MADISON, Wis. (PulseWire) — A Wisconsin woman who admitted to fatally stabbing a classmate at age 12 to appease the online horror figure Slender Man has been captured in Illinois after fleeing from a group home.
On Sunday morning, Madison police issued an alert for Morgan Geyser, now 23, after she was reported missing around 8 p.m. Saturday. Authorities later confirmed that she had removed her electronic monitoring device and left the facility.
Geyser was found at a truck stop in Posen, Illinois—about 25 miles south of Chicago and 170 miles from Madison. A spokesperson for the Posen Police Department verified her arrest.
Earlier this year, Geyser had entered the group home following conditional release from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, where she was placed after pleading guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in 2018. This plea deal spared her from prison time, stemming from the 2014 incident where she and her friend, Anissa Weier, lured their classmate Payton Leutner into a park. Geyser stabbed Leutner multiple times while Weier encouraged her. Remarkably, Leutner survived the attack.
Geyser's attorney, Tony Cotton, expressed concern for his client, stating he was unaware of her whereabouts and imploring her to surrender. The Madison Police Department reported they were only notified of her absence nearly 12 hours after her escape, causing delays in the alert process.
The chilling narrative of the Slender Man case has highlighted the darker side of internet culture, showcasing how online personas can influence real-life actions. Slender Man originated in 2009 and evolved into a popular figure featured in various media, including films.
Unlike Geyser, Weier accepted a plea for attempted second-degree intentional homicide and was granted her release in 2021.
