Transgender Slender Man stabber Morgan Geyser to be released from prison despite victim Payton Leutner’s pleas

A judge has granted Slender Man stabber Morgan Geyser supervised release in a dramatic decision that goes against the wishes of the victim’s family.

Geyser and Anissa Weier were 12 when they attacked Payton Leutner, also 12, in a sickening attack that shocked America in 2014.

The teenage defendant, now 22, has been held in a psychiatric facility for years, but today a judge released her on conditions.

A psychiatrist also told the court that Geyser is now transgender and identifies as male.

Leutner miraculously survived the attack, which was inspired by the creepy fictional character Slender Man.

On Thursday, Geyser appeared in court with close-cropped hair, after attending a hearing in April 2024 with a partially shaved head.

A psychologist who testified at Thursday’s hearing said Geyser now identifies as a transgender man.

Leutner’s family hoped the judge would keep Geyser in custody.

“Morgan Geyser has withdrawn her request for release twice. Her request was recently denied.

“We are confident that the justice system will make a decision that will keep the community and my daughter safe,” the family said in a statement.

Geyser will remain stuck for another 60 days.

On the tenth anniversary of the attack, Geyser told doctors she was no longer identified as a woman, the court psychologist revealed today.

“On May 31, 2024, the 10-year anniversary of the index violation, Ms. Geyser indicated to her treatment staff that she identifies as a transgender man,” Dr. Brooke Lundbohm said, before clarifying that she was using female pronouns for Geyser. ‘to be consistent with the collateral data.’

“In her treatment records, she is now identified with male pronouns and a separate name,” Lundbohm continued.

She also said Geyser now uses a chest binder.

Lundbohm said her treatment team found no evidence that Geyser had psychosis or another mental condition that inspired the change in gender identity.

“This is a process that has been going on for quite some time,” Lundbohm testified.

Geyser appeared in court Thursday to ask Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren for parole from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, the hospital where she has been since being sentenced there in 2018 to 40 years.

Geyser was last in court in April 2024 and argued for release, where many of the same psychologists who testified this week shared their insights into her mental state.

Dr. Kenneth Robbins then recommended that she be moved to a supervised group home, saying she has “improved quite dramatically.”

Dr. Kayla Pope, medical director of Winnebago Hospital, also advocated for her release.

“She has actively participated in therapy, medication management and all treatments available,” Pope said. “At this time, she can safely return to the community. I don’t know if there’s much more that can be done to make her safer.”

Other psychiatrists opposed her release because they felt she still posed a threat to society.

“I believe with a reasonable degree of professional certainty that she currently faces a significant risk of physical harm to herself or others if released on parole,” said Dr. Deborah Collins.

Judge Bohren denied Geyser’s request at the time, believing there was “clear and convincing evidence” to keep her in custody.

Geyser was before the same judge on Thursday. He is expected to make a final decision on Friday after hearing from all mental health experts.

In 2014, Geyser stabbed Payton Leutner in the arms, legs and torso, hitting major arteries and severing her diaphragm. Geyser did this with Weier egging her on.

Geyser and Weier, who was released from a psychiatric hospital in 2021 to live with her father, ordered Leutner to lie down while they received help, leaving her for dead before the girl was found by a cyclist.

The girls claimed they were motivated by the fictional Slender Man, sparking a moral panic over possible copycat attacks as the character swept the internet.

Both Geyser and Weier told detectives that they felt they had to kill Leutner to become Slender Man’s “proxies,” or servants, and that the character would kill their families if they didn’t follow through.

On Thursday, the judge heard from several psychologists who examined Geyser’s mental health.

Much of Lundbohm’s testimony focused on the way Geyser blames family members and how she has negative feelings toward them.

“Honestly, a lot of people in the community don’t have good relationships with their families, and that in itself doesn’t necessarily mean that [Geyser] would be at greater risk of violence,” Lundbohm said.

‘It’s just one factor we need to take into account, especially as we develop a risk management plan for her discharge into the community.’

Dr. Robbins, who previously advocated for her release from the hospital, elaborated on Geyser’s poor relationship with her family.

When the judge asked Robbins in 2014 if she was “faking” her psychotic symptoms when the stabbing occurred, he quickly answered “no.”

“I think she either experienced transient psychotic symptoms, that is, psychotic symptoms that did not last and gradually disappeared,” Robbins explained.

“Or the intensity of her fantasies, based on some of the trauma she had experienced, was so intense that she believed them to be true.”

The trauma Robbins was referring to was Geyser’s claims of sexual abuse by her father, who died in 2023.

Geyser’s symptoms more closely correspond to post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and autism, Robbins added.