More details revealed after attacker in ‘Slender Man' stabbing captured in Chicago suburb

A Wisconsin woman who admitted to nearly stabbing a classmate to death in 2014 at age 12 to please the online horror character “Slender Man” was found a Chicago suburb late Sunday, hours after she cut off her electronic monitoring device and left a group home, authorities said.

Madison police issued an alert Sunday morning for Morgan Geyser, now 23, saying she was last seen around 8 p.m. Saturday with an adult acquaintance. The department issued an update that Sunday evening that Geyser had been taken into custody in Illinois.

Geyser was found sleeping on the ground with a man at a Thornton’s truck stop in Posen, the Posen Police Department confirmed early Monday to NBC Chicago. She is set to be extradited to Cook County Jail Monday night.

Posen is about 25 miles south of Chicago, and about 170 miles south of Madison.

Geyser was placed in a group home this year after being granted conditional release from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute. She was sent to the psychiatric institute in 2018 after pleading guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in a deal with prosecutors to avoid prison.

Geyser’s attorney, Tony Cotton, said Sunday that he did not know what happened with his client and urged Geyser to turn herself in.

“We just heard the news that Morgan has walked away from the group home that she was housed at, “Cotton said, in a video posted to Instagram Sunday. “Obviously it’s in her best interest to turn herself in immediately and not continue with this course of action. We don’t know any of the facts about what happened or who might have assisted her, but certainly if there is somebody who is assisting her, that person will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. If anybody has contact with Morgan, hears from her, or if Morgan happens to see this, turn yourself in. Do not continue to remain on the run like this. It is not your best interest to handle this matter that way.”

The Madison Police Department said Sunday that it was not made aware that Geyser was missing until nearly 12 hours after she left the group home. The state Department of Corrections received an alert Saturday night that Geyser’s ankle monitor had malfunctioned. The department contacted the group home where she lived about two hours later and was told she was not there and had removed the bracelet, Madison police said.

The family of Geyser’s victim, Leutner, released the following statement Sunday night:

“Payton and her family are safe and are working closely with local law enforcement to ensure their continued safety. The family would like to thank all of the law enforcement entities involved in the efforts to apprehend Morgan,” the statement said. “The Leutner family also wish to thank the outpouring of support from family, friends, and well-wishers who have contacted them during this difficult time.”

What happened in the Slender Man stabbing case?

In 2014, Geyser, along with classmate Anissa Weier, lured then-12-year-old Payton Leutner to a wooded area near Waukesha, a suburb of Milwaukee, after a sleepover. While there, Geyser stabbed Leutner more than a dozen times while Weier egged her on.

Leutner, who was left for dead, was discovered by a passing bicyclist and taken to a hospital. She barely survived.

The girls later told investigators that they attacked Leutner to earn the right to be the fictional character Slender Man’s servants and they feared he’d harm their families if they didn’t follow through. According to prosecutors, the girls plotted the stabbing for months, and they told investigators they believed Slender Man had a mansion in a forest, and they planned to live with him after the attack.

Slender Man was created online by Eric Knudson in 2009 as a mysterious figure photo-edited into everyday images of children at play. He grew into a popular boogeyman, appearing in video games, online stories and a 2018 movie.

Geyser was found not guilty by mental disease or defect and was committed to a mental health institution. Geyser was released this year to live in a group home.

Weier pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree intentional homicide. She was also sent to the psychiatric center and granted release in 2021.

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