A Wisconsin woman is set to be released from a mental health facility over ten years after she nearly killed her classmates, following a judge’s ruling on Thursday.
Waukesha County Circuit Judge Scott Wagner has greenlit a conditional release plan for Morgan Geiser, who is now 22 years old, from the Winneba Gogh Mental Health Institute, where she spent the last seven years.
Another judge determined she could be let go in January after three experts testified about her significant progress with her mental health issues.
In April, prosecutors contested Geiser’s initial release plan when the mother of one of the victims, Payton Lautner, expressed worries about Geiser’s new residence being just eight miles from her daughter. The judge then requested the Department of Health Services to propose a revised plan, which was accepted on Thursday.
The specifics of the plan and the timeline for her release were not disclosed in court, and Geiser’s attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.
Geiser and her friend Anissa Weier had invited Lautner to Waukesha Park back in 2014.
During the attack, Geiser stabbed Lautner 19 times, while Weier helped. All three girls were just 12 years old then.
Following the assault, they fled but were caught walking along Interstate 94.
They told authorities that they believed they were required to attack Lautner to become servants of the “Slender Man,” a fictional character, fearing harm would come to their families if they didn’t comply.
According to them, they had intended to walk to the Slender Man’s mansion in northern Wisconsin after the attack.
Lautner narrowly escaped death. Geiser ultimately pleaded guilty in 2017 to a charge related to attempting first-degree intentional murder but claimed her mental illness should absolve her of responsibility.
The next year, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Boren committed her to a psychiatric hospital for 40 years.
State health officials later raised concerns about her reliability after discovering that Geiser had not informed her therapist about reading a book related to murder and illicit organ trafficking.
They also claimed she had exchanged messages with someone who collected murder memorabilia and had sent him a postcard expressing a desire for a personal connection.
Geiser’s attorney argued that she only read materials allowed by the facility and that the staff was aware of her communication with the collector.
He mentioned that she had stopped communicating with him in 2024 upon learning she was selling what she had sent. Judge Boren decided she wasn’t attempting to hide anything and instructed health officials to keep developing the release strategy.
Wagner took over the decision-making process regarding Geiser’s release following Judge Boren’s departure in April.
Weier had pleaded guilty in 2017 to a lesser charge of attempting second-degree intentional murder, insisting that Geiser was mentally unfit and therefore not accountable for her actions.
Weier had spent 25 years in a mental institution but was allowed to leave in 2021, after living with her father and consenting to wear a GPS monitor.
This incident has drawn significant media coverage, largely because of the girls’ fascination with the “Slender Man” character, created online in 2009 by Eric Knudson. He is often depicted as a tall, thin figure in a suit with a distinct white face, becoming a notable figure in folklore, games, and films.
