Will 'Slender Man' Suspect Stand Trial?

ByABC NEWS ABCNews logo
Friday, August 1, 2014

One of two Wisconsin girls accused of allegedly stabbing their friend so they could meet the fictional Internet character "Slenderman," is scheduled to appear in court today for a competency hearing.

Morgan Geyser had twice been found not competent to stand trial. However, prosecutors requested that she undergo a third evaluation to determine if she has a mental disease or defect that could affect the case.

Geyser and Anissa Weier, both 12, are charged with first degree attempted murder after prosecutors said they lured their friend into the woods and stabbed her 19 times.

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Authorities said the girls admitted assaulting their friend on May 31 as a means to please Slender Man, a faceless fictional character.

Geyser and Weier are being tried as adults because Wisconsin law dictates that anyone above the age of 10 charged with first degree murder or attempted murder will not be considered juveniles.

The 12-year-old victim, who has not been identified because of her age, was said to have nearly died from her wounds, but has since been released from hospital and her parents recently released new details about her recovery.

The Slender Man meme began on a Web forum called Something Awful as part of a Photoshop contest in 2009, according to the website KnowYourMeme.com, but it has since grown into a kind of Internet folklore.

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