Morgan Geyser: Mother of ‘Slender Man Stabber’ Opens Up For The First Time, Fears For Daughter’s Future
The mother of Morgan Geyser, the teen girl who allegedly stabbed a classmate to make the fictional character “Slender Man” proud, worries for her daughter’s conscience as medical treatment continues helps the teen understand her actions. She feels that Morgan won’t be able to handle what she did to her peer as her mental clarity becomes more aware.
The Journal Sentinel reports that Angie Geyser, 36, Morgan’s mother, is satisfied with the treatment her daughter has received so far; medical intervention for the early onset of schizophrenia. She indicated that as soon as Morgan’s medication began to kick in, “a light switch went on” for the 14-year-old, who was only 12 when she stabbed a classmate in 2014.
Mother of Morgan Geyser, girl charged in SlenderMan stabbing, opens up about her daughter, via @ProofHearsay. https://t.co/OyPPyhnjl8
— Christopher Kuhagen (@ckuhagen) June 23, 2016
“When the medication finally worked, it was like a switch went on, like ‘There you are! Where have you been?’ [But] with lucidity comes awareness of the gravity of the situation.”
Due to Morgan’s mental state when the crime occurred, her defense attorney plans to use an insanity defense to help keep her out of prison.
In Waukesha, Wisconsin, on May 31, 2014, Morgan and her friend, Anissa Weier, lured classmate Payton Leutner into the woods during a sleepover, where the two girls reportedly stabbed the other child at least 19 times, in an attempt to impress a fictional character called Slender Man.
The victim survived the stabbing after crawling out of woods and onto a sidewalk before falling unconscious. A cyclist in the area discovered the girl and called 911.
Authorities arrived at Morgan’s home shortly after the victim was taken to the hospital, but according to Angie Geyser, they wouldn’t tell her what was going on, only that a girl was hurt. Morgan’s parents went down to the police station but had no idea how serious the incident was until a police officer met with them in the lobby and explained what happened.
Recalling the incident, Angie remembered that she cried uncontrollably when she heard what her daughter was accused of.
“I sobbed. I ran to the bathroom and threw up. It didn’t seem possible.”
The two girls were subsequently arrested. Both have been in the Washington County Juvenile Detention Center on $500,000 bail each, until recently, when a judge ordered Morgan to be transferred to a mental hospital to continue treatment for schizophrenia. Morgan was previously transferred back and forth between the detention center and hospital.
The mother of Slender Man defendant Morgan Geyser speaks out in this exclusive interview: https://t.co/8oPG7TSpXj pic.twitter.com/BXoGNr2x3M
— Journal Sentinel (@journalsentinel) June 21, 2016
After watching her daughter go through a grueling ordeal within the legal system, Angie Geyser is now advocating for juvenile justice reform.
“I was shocked to learn 12-year-olds could be charged as adults. Some of the comments on stories say ‘Adult crime, adult time.’ These are children.”
Since both girls are charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide, they are both at risk of being tried as adults. Wisconsin law allows anyone over the age of 10 to possibly face adult sentencing if they’re charged with intentional homicide or attempted intentional homicide.
If the girls are tried as juveniles, they’ll likely serve their time out in a juvenile detention facility, followed by supervised community service upon their release at age 18. Should they be tried as adults, they face over 45 years in prison if found guilty. Angie Geyser is hoping that her child will be tried as a juvenile. She indicated that she thinks many others hope for the same thing, albeit silently.
“There’s some feeling that if you show compassion for the girls, you’re somehow lessening what happen to Bella.”
In the meantime, Angie still reflects on her parenting skills and still second-guesses not seeing signs of Morgan Geyser’s mental illness beforehand.
“A big part of parenting in general is second-guessing. ‘How didn’t I know she was sick?’ There were no glaring, obvious signs she was ill.”
[Photo by AP/Waukesha Freeman, Charles Auer, Pool]
