By Adeola AdeosunShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberMorgan Geyser, who was convicted in the notorious 2014 Slender Man stabbing case, has gone missing after cutting off her Department of Corrections monitoring bracelet and leaving a Madison group home Saturday night. The 22-year-old was last seen around 8 p.m. near Kroncke Drive with an adult acquaintance, according to the Madison Police Department.
The Madison Police Department was notified of her disappearance Sunday morning. Her whereabouts remained unknown as of Sunday morning, prompting an active search by law enforcement.
Authorities have released security camera footage from the past month showing Geyser and are urging anyone who sees her to call 911 immediately.
Newsweek reached out to the Madison Police Department via email on Sunday comment.
...Why It Matters
The Slender Man stabbing case captured international attention when it occurred in Waukesha, Wisconsin, raising questions about internet culture's influence on vulnerable young people. The case involved two 12-year-old girls who stabbed their classmate 19 times in an attempt to appease the fictional online horror character Slender Man.
The story sparked widespread media coverage and public discourse about online content exposure for children, mental health treatment for young offenders, the justice system's handling of cases involving mentally ill juveniles.
The case inspired the 2016 HBO documentary Beware the Slenderman, several horror films exploring the character's cultural impact.
What To Know
The case dates back to May 2014, when Geyser and her best friend Anissa Weier invited classmate Payton Leutner to a sleepover and later lured her into the woods. Weier was instructed by Geyser to "go berserk," by stabbing Leutner. The two girls left their victim alone to die in the forest however Leutner survived the deadly attack.
Following the incident, both girls told investigators they carried out the stabbing to gain favor as servants of Slender Man, believing their families would be harmed if they failed to act. Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in 2018, was committed to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute due to mental illness.
After spending nearly seven years at the psychiatric facility, Geyser filed multiple petitions for release. Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren initially rejected her third petition in April, determining she still posed a public safety risk. However, following a day-long hearing in October, Bohren ruled in her favor in January 2025, concluding she had fully utilized available treatment at the facility.
The judge directed the state Department of Health Services to develop a supervised transition plan for her placement in a group home, subject to his approval within 60 days. Weier, who pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree intentional homicide, was released from psychiatric care in 2021, now lives with her father under court-ordered GPS monitoring.
What People Are Saying
Payton Leutner, victim, speaking to ABC's "20/20" in 2019: "After I heard why [Geyser] did it, I was like, 'Well, this doesn't surprise me at all because she believed so hard in this thing that she would do anything for it."
...What Happens Next?
Law enforcement continues searching for Geyser, urging the public to contact 911 with any information about her whereabouts.
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