A Wisconsin woman who tried to kill her 12-year-old classmate is released despite claiming that she still has a “red flag” about her actions.
The judge ruled that 22-year-old Morgan Geyser could continue with planned conditional release from the Wisconsin Mental Health Institute and reject a last-minute petition from the state health department seeking that she remain in custody.
This decision comes after Geiser's defense team failed attempts to release her.
Authorities asked Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Boren to reverse the initial decision after ordering Geiser's release in January.
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Morgan Geyser will be brought to Waukesha County Circuit Court on April 11, 2024 for hearing. (Scott Ash/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
In 2017, Geyser pleaded guilty to a first-degree intentional murder attempt with the violent stab wounds of Payton Reutner, but claimed he was not liable for his mental illness. She told investigators she tried to kill Lautner to please the horror character Slenderman and was ultimately found not guilty on grounds of mental flaws.
Geyser's defense team and state prosecutors did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Dr. Gail Saltz, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, told Fox News Digital. “The standard is an identifiable disease that affects your ability to understand that what you are doing is wrong and that you have the ability to understand that. It's true regardless of age. So it's a very high standard.”
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Morgan Geiser was brought to Waukesha County Circuit Court on April 10, 2024 for motion. (Scott Ash/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Geiser and her friend Anissa Wire were 12 years old when she lured Lautner into a wooded park during a sleepover in May 2014.
Lautner miraculously survived the attack.
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Geyser has been detained at the Winneba Gogol Mental Health Institute for the past seven years. She was initially sentenced to 40 years in a mental hospital and was allowed to ask the court to consider conditional release every six months.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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Anthony Cotton is in discussion with client Morgan Geyser after the conditional release petition was denied in Waukesha County Circuit Court on April 11, 2024. (Scott Ash/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Health officials asked Bolen to reconsider, citing his relationship with Geiser with the man who collected murder memorabilia. Prosecutors also said Geyser failed to let her treatment team know about the violent books she was reading.
Geyser's defense attorney Tony Cotton rebutted the claim, informing center staff that they were aware that the collector had visited Geyser three times in June 2023, and that she was aware that she only read books permitted by the care team. Cotton adds that she broke things after Geiser discovered she was selling the items she sent him.
“Morgan isn't that dangerous today,” Cotton said.
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Waukesha County Deputy District Attorney Abbey Rep. Nickory asks psychology expert Dr. Brooklandbaugh at the Morgan Geiser exercise hearing in Waukesha County Circuit Court on April 10, 2024. (Scott Ash/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Boren also heard testimony from three psychologists who first recommended the release of the geyser at a hearing in January.
While Geyser's obvious interest in violent topics is about prosecutors, experts say some individuals may be drawn to material that provides controlled ways to indulge in pathological curiosity.
“This is a grey zone in the sense that a lot of people are taking part in and reading violent material as a way of thinking about such fantasy material,” Salz said. “Horror movies have a sadistic, masochistic impulse where many people are satisfied with reading and watching this kind of material.”
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Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Boren will preside on the second day of the Morgan Geyser motion hearing on April 11, 2024. (Scott Ash/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
However, agency officials argue that Geyser is dangerous to the community, citing the book “Rent Boy,” which features topics such as black market murder and organ sales.
Prosecutors told Bolen that they believed it was a concern when Geiser was told she had disclosed the information when she faced her care team.
“There's a real concern in the state that these things are frankly, and there's just a red flag at this point,” Nicoley, the Waukesha County Deputy District Attorney Abbey, said at a hearing last month.
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Morgan Geiser will be led by Waukesha County Circuit Court after the conditional release petition was denied April 11, 2024. (Scott Ash/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
While pathological curiosity may be normal for some, experts believe that people with a violent past may be affected by material about their crimes.
“Thinking is not comparable to actions,” Salz said. “That's said, [with] Those who commit the action, we are worried that in the end they will really increase the urge to do something [want] It leads to actions that are considered problematic. ”
Despite the state's plea to continue institutionalizing Geiser, Boren decides she is no longer a danger to society. Her next court appearance is scheduled for April 28th, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
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Morgan Geyser will appear in the courtroom of Waukesha County, Waukesha, Wisconsin on January 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
“There are a lot of people committing horrific attacks with the intention of killing time and serving time. The review is that they acknowledge their crimes. [Geyser] Clearly, Saltz told Fox News Digital. So I'm saying this isn't a completely unique situation. ”
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Wire also pleaded guilty to being a party attempting second-degree intentional murder using dangerous weapons and was sentenced to 25 years in a mental hospital. In 2021, she was released on the condition that she had to live with her father and wear a GPS monitor.
Weier's attorneys did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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“We've got to think about the victims in this case as well,” Salz said. “The attack was incredibly traumatic, but at the end of the day it's very rare to essentially lock a 12-year-old.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
