A Wisconsin jury this week will begin weighing whether a girl accused in the stabbing of a classmate to please the horror character Slender Man was mentally ill at the time.
Prosecutors say Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser lured Payton Leutner into a Waukesha park and stabbed her 19 times in 2014. All three girls were 12 at the time.
Weier pleaded guilty in August to attempted second-degree homicide but maintains she’s not responsible due to a mental disease or defect. Attorneys on both sides will begin selecting jurors on Monday to decide whether she was suffering from a mental defect.
News with a little more humanity
WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” newsletter keeps you connected to the state you love without feeling overwhelmed. No paywall. No agenda. No corporate filter.
A plea agreement calls for Weier to spend at least three years in a mental hospital if she’s found to have been mentally ill and 10 years in prison if she’s not.
© Copyright 2025 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
