WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) – One of two Wisconsin girls charged with stabbing a classmate to impress horror character Slender Man will plead guilty in a deal that calls for her to avoid prison time and instead receive treatment for mental illness, attorneys announced Friday.
The deal calls for doctors to evaluate 15-year-old Morgan Geyser and report to a judge to determine how long she should remain in a state mental hospital. Geyser’s co-defendant, Anissa Weier, faces at least three years in a mental hospital after a jury this month determined she was mentally ill at the time of the attack on classmate Payton Leutner.
All three girls were 12 at the time.
“It’s been a tragic experience for everyone,” Geyser’s attorney, Donna Kuchler, said after the brief court hearing. “Our hearts go out to the victim and her family. And we’re very grateful that the district attorney’s office gave this case the considering it deserves.”
Weier and Geyser lured Leutner into the woods at a park in Waukesha, a Milwaukee suburb. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier urged her on, according to investigators. Leutner survived after she crawled out of the woods to a path where a passing bicyclist found her.