More than 10 years after conspiring with a friend to kill their sixth-grade classmate to appease the fictional horror character Slender Man, Morgan Geyser is set to be released from a psychiatric hospital.
According to the Associated Press, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren granted Geyser’s release Thursday during a hearing. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services now has 60 days to organize a plan for 22-year-old Geyser, who has begun transitioning as a transgender male, to live in a group home and under supervision.
In May 2014, Geyser and Anissa Weier—both 12 at the time—lured their 12-year-old friend Payton Leutner into the woods following a birthday sleepover. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times using a knife, before the two left their injured friend to die. Leutner miraculously survived after crawling out of the woods for help.
Weier and Geyser later told investigators the attack was an attempted offering to the internet character Slender Man, whom they believed would kill their families otherwise. The details of the case shocked the community of Waukesha, Wisconsin, and drew national attention. HBO aired a documentary titled Beware the Slenderman about the incident in 2017.
Here’s what you need to know about the attack, Geyser’s release, and where Weier and Leutner are now.
Editor’s Note: Geyser is now using a different name to reflect his transgender identity. However, his new name hasn’t been shared with the public. We are also using his birth name to reflect court records.
The Slender Man stabbing shocked the nation
According to New York Magazine, Weier, Geyser, and Leutner all began attending Horning Middle School in fall 2013. Weier and Geyser were socially isolated and found a lifeline in Leutner.
Around this time, a friend introduced Weier to Creepypasta, a horror fan site where users created fake encyclopedia entries and other testimonials about fictional monsters and supernatural beings as if they were real. One of those was Slender Man—a tall, faceless entity initially created for a Photoshop contest. The character’s lore expanded through more posts on the site, eventually including his “pattern” of abducting children.
Weier began to believe Slender Man actually existed, and Geyser additionally became obsessed with the character. He even believed he had private, telepathic conversations with Slender Man.
Weier told investigators that Geyser proposed the idea of killing Leutner to become proxies of Slender Man in late December 2013 or early January of the following year. Geyser said Weier was the architect of the plan: “She made it seem necessary, and I figured that if it was necessary, then I would,” he explained. In any case, the preteens kept their plot a secret and didn’t act on it for months.
On May 30, 2014, the friends gathered to celebrate Geyser’s 12th birthday. It was a Friday night, and they went to a local roller skating rink before returning to Geyser’s house. They woke up in the morning, played dress-up, and ate breakfast before asking Geyser’s mother, Angie, if they could go outside to play. As Leutner walked ahead, Geyser secretly showed Weier the knife he had taken from his kitchen.
Minutes later, Geyser and Weier carried out their plan. After leaving Leutner, they washed up at a nearby Walmart and wandered around Waukesha for a few hours before police found them sitting in the grass near the interstate. They were planning to walk to Slender Man’s mansion, which they believed was hundreds of miles away in the Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin.
According to The New York Times, Leutner, barely able to talk, was discovered by a cyclist who called for help. She was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.
Both Geyser and Weier were charged with attempted first-degree homicide. In March 2015, the judge assigned to the case rejected the argument they acted under a “kill or be killed” belief, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. This meant that, despite their young age, they would be tried in adult court.
Geyser is no longer considered a safety risk
According to Rolling Stone, Geyser was diagnosed with early-onset schizophrenia after being taken into custody. It was later revealed in court that his father, Matthew, had suffered from a similar illness as an adolescent. Geyser was transferred to a state mental hospital to receive treatment and, in August 2016, pleaded not guilty because of insanity.
But before he could go before a jury, Geyser reached a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty in September 2017. The plea deal stipulated he wouldn’t be held criminally liable and would continue treatment at a mental health facility. In February 2018, Judge Bohren ordered the maximum commitment term of 40 years for Geyser, who was transferred to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
According to AP, Geyser had petitioned for his release four times since June 2022. He withdrew the first two, and Bohren rejected the third in April 2024 after finding Geyser was still a threat to the public.
Thursday’s hearing stemmed from the fourth petition, filed in October 2024. Three psychologists testified that Geyser made “impressive progress” over the last six months and could relapse if he remained at the facility. “The longer [Geyser’s] there, at this point, the harder it’s going to be to re-integrate,” Dr. Ken Robbins said.
Ultimately, Bohren agreed and determined Geyser was no longer a safety risk before ordering his release. “[Geyser] appears to have a good attitude,” Bohren said.
Annisa Weier remains under supervision
Weier, meanwhile, initially pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect in September 2016. Just under a year later, she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of attempted second-degree homicide. In September 2017, a jury found her not guilty by mental disease, and she was soon committed to 25 years at Winnebago.
But in July 2021, Bohren ruled that Weier no longer posed a substantial risk to herself or others and granted her conditional release from the facility. That September, the terms of Weier’s released were finalized. She was required to live with her father under around-the-clock GPS monitoring and the supervision of case managers until she turned 37.
On September 12, 2023, a judge removed the GPS stipulation, seemingly giving Weier a chance to begin rebuilding her life.
Payton Leutner recovered and is living her life with a plan
According to ABC Action News in Tampa Bay, Florida, Leutner underwent extensive surgery to repair her heart, liver, stomach, and pancreas following the attack. She survived but was left with both physical scars—25 in total, according to her mother, Stacie—and emotional trauma. Leutner later revealed she slept with broken scissors under her pillow for protection.
In October 2019, Leutner gave her first interview about the incident to ABC News. She explained she didn’t think much of the hide-and-seek game they asked to play in the forest because she thought it was only a trick. “I didn’t feel anything, because my body was in shock,” she told journalist David Muir. “I got up and just walked until I hit a patch of grass where I could lay down…. I shouldn’t be alive. I really shouldn’t be after what happened.”
Leutner said she never wanted to see or talk to Geyser and Weier again but expressed sympathy for Geyser’s mother, Angie. “I’ve thought about what she’s going through and how hard it must be for her,” she said. “Morgan’s schizophrenic. There is nothing that she could have done to stop or control that. It was not her fault.”
As horrifying as her ordeal was, Leutner has said she found at least one positive: The experience gave her a clear plan for her life. “I wouldn’t think that someone who went through what I did would ever say that. But that’s truly how I feel. Without the whole situation, I wouldn’t be who I am,” she said.
Leutner has since graduated high school and has said she wants to pursue a career in the medical field. As of September 2021, she was a college sophomore and had a part-time job, according to the Associated Press.
Stacie Leutner released a statement prior to Geyser’s hearing on Thursday. “Morgan Geyser has withdrawn her [sic] request to be released twice. More recently, her [sic] request was denied. We are confident that the judicial system will make a decision that will ensure the community and my daughter remain safe,” she said.
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
