A Wisconsin judge on Thursday granted early parole for Morgan Geyser, who was convicted of stabbing his childhood friend more than a decade ago.
Geyser, then 12, along with Anissa Weier, stabbed another girl, Payton Leutner, 19 times to appease the fictional horror character Slender Man back in 2014.
The now 22-year-old was originally committed Winnebago Mental Health Institute to a maximum of 40 years of state mental health supervision after being found not guilty by reason of mental illness in 2018.
Geyser was back in court Thursday, seeking to be released from a state psychiatric hospital after her previous request was denied in April. Geyser’s latest petition for release is the fourth time in two years that she has sought to be released from the facility, although she withdrew her first two petitions.
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Morgan Geyser appears in the Waukesha County Courtroom Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Morgan Geyser appears in the Waukesha County Courtroom Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Waukesha County District Judge Michael Bohren found that Geyser had maximized her treatment options at the facility and ordered the state Department of Health Services to create a plan for supervision and placement in a group home, subject to his approval at a hearing within 60 days.
Several doctors examined Geyser to see if she had done enough progress for parole.
dr. Brooke Lundbohm, who has a long history of working with Geyser and has previously said Geyser is not yet ready for parole, reversed course during Thursday’s hearing and testified in support of Geyser’s release.
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“As of March 2024 … there were still some ongoing concerns about emotional regulation and anxiety-induced responses to unfamiliar triggers that were reminiscent of her trauma. There is nothing in the record since that time to suggest continuing symptoms that once plagued her , like crying spells, anxiety attacks, periods of dissociation,” Lundbohm testified.
“In 2021, there were some ongoing issues related to her report of hearing disturbances that she specifically described as demonic, but there has been nothing of the sort for the last… three years.”
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Morgan Geyser appears in the Waukesha County Courtroom Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Payton Leutner’s mother wrote in a letter to the judge at Weier’s trial that her daughter “will struggle with the events of that day and the physical and emotional scars it left for the rest of her life.” (Facebook)
Prosecutors said Geyser and Weier lured Leutner to wooded area in Waukesha after sleeping in May 2014, and then Geyser repeatedly stabbed Leutner, as Weier urged her to do.
Leutner left for dead but survived attack after she crawled out of the woods and was found by a cyclist.
“Her current understanding is that she experienced a fantasy associated with these various fictional characters and within the context of her mental illness, the fantasy essentially became blurred with reality, where she found it difficult to distinguish between what was essentially fiction and what was real “, Lundbohm testified about Geyser’s current understanding of her crime.
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Morgan Geyser appears in the Waukesha County Courtroom Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Anissa Weier (left) and Morgan Geyser (right) lured Payton Leutner into the woods in a park in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha in 2014 and assaulted her, prosecutors said. (AP)
Lundbohm said she supports paroleing Geyser into a treatment program, adding, “I wouldn’t support her request for parole if it was basically just going out into the community without a variety of support services and the ability to effectively monitor her behavior, her relationships. ”
During the hearing, it was revealed that Geyser had been allowed to go to Starbucks, museums and other outings from the facility in recent months, and Lundbohm testified that she did not believe Geyser posed a risk to her or others during those outings.
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Lunbohm attributed Geyser’s progress to a “combination of factors,” including maturity and Geyser’s suicide attempt in October 2021. She also confirmed that Geyser is taking antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs.
“She continued to take treatment more seriously and was consistently engaged and invested in it,” Lundbohm testified. “Over the last … eight, nine, ten months, there has been a noticeable improvement in her understanding of her mental health.”
WISCONSIN WOMAN ACCUSED OF STABBING “SLIM MAN” REQUESTS EARLY DISCHARGE FROM MENTAL ASSOCIATION
Morgan Geyser was taken into custody with blood stains on her jacket. (Waukesha Police)
Geyser was committed to a mental institution for mental illness after pleading guilty to attempted first-degree murder. Weier was also committed to a psychiatric facility after pleading guilty to attempted second-degree murder.
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Weier was granted parole in September 2021 and required to receive outpatient psychiatric treatment and undergo GPS monitoring.
Fox News’ Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
