WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) – A state doctor believes the mental condition of one of two girls accused of repeatedly stabbing a classmate to please the fictional horror character Slender Man has improved, and the 12-year-old is fit to stand trial, a Wisconsin judge said Wednesday.
Judge Michael Bohren summarized the doctor’s report during a brief hearing, but he didn’t act on it after defense attorney Anthony Cotton said he hadn’t had a chance to discuss it with his client. Bohren told Cotton to talk to the girl and come back to court Tuesday.
The judge had ordered the girl to undergo mental health treatment in August, after a psychologist testified that she claimed to see and hear things others could not, including unicorns, Slender Man and an antagonist in the Harry Potter series, Voldemort.
Cotton, who declined comment after the hearing, expressed concern previously about the girl’s mental health and advocated for treatment.
The girl appeared more alert Wednesday, sitting calmly in street clothes with her hair brushed and pushed back from her face. During previous hearings, she often wore jail clothes, looked disheveled and sometimes rocked back and forth in her chair with her hair covering her face.