Anissa Weier, one of two teenage girls charged with the stabbing of a classmate on behalf of the “Slender Man,” a character from a fictional horror story originally posted on an internet forum, has reportedly pleaded guilty to an amended charge of “attempted second-degree homicide as a party to a crime, with use of a deadly weapon.” According to the Associated Press, Weier had previously faced a harsher charge of attempted first-degree (intentional) homicide.
Back in 2014, Weier and her friend Morgan Geyser (then age 12) were arrested after allegedly stabbing a third friend, Payton Leutner, 19 times during a sleepover. At the time, one of the girls told police they were trying to become “proxies” of Slender Man and prove their loyalty to him. The campfire story originated as an internet “creepypasta,” a sort of internet urban legend.
Leutner thankfully survived the attack and was able to crawl to safety.
In 2017, HBO released a documentary about the girls and their families: Beware the Slenderman.
The AP reports that after today’s plea from Weier, her trial next month will only dive into what role mental illness played in the crime. If she’s ruled legally irresponsible for the stabbing, she’ll spend three years in a hospital. If she’s found legally responsible, she could face up to 10 years in prison.
Geyser, who has been diagnosed with early onset schizophrenia, will begin her trial in October. Both trials will reportedly have sequestered juries due to the “significant level of public interest and discussion” surrounding the case.