous individuals released back into society. Electronic monitoring only works when offenders choose compliance. The moment someone decides freedom matters more than following rules, these safeguards become worthless pieces of plastic.
Hard Questions About Rehabilitation and Risk
Geyser’s flight raises uncomfortable questions that our justice system prefers to avoid. Can someone who attempted premeditated murder at age 12 ever truly be trusted with unsupervised freedom? Mental health treatment may address underlying disorders, but it cannot erase the capacity for calculated violence that both Geyser and Weier demonstrated. Their victim, Payton Leutner, carries permanent scars from their “friendship.”
The case reflects broader problems with how America handles violent juvenile offenders. We want to believe in redemption and second chances, noble impulses that sometimes conflict with public safety. Geyser’s escape demonstrates that good intentions and psychiatric treatment cannot guarantee that dangerous individuals will honor the terms of their supervised release. Some crimes are so severe that perpetrators forfeit their right to benefit of the doubt.
Sources:
Slender Man stabbing – Wikipedia
Wisconsin Court of Appeals Opinion
