Tonight, ABC News’ 20/20 will revisit the horrific incident that rocked the town of Waukesha, Wisconsin, in 2014, when two 12-year-old girls, Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser, repeatedly stabbed their friend Payton Leutner and left her in the woods to die. The young girls did this all to impress the fictional online character Slender Man. After the attacks, according to the Chicago Tribune, the girls told detectives they had to kill Leutner if they wanted to become Slender Man’s “servants”, and to protect their families from him.
On Thursday, a Wisconsin judge sentenced Geyser, who is now 15, to 40 years in a mental health institution. In December, Anissa Weier pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree intentional homicide and was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. The judge ordered her to 25 years in a mental health institution.
Read on to learn more about Angie Geyser, Morgan Geyser’s mom.
1. Angie Geyser Says She Saw No Warning Signs from Her Daughter
RollingStone: Morgan Geyser’s mom on the Slender Man trial and her daughter’s confession t.co/kwK7njgPm3
Angie Geyser tells ABC that Morgan did not exhibit any behavior that would suggest she was capable of hurting another person.
Recalling the events of May 31, 2014, Geyser says she remembers that the girls– Anissa, Morgan, and Payton– were having a sleepover at Morgan’s house and asked if they could all go to the park. Within hours, police were at Geyser’s front door.
“I was vacuuming in the basement and my son, who was 6 at the time, came downstairs and he told me that the police are here, and they’re looking for Morgan. Of course, my heart dropped down into my stomach and I went upstairs. Not only were there police in my living room, but they were wearing riot gear,” Angie explains.
Soon enough, Angie learned that her daughter had stabbed Payton 19 times with a kitchen knife, while Anissa urged her on. Both girls left Payton alone in the woods to die.
2. She Works as an Advanced Neurodiagnostic Specialist
According to her LinkedIn, Geyser works as an advanced neurodiagnostic specialist at Neulogical Monitoring Associates, LLC. Prior to that, she worked as a Clinical Manager and Surgical Neurophysiologist at SpecialtyCare.
Geyser’s LinkedIn states she graduated from Western Technical College with an Associate of Science in Electroneurodiagnostic Technology.
Slender Man stabbing: Morgan Geyser gets 40 years in mental unit
Geyser tells the New York Post that watching Morgan’s interrogation tape is difficult because she doesn’t recognize the little girl in the video. “That’s not my daughter saying those things. That’s not the way she speaks. That’s not the way she acts.”
She continues, “She appears to have no remorse for what’s happened, and she just talks about it in such a flat manner. That’s odd for a 12-year-old child sitting in a police station with a detective, not to be frightened about what’s going on.”
3. She Knew About Her Daughter’s Fascination with Slender Man
Angie tells ABC she knew about Morgan’s obsession with Slender Man. She even said she spoke about the online creation with her daughter.
“She would show us some of the pictures, and she would read us some of the stories, and while some of the subject matter was a little dark, I wasn’t concerned,” Geyser said. “When I was Morgan’s age, I was reading Stephen King novels. I remember being 11 years old and riding home from the library with [the book] ‘IT’ under my arm. And that’s a very scary and dark story, so I just thought it was normal for a child of middle school age to be interested in scary stories.”
Anissa’s mother, Kristi, says that her daughter never mentioned Slender Man to her or the family.
4. Morgan’s Dad Reportedly Has Schizophrenia & Morgan Was Diagnosed with Schizophrenia While Incarcerated
A few months after the assault, Morgan was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The Daily Mail reports that her father also suffers from schizophrenia.
Speaking to the outlet, Morgan’s mother says, “If we had any indication that Morgan had any serious mental illness, we would have gotten her treatment sooner. But unfortunately, no, we didn’t know until after the incident.”
In 2016, Morgan’s psychiatrist took the stand at trial to say, “[Morgan] continues to believe that she has ongoing relationships with several characters from the Harry Potter book who come and visit her.” According to an article late last year in Rolling Stone, Geyser’s defense attorney’s said that Morgan believed she could communicate with Slender Man telepathically.
Morgan’s mother has explained that it was difficult to get her daughter the psychiatric treatment she needed while she in jail. Angie also tells the Journal Sentinel that when the medication finally worked, Morgan became a new woman. “… it was like a switch went on, like, ‘There you are! Where have you been?”
5. Angie Has Had No Contact with Payton Leutner or Her Parents
In her interview with WISN Milwaukee News , Angie reveals that she has had no contact with Payton or her parents since the day of the attack.
Asked what she would say if she could say anything to Payton’s family, Angie says, “I’m so sorry for what she went through. I’m so sorry for what Payton went through. I would want them to know that Morgan is sorry, too. Morgan has a lot of remorse for what happened.”
