Woman Who Nearly Killed Classmate to Appease Slender Man Granted Psychiatric Hospital Release

Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren ruled Thursday that Morgan Geyser, now 22, is no longer considered a safety risk after hearing testimony from experts saying she's "made considerable progress battling mental illness" and should be released, reports AP.

The Department of Health Services was ordered to come up with a plan for her supervised release within 60 days, with Geyser returning to Winnebago Mental Health Institute until that happens. She's then expected to live in a group home.

"She's done what she’s supposed to do," Bohren reportedly said in his ruling, adding that while Geyser committed a "brutal, terrible offense," she appears to have a good attitude" and can only be considered rehabilitated if she re-enters society.

Geyser, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia after the stabbing, has been off anti-psychotic medication since 2023 with no side effects, one doctor testified, while another said the longer she remains at Winnebago, "the harder it’s going to be to re-integrate."

"At this point I am in favor, or in support, of her petition for release. Specifically, I don't think she currently poses a significant risk of substantial harm to herself, others or to property damage," psychologist Brooke Lundbohm testified over Zoom.

Geyser previously withdrew her request to be released twice, while a third request was denied in April 2024.

Geyser and Anissa Weier are said to have lured Payton Leutner into the woods the morning after a birthday sleepover; all three girls were 12 at the time.

Geyser then viciously attacked Leutner with a kitchen knife while Weier egged her on, according to investigators. Geyser and Weier later confessed they committed the crime in order to please the fictional "Slender Man" character said to attack children with long tendrils sprouting from his back.

Geyser and Weier -- who both plotted the attack for more than five months -- were sentenced to a combined 65 years in a mental institution.

Speaking with 20/20 back in 2019, Leutner said, "Anissa told me to lie on the ground and cover myself in sticks and leaves and stuff to hide, in a sense. But it was really just a trick to get me down there."

After Geyser stabbed Leutner repeatedly, Leutner said Geyser and Weier left her alone in the woods, bleeding. But Leutner found the strength to seek help.

"I got up, grabbed a couple trees for support, I think, and then just walked until I hit a patch of grass where I could lay down," she said adding that she had no idea a bicyclist later found her and called 911. Doctors were able to successfully treat all of her injuries with emergency surgery.

Weier, at the age of 19 in 2021, was granted supervised release.

Stacie Leutner, Payton's mom, issued a statement ahead of the hearing.

"Morgan Geyser has withdrawn her request to be released twice. More recently, her 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.

The family hasn't said anything since the ruling.