In a dramatic turn of events, the state of Wisconsin is moving to revoke the conditional release of Morgan Geyser, the woman convicted of nearly killing her sixth-grade classmate in 2014 under the influence of the fictional horror figure, Slender Man. This decision comes after Geyser’s recent escape from a group home, which has raised significant concerns among authorities.
On Wednesday, a judge in Waukesha County Circuit Court sealed a petition filed by the Department of Corrections. This petition, submitted late on Tuesday, calls for the revocation of Geyser’s conditional release. Earlier this year, she was granted permission by the court to leave a state mental institution and transition to living in a group home.
The situation took a serious turn when Geyser reportedly removed her GPS monitoring bracelet and fled the group home in Madison, Wisconsin, on Saturday night. She was accompanied by a 43-year-old individual. Her escape led to a search that ended when police located her near Chicago on Sunday night, approximately 170 miles away from Madison.
In a court appearance in Chicago on Tuesday, Geyser did not contest her extradition back to Wisconsin. By Wednesday afternoon, she was booked into the Waukesha County Jail.
While Geyser’s attorney, Tony Cotton, has yet to comment on the recent move to revoke her release, the legal proceedings continue. A motion hearing on this matter has been scheduled for December 22.
The judge set a motion hearing for Dec. 22.
If Geyser’s conditional release is revoked, she could be sent back to the mental institution where she spent most of the past eight years. She also could face new charges in connection with her escape.
Geyser’s companion has been charged with trespassing and obstruction, but The Associated Press isn’t naming the companion because the person hasn’t been charged with aiding Geyser’s escape. The AP’s attempts to contact that person have been unsuccessful.
The companion did call WKOW-TV on Monday, however, saying the two became friends at church and had seen each other daily for the past month. Geyser decided to flee because she was afraid her group home would no longer allow them to see each other, the person said.
“She ran because of me,” the friend told the television station.
Geyser and her companion took a bus overnight into Illinois, the friend said.
Geyser and her friend, Anissa Weier, lured one of their classmates, Payton Leutner, to a Waukesha park in 2014. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times, narrowly missing her heart, while Weier cheered her on. All three girls were 12 years old at the time. Leutner barely survived.
Geyser and Weier later told investigators they attacked Leutner in hopes of impressing Slender Man and becoming his servants. They said they were afraid Slender Man would hurt their families if they didn’t carry out the attack.
Slender Man was created online by Eric Knudson in 2009 as a mysterious figure photo-edited into everyday images of children at play. He grew into a popular boogeyman, appearing in video games, online stories and a 2018 movie.
Both Geyser and Weier were ultimately committed to a state mental institution – Geyser for 40 years and Weier for 25. Wisconsin law allows people committed to state institutions to petition for release. Weier earned conditional release in 2021. Geyser, now 23, won conditional release in September after four requests and was placed in the group home.
State health officials tried to block her release in March, telling the judge that Geyser didn’t volunteer to her therapy team that she had read “Rent Boy,” a novel about murder and selling organs on the black market. They also alleged that she has been communicating with a man who collects murder memorabilia, and has sent him her own sketch of a decapitated body and a postcard saying she wants to be intimate with him.
The judge concluded that Geyser wasn’t trying to hide anything and proceeded with her release, which was finalized in September.
ABC7 Chicago contributed to this report.
Bauer reported from Madison, Wisconsin.
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