Slender Man Attacker Vanishes from Group Home
Morgan Geyser, the Wisconsin woman who gained notoriety as a teenager for a brutal stabbing inspired by the online horror figure Slender Man, is currently missing. Authorities confirmed that the 23-year-old cut off her Department of Corrections electronic monitoring bracelet and left a group home on Saturday evening.
The Madison Police Department issued a public alert on Sunday, stating that Geyser was last seen around 8pm on Saturday, 11th January 2025. She was reportedly in the company of an adult acquaintance at the time. The alert urgently requests that anyone who spots Geyser should immediately call 911.
A Notorious Crime Revisited
Geyser's disappearance brings back into focus one of America's most chilling modern crimes. In 2014, when Geyser and her friend Anissa Weier were just 12 years old, they lured their classmate, Payton Leutner, to a park in a suburb of Milwaukee.
The attack was premeditated. After a sleepover, the duo took Leutner to the park where Geyser proceeded to stab the victim more than a dozen times. Weier was present, encouraging the assault. Miraculously, Payton Leutner managed to survive her horrific injuries.
During subsequent investigations, the young girls revealed their motive: they believed the fictional character Slender Man would harm their families if they did not carry out the attack. They saw the murder attempt as a way to prove themselves as his servants and earn his approval.
Legal Proceedings and Conditional Release
Instead of a prison sentence, the courts focused on mental health treatment for Geyser. She pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in a 2018 deal with prosecutors.
This plea arrangement led to her commitment at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute. Her placement in a group home this year was a result of being granted conditional release from the psychiatric facility.
Her accomplice, Anissa Weier, also pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of attempted second-degree intentional homicide. Weier was similarly sent to a mental health centre and was granted release in 2021.
Reacting to the news of her client's disappearance, Geyser's attorney, Tony Cotton, made a public appeal. In a video posted on Instagram, he directly addressed Geyser, stating, "It's in her best interest for her to turn herself in immediately and not continue with this course of action."
Cotton further noted that the full circumstances remain unclear, adding, "We don't know any of the facts about what happened or who might have assisted her." The search for Morgan Geyser continues as authorities work to locate her.
