On May 31, 2014, two 12-year-olds tricked their friend, who was also 12, into going to a wooded area of Davids Park in Waukesha, Wisconsin. There, they tried to kill and offer her as a sacrifice to the Slender Man, a fictional supernatural creature from online horror stories. The victim, Payton Isabella Leutner, was stabbed 19 times but survived after a cyclist found her and called for help.
The two girls involved, Anissa E. Weier (born November 10, 2001) and Morgan E. Geyser (born May 16, 2002), said they believed in the Slender Man and thought killing Leutner would please him and prove he was real. In 2017, Weier and Geyser were tried as adults. Both were found not guilty because they were not mentally well at the time and were sent to special mental health centers. Weier was sentenced to 25 years in prison and was released in 2021 to live with her father. Geyser was sentenced to 40 years and was released in 2025 to live in a group home, where she will stay under supervision until 2025.
The attack caused people to discuss how the Internet affects children and raised concerns about the Slender Man meme. The event inspired a documentary called Beware the Slenderman, a movie named Mercy Black, and several books. In 2019, Leutner said she was recovering and that the attack inspired her to become a doctor. In November 2025, Geyser removed a tracking bracelet and ran away from her group home but was caught the next day in Posen, Illinois, and taken back into custody.
Background
Morgan Geyser and Payton Isabella Leutner (also known as Bella, a name she used when the crime happened) were childhood friends from Waukesha, Wisconsin. They later became friends with Anissa Weier, a neighbor from the same town. Weier grew very close to Geyser because they lived in the same apartment building and shared an interest in creepypasta, which includes stories about supernatural characters like Slender Man. Leutner reportedly found Slender Man frightening. Investigators were told that Geyser and Weier became very interested in Slender Man as early as September 2013.
As their interest in Slender Man grew, Geyser and Weier believed the character was real and would harm them and their families unless they offered him a sacrifice. They planned to kill Leutner to prove that Slender Man was real. Earlier, they had planned to kill Leutner while she was sleeping or in a bathroom, but they never carried out those plans.
Events of the attack
On May 31, 2014, during a game of hide-and-seek in heavily wooded Davids Park near Waukesha, Wisconsin, Geyser and Weier pinned Leutner down and stabbed her 19 times in the arms, legs, and torso with a five-inch-long (13 cm) blade. She suffered two stab wounds to major organs. One wound narrowly missed a major artery, and another went through her diaphragm, cutting into her liver and stomach.
After the attack, Weier and Geyser told Leutner to lie down while they sought help, which they did not do. Leutner dragged herself to a nearby road, where she was found by a cyclist who called emergency services. Surgeons operated for six hours to treat critical trauma to arteries and tissue in her torso and abdomen. Operating surgeon Dr. John Kelemen said that "If the knife had gone the width of a human hair further, she wouldn't have lived." Leutner left the hospital seven days after the attack. She returned to school in September 2014. In a 2019 interview, Leutner reported lingering trauma from the attack and said that she sleeps with broken scissors from fear of being attacked again.
Five hours after the attack, police apprehended Weier and Geyser near a Steinhafels furniture store on Interstate 94, approximately 4.9 miles (7.9 km) from the attack location. Police found the knife they used in a bag they were carrying. The children said they were traveling to Chequamegon–Nicolet National Forest, 200 miles (320 km) away, to meet the Slender Man at his home, which they called "Slender Mansion."
Police investigation and pre-trial psychiatric evaluations
During the police investigation and mental health checks before trial, Geyser shared that she had seen visual and auditory hallucinations since childhood. These included seeing figures she believed were ghosts, colors moving along walls, and imaginary friends named Maggie and Sev. One common hallucination was a man she called "It," whose body looked like smoke and ink. She saw "It" standing behind her in mirrors or moving around corners.
After Geyser was arrested, her mother, Angie Geyser, described her as being very mentally ill. Correctional officers noted that Geyser often talked to herself, pretended to be a cat, and kept ants as pets. She said she saw unicorns and had conversations with fictional characters like Slender Man, Severus Snape, Lord Voldemort, and one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
In the fall of 2014, Geyser was moved to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute to determine if she was able to understand the trial process. On October 22, 2014, doctors diagnosed her with early-onset childhood schizophrenia.
Geyser’s treatment for schizophrenia was inconsistent and not enough for 20 months, which likely made her psychosis and delusions worse. In November 2015, she began a steady, long-term treatment with antipsychotic medicine, which helped her feel guilt and regret about the crime. On March 23, 2016, Geyser was sent back to the county jail to wait for trial. Although she was properly medicated, her mental health worsened due to the stress of being confined.
During the trial, Geyser was sent back to the Winnebago Institute.
Court case and negotiations
In 2017, Geyser and Weier were tried for crimes that led to their cases being moved from juvenile court to adult court. Weier was charged with attempted second-degree homicide, a serious crime classified as a Class B felony. She admitted to being involved in the crime but was found not guilty by reason of mental illness. She received a sentence of 25 years, which included at least three years in a state psychiatric facility, followed by supervision until she turned 37.
Geyser was charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide, a more severe crime classified as a Class A felony. She agreed to a plea deal that avoided a trial if she admitted guilt and agreed to psychiatric evaluations. She admitted guilt but was also found not guilty by reason of mental illness, as she was diagnosed with early-onset schizophrenia. She received the maximum sentence of 40 years in a state psychiatric facility.
On March 10, 2021, Weier, who was 19 at the time, wrote to the court expressing regret for the harm she caused. She said she no longer hated herself for her actions but acknowledged the pain she had caused. On July 1, 2021, a judge ordered her release from the Winnebago Institute, requiring state officials to create a plan for her supervised release. She was to live under supervision until she turned 37, with conditions such as GPS monitoring and restrictions on contact with her victim until 2039.
On September 13, 2021, Weier was released with strict rules, including GPS tracking, limited internet use, and mandatory psychiatric medication. She was required to live with her father and attend counseling. In 2023, the GPS monitoring requirement was removed.
In 2020, Geyser asked an appeals court to be retried as a juvenile but was denied. Her lawyer argued that the charges should have been less severe and that she had spoken before being informed of her rights. A request to the Wisconsin Supreme Court to review the decision was also denied.
In January 2024, Geyser, who was 21 at the time, asked to be released from the Winnebago Institute. A judge denied the request in April 2024, but in January 2025, a court approved a hearing after three psychologists reported progress in her treatment. At the same time, Geyser publicly identified as a transgender man. In February 2025, her release hearing was canceled due to new claims that she had communicated violently with someone outside the facility and read a book with violent themes. Her lawyer denied these claims, and the psychologists maintained she was ready for release. A new hearing was scheduled for March 24, 2025, then moved to April 28, 2025.
On July 17, 2025, a judge approved a plan for Geyser’s release. She was to live in a group home and remain under supervision until 2058, with regular check-ins to assess her mental health. Initial attempts to place her in group homes were denied due to proximity to her victim or concerns about the facility’s location. She was eventually placed in a group home in Madison.
On November 23, 2025, Geyser disappeared from her group home in Madison. She cut off her monitoring bracelet and left the previous evening. Police found her in Posen, Illinois, with a friend the next day. Both gave false names initially but later provided their legal names. Geyser had met her friend at a church and complained about being mistreated in her group home. The friend allegedly visited Geyser multiple times against rules and helped plan an escape to Nashville by bus. After escaping, they traveled to Chicago and then to Posen, where they ran out of money. The friend was charged with trespassing and obstructing identification but was released. Both are expected to face a court hearing.
Geyser’s friend told reporters that Geyser left because of her and that she believed she was acting correctly. The Wisconsin Department of Corrections is seeking to cancel Geyser’s release due to her escape.
Aftermath
After the attack, the Waukesha School District blocked access to Creepypasta Wiki, a website that contains most of the information about Slender Man. On June 5, 2014, Eric Knudsen, the creator of Slender Man, released a message expressing sorrow: "I am deeply saddened by the tragedy in Wisconsin, and my heart goes out to the families of those affected by this terrible act."
Sloshedtrain, a former administrator of Creepypasta Wiki, said the stabbing was a single event that did not reflect the values of the community. He also stated that the Wiki is a website for creative writing and that its community does not support violence or harmful activities. A message was posted on the Wiki stating that Slender Man and horror stories were not responsible for the attack. On June 13–14, 2014, members of the community held a 24-hour live stream on YouTube to raise money for Leutner. Joe Jozwowski, an administrator of another website called Creepypasta Network, who lived in Waukesha at the time of the attack, said the event aimed to show that the community cared for the victim and did not support real-world violence.
Governor Scott Walker issued a statement declaring August 13, 2014, "Purple Hearts for Healing Day," and encouraged people in Wisconsin to wear purple to honor Leutner. He also praised her strength and determination during her recovery. On August 29, 2014, Madison, Wisconsin, held a one-day bratwurst festival to raise money for Leutner’s medical costs. The event was organized by over 250 volunteers and raised more than $70,000.
On October 24, 2019, Leutner, then 17 years old, spoke publicly for the first time to ABC’s 20/20. She said she did not think much of her scars, explaining they might fade over time. She described meeting and becoming friends with Geyser in fourth grade to help her feel less alone. She also said that Weier, who Geyser introduced to her, had seemed jealous of their friendship. When asked what she would say if she saw Geyser again, Leutner said she would thank her because the attack inspired her to pursue a career in medicine. She expressed her hope to "put everything behind me and live my life normally."
The stabbing led to widespread discussion about the role of the Internet in society and its effects on children. Waukesha Police Chief Russell P. Jack said the attack "should be a wake-up call for all parents" because, while the Internet has "wonderful sites that teach and entertain," it can also contain "dark and wicked things."
John Egelhof, a retired FBI agent, said the Internet has become a "black hole" that could expose children to harmful content. He suggested parents should monitor their children’s online activity and teach them about right and wrong. Shira Chess, an assistant professor at the University of Georgia, said stories like creepypasta are no more dangerous than tales about vampires or zombies and that such websites can be beneficial as creative writing communities.
The stabbing caused a nationwide concern about Slender Man across the United States. The attack and the negative media coverage changed the Slender Man legend and the online community around it. Parents became worried about the potential dangers of Slender Man stories for children. Russell Jack, the police chief of Waukesha, warned that the Slender Man stabbing "should be a wake-up call for all parents" that "the Internet is full of dark and wicked things." Many media outlets shared his warning.
In June 2014, an unidentified woman from Cincinnati, Ohio, told a TV reporter that her 13-year-old daughter had attacked her with a knife and had written dark fiction, some involving Slender Man, whom the mother said inspired the attack. On September 4, 2014, a 14-year-old girl in Port Richey, Florida, allegedly set her family’s home on fire while her mother and a younger brother were inside. Police reported that the teenager had been reading online stories about Slender Man and a manga called Soul Eater. Eddie Daniels of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office said the girl "had visited the website that contains a lot of the Slender Man information and stories […] It would be safe to say there is a connection to that."
During an early 2015 increase in suicide attempts by young people aged 12 to 24 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Slender Man was cited as an influence. The president of the Oglala Sioux tribe noted that many Native Americans traditionally believe in a "suicide spirit" similar to Slender Man.
Depictions in popular culture
The 2018 movie Slender Man caused controversy after it was announced. Some people accused the filmmakers of using the real-life stabbing of Anissa Weier. Sony officials said the film was not based on the stabbing but on the Slender Man legend. Anissa’s father, Bill Weier, called the film “extremely distasteful” and asked local theaters not to show it. A petition on the website Care2 asking for the film to be canceled got more than 19,000 signatures. Marcus Theatres did not screen the film in Milwaukee and Waukesha. After the film was released, Bloody Disgusting reported that Screen Gems required the producers to get a PG-13 rating. Some scenes were cut because of concerns about public reaction, which led to mistakes in the film’s story. The film received mostly negative reviews.
A documentary called Beware the Slenderman, about the stabbing, was released by HBO Films in March 2016 and shown on HBO in January 2017. A Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode titled “Glasgowman’s Wrath,” which aired in November 2014, was loosely based on the event. A Criminal Minds episode called “The Tall Man,” which aired in October 2018, was also inspired by the story. An episode of The Rookie titled “Chaos Agent” included a subplot based on the stabbing.
A fictional movie called Terror in the Woods, inspired by the stabbing, aired on Lifetime in October 2018. Another movie, Mercy Black, was released on Netflix in March 2019. On September 1, 2022, author Kathleen Hale published a non-fiction book titled Slenderman: A Tragic Story of Online Obsession and Mental Illness, which was based on interviews with Anissa’s mother and others. The book received positive reviews.