A lady who has spent a decade in a mental health facility attempting to murder a friend in Wisconsin to please the mythical figure “Slender Man” has had her request for early release denied.
Following a two-day hearing, Judge Michael O. Bohren concluded on Thursday that the 21-year-old remains a “significant risk” to herself and others, despite assertions that she has made progress at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute.
“This isn’t just a case of someone driving into another car and driving away. This is a personal and savage attack on another individual. This is hands-on. “It is bloody and gory,” the judge stated as he concluded the hearing.
“That type of reckless behavior is what the risk is. Do we know if it will be repeated? We do not know. However, this court’s obligation is to guarantee that the risk is reduced.”
Geyser, who was 12 when she stabbed fellow sixth grader Payton Leutner 19 times on May 21, 2014, was seeking conditional release, which would have required supervision and an ongoing treatment plan.
Geyser and her companion Anissa Weier believed they had no choice but to assassinate Ms Leutner in order to protect themselves and their family from the mythical figure.
Weier was granted conditional release in 2021, with her GPS tracker removed in September 2023.
Over the last two days, clinicians who have treated and worked with Geyser have spoken about their contacts with her over a decade.
Two of those witnesses, Dr. Deborah Collins and Dr. Brooke Laudbohm, explained that in recent years, Geyser claimed she had fabricated her psychotic symptoms, which the doctor and others denied.
“She’s observed 24 hours a day, so it’s questionable that she would have been able to malinger and pull the wool over the eyes of so many mental health professionals,” the doctor said in court on Wednesday.
Dr. Laudbohm referred to documents indicating that Geyser spoke or laughed with herself on many occasions, most likely in response to the voices in her brain that she had previously claimed.
Both maintained that Geyser needed to do more to improve her mental health and that the hospital was the best place for her.
Dr. Kenneth Robbins, who has known Geyser for a decade, disagreed, saying that now was the time for her to be out in the community.
“As helpful as Winnebago has been and as skilled as their practitioners are, I think the downside of being there is significantly more worrisome than the advantages of being there at this point,” Dr. Robbins said in a statement.
His point of view was supported by a surprise witness called by the judge: Dr. Kayla Pope, who administers the institution that houses Geyser.
“I do think at this point she must make the transition into the community to help with her ongoing development,” the doctor went on to say.
Geyser’s attorney, Anthony Cotton, stated that even if the judge accepted her appeal today, she would not simply stroll out the door.
“She does not go anywhere today other than Winnebago, where she will remain at the mental health hospital for 60, 90, 120, however many days it takes or extensions they need for the hospital to come up with a release plan and submit it to the court,” Mr. Cotton went on to say.
The attorney added that Geyser would most certainly face decades of supervision once he returned to the community.
However, Judge Bohren eventually disagreed with such viewpoints.
In closing arguments, state attorney Ted Szczupakiewicz criticized Dr. Robbins, who stated in his report that this was a case with numerous victims.
“There are not many victims here, judge; there is only one victim. The victim in this case nearly died in 2014, according to the attorney.
“Morgan is not a victim in this case.”
The attorney stated that Ms. Leutner was the victim who will be a victim for the rest of her life, enduring the scars of the incident.
The judge, who first heard the case over ten years ago, appeared to concur, while also sounding uneasy with Geyser’s accusations that she feigned her symptoms.
“What we’re faced with at this point is that Ms Geyser is doing well in her program, that she needs socialisation, she needs some further work in that regard,” the judge went on to say.
“The other issue is that her credibility is under question. She has shifted her stance, and the reporter’s trustworthiness is essential to what assessments are made, how mental health professionals make choices, and how lawyers make conclusions,” he added.
“When you combine all of these factors, we get back to risk. At this point, this court is satisfied that Ms Geyser’s presence at the institution is jeopardized by the credibility question and that the risk remains high until that matter is resolved.”
Geyser may be granted another request for conditional release in six months, which doctors Collins and Laudbohm appeared to believe would give the offender adequate time to address the difficulties identified.