Pre-Teens Charged in Slender Man Case Deemed Fit to Stand Trial 

The two 12-year-old Wisconsin girls accused of stabbing a classmate 19 times to appease a mythical creature known as the Slender Man have been deemed competent by a judge to stand trial. They will both be charged as adults, at least initially, despite continued questions about their mental health: one of the girls told a psychologist before a previous hearing that she talks to unicorns and Voldemort.

Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier are accused of stabbing another girl the morning after a sleepover in May, an attack prosecutors alleged they planned for months.The girls were ruled competent in a hearing on Thursday, despite the revelation that Geyser has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. She was previously found incompetent in August. During the hearing, according to ABC, Dr. Brooke Lundbohm, a court-appointed psychologist told the court the girl believed she was in communication with a number of other mythical creatures:

Lundbohm said that Geyser spoke with her at length about fictional characters she believes in including unicorns, Slender Man, and Harry Potter villain Voldemort, who Geyser reportedly called “Voldy.” She added that Geyser claims that she has Vulcan Mind Control.

A state psychiatrist later found that Geyser is fit to proceed. She’s being held at a mental health facility until the preliminary hearings begin in February, while Weier is at a juvenile detention center. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, their defense attorneys will continue trying to have their case reversed to juvenile court. As adults, they face up to 60 years in prison; as juveniles, they’d likely stay in a secure facility until they turn 25.

One of the girls is escorted into court during a November hearing. A judge had ordered that their faces not be photographed. Image via AP.