Morgan Geyser Sentenced to 40 Years of State-Mandated Psychiatric Care for 'Slender Man' Stabbing

On Thursday, Morgan Geyser, 15, was sentenced to 40 years of state-mandated psychiatric supervision after pleading guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide as a part of a plea deal to avoid prison time in October. According to WBAY, Geyser will start her sentence at Winnebago Mental Health Institution, and will be eligible to switch to a less-restrictive care setting within six months depending on her progress.

In 2014, Geyser and her friend, Anissa Weier, both 12 at the time, attacked another 12-year-old girl. Geyser stabbed the girl while Weier encouraged it, according to investigators. Weier was sentenced to 25 years in a psychiatric hospital in December.

Geyser’s attorneys said she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychotic spectrum disorder, the Associated Press reported. These conditions can cause delusions and paranoid beliefs.

During the investigation, Geyser and Weier told police that they had to kill the girl in order to protect their families from Slender Man, a scary, fictional being created in 2009.

Though most people with a mental illness diagnosis, including schizophrenia, do not become violent, a lack of social support and treatment as well as substance abuse can increase someone with schizophrenia’s chances of becoming aggressive.

If this news is triggering for you, you are not alone. 

If you need support right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or reach the Crisis Text Line by texting “START” to 741-741.

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