The two 13-year-olds who, in May 2014, stabbed a classmate 19 times “because Slender Man told them to” are charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and will be tried as adults.
On Monday, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren ruled that Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier will not be tried as juveniles, and consequently could face sentences of up to 45 years behind bars. The judge decided to try the pair as adults because he felt that a juvenile trial—where they’d be facing extensive supervision until they turned 18 and only up to three years behind bars—would “unduly depreciate the seriousness of the offense.”
The girls were arrested the same day that they lured Payton Leutner to a sleepover for her 12th birthday and stabbed her repeatedly before leaving Leutner to bleed out in a nearby park.
They told police they were trying to impress or appease Slender Man, a fictional Internet character they believed could kill them or their families if they didn’t kill their friend. They said they hoped to join Slender Man in his mansion in the Nicolet National Forest.
A bicyclist found Leutner, who recovered from her extensive injuries in time enough to start seventh grade last year.