Slender Man Stabbing Trial: Girls Will Be Tried As Adults
The two girls who reportedly tried to murder a friend for the fictional character Slender Man will be tried as adults. ABC News reports that a judge ruled on Friday that the 12-year-old girls (who are now 13-years-old) will stand trial as adults after they tried to stab another 12-year-old girl to death. Their alleged victim, Payton Leutner, survived the horrific attack.
The judge’s decision didn’t come without protest. The attorneys representing both Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier want the charges against them to be dismissed — yes, dismissed — on the basis of belief. Their attorneys argue that the girls truly believed that they had to kill their friend to protect their loved ones from the fictional character of “Creepypasta” notoriety. The attorneys representing the Slender Man would-be killers say that the girls should instead face second degree attempted intentional homicide. The charges would not qualify for adult courts, and would be tried in the juvenile justice system. The judge didn’t buy into this argument.
However, both attorneys have filed motions requesting a hearing to consider moving the case back to juvenile court. The judge granted them that much, giving them scheduled hearings in May and June. It will probably be decided in those months as to whether or not these girls will truly stand trial as adults — at under 14-years-old each — in the attempted stabbing death of their 12-year-old friend.
This is just another hurdle in the upcoming trial surrounding the case. Back in December, 2014, it was decided that both Geyser and Weier were competent to stand trial. CNN reports that the girls were charged as adults in the first place due to the severity of the crime they reportedly committed.
Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier allegedly plotted, for months, the planned slaying of their friend and classmate, Payton Leutner. Under the guise of a girls’ sleepover, they lured Payton into their trap. During their sleepover, the girls reportedly led Payton into a wooded park area in Waukesha, Wisconsin. That is where they both began stabbing their classmate — landing at least 19 blows all over her body. They stabbed her over and over, barely missing her vital organs with each thrust of their knives. They then allegedly left their friend for dead, but their attempts at killing her to please Slender Man were unsuccessful.
Payton Leutner crawled from the secluded area where she was violently stabbed to an area where she could be discovered and given help. She dragged herself to safety while the blood drained from her body, coming within just minutes of death. Her survival was harrowing. Will she be given the justice she deserves?
[Photo: Courtroom photo via CNN]
