A judge in Wisconsin has ruled that a 12-year-old girl accused of stabbing a classmate to appease an Internet horror character called Slender Man is not competent enough to stand trial.
According to a decision from Waukesha County Judge Michael Bohren, Morgan Geyser, one of two girls who allegedly nearly stabbed a friend to death, is too mentally ill to understand the charges that have been brought up against her. Geyser and her friend Anissa Weier allegedly plotted for months to kill a friend as part of a ritual for the Slender Man meme. The victim, whose identity has been withheld, survived the attack last May 31. She was stabbed 19 times in a wooded area outside of Milwaukee.
Geyser, who has been charged as an adult, will be sent to the state's Department of Health Services for evaluation. After Geyser undergoes treatment, Bohren will review her case at a hearing set for November 12.
According to reports, Brooke Lundbohm, one of the experts who interviewed Geyser, said that she exhibited disturbing behavior, and professed a belief in fictional characters. She was said to have laughed hysterically for no reason. She also talked to a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and Voldemort, and insisted in the existence of unicorns and the Slender Man. She also said that she had the power of "Vulcan mind control." The psychiatrist who examined Geyser said that she may have suffered from an undiagnosed mental illness.
Kenneth Robbins, one of the experts who interviewed Geyser, said that when he first met the suspect, he was surprised that she seemed almost giddy at times. She also seemed unconcerned about possibly going to prison, saying that her mind control powers can help her "feel whatever she likes."
He also testified that Geyser interacted with fictional characters as if they were in the room.
"They're present. She can see them. They have conversations back and forth," Robbins said.
The psychiatrists shot down the notion that Geyser may have been faking insanity during her interviews. The experts said that there are no signs of "malingering" and expressed doubt that someone her age can fool mental health professionals.
If psychiatrists cannot prepare Geyser for trial in a year's time, she will be sent to a mental health treatment center.
