Latest news with #WinnebagoMentalHealthInstitute
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Yahoo
Morgan Geyser can proceed with conditional release after judge rejects revocation petition
WAUKESHA - Morgan Geyser has retained her planned conditional release from a mental health institute to which she has been committed for the last seven years in connection with the 2014 Slender Man-inspired stabbing of a friend. Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren on Thursday set aside concerns about the Geyser's release from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute and reaffirmed his January decision to allow the 22-year-old to create a plan for her transition into the community, likely beginning in a group home in the near future. In doing so, he set aside an 11th-hour petition by state officials who had asked he revoke her conditional release. In 2017, Geyser was found not guilty by reason of mental defect in the stabbing of her 12-year-old friend Payton Leutner in 2014. Leutner was stabbed 19 times by Geyser, who was aided by Anissa Weier, in a wooded area near David's Park in Waukesha. All three girls were 12 years old at the time. Geyser and Weier said they believed they were doing the bidding of Slender Man, a fictional online character. As part of the post-trial proceedings in 2018 involving Geyser, Bohren issued a four-decade commitment order for treatment, though that order allowed her to petition every six months for conditional release. Her most recent petition was approved by Bohren in January and was expected to result in the court's review of a plan to move her into a group home under electronic monitoring. But that changed just days before the corresponding March 4 review hearing. Thursday's motion hearing was set after Bohren determined Feb. 28 probable cause existed to consider revoking Geyser's conditional release. Wisconsin Department of Health Services, in charge of monitoring her treatment progress at the Oshkosh facility, had raised concerns recently, citing the violent nature about a book Geyser has been recently reading as well as a problematic relationship she has had with a man fixated on her violent past. The details of those concerns, listed in the DHS petition to revoke her release, were not made public ahead of Thursday's hearing. But they were revealed in detail during testimony from state officials. Deputy District Attorney Abbey Nickolie used the testimony of three individuals who have been involved with Geyser's conditional release plan to shine a light on concerns she felt could endanger the community if Geyser was allowed to interact more freely with people. Nicole Whiteaker, a conditional release program supervisor with Wisconsin Community Services, said her team members became concerned about one book Geyser was reading. The book, "Rent Boy," dealt with "dark" themes that were "related to the index offense," the 2014 stabbing incident, she said. "It was a dark novel that revolved around murder involving the selling of body parts along the black market," Whiteaker said, who added that Geyser push backed against officials' efforts to monitor her reading. A second concern involved an older man whom Geyser had corresponded with, and then met with at Winnebago at one point, during her treatment there. Among other correspondence, the man claimed he had received some of her artwork drawings depicting what Whiteaker also described as disturbing. "They were very dark in nature," Whiteaker said, noting the man was offering these materials for sale on Facebook. "I would describe (one of them) as a horror-type picture." Geyser's attorney, Tony Cotton, noted it was Geyser who cut off visits from the man after he had visited her at Winnebago three times in June 2023. Whiteaker concurred, acknowledging Geyser subsequently requested a no-contact order, and also agreed the man, who was named in court, seemed intent on focusing on her notorious case regardless of Geyser's feelings. "It appears he is fixated as true crime, as a whole," she said, and also had expressed getting sexual gratification from violent imagery. In cross examination, Cotton pushed the point that the Winnebago doctors, including those who supported her conditional release, were aware of her dark artwork. "So this wasn't something new," he said, adding Geyser was forthcoming with the information they sought. "Morgan should be commended for her honesty, ... don't you agree?" Cotton asked. But under additional questioning from Nickolie, Whiteaker said such details were enough to raise concerns of risk to the community if Geyser's conditional release moved forward. Kathleen Martinez, a DHS forensics mental health manager, voiced similar concerns over Geyser's choice of reading materials. Those concerns were shared with Geyser's doctors to get their perspective, she said. Those treating her were not fully aware of these details, she added. "The social worker indicated she had not told the treatment team about the (Facebook) posts, the content of the drawings and about the specific content of 'Rent Boy,'" Martinez said, adding later, "You can't write a treatment for problems of which you are unaware." The Department of Health Services found such details enough reason to ask for revocation of her conditional release. "It's based on safety to the community and Miss Geyser," Martinez said. But in response to Cotton's questions, she also acknowledged that Geyser had broken no rules, "as far as I know," that directly warranted revocation of her conditional release. Lisa Portmann, a therapist at Winnebago who is currently working with Geyser, said she was unaware of Geyser's interest in reading material depicting "sexual sadism" or some of her violent artwork, including one of a decapitated figure with blood spewing from the neck. But Portmann said she has no current concerns about Geyser's behavior or therapy, or any heightened risk after reading about the recent DHS concerns. Geyser had petitioned three previous times for conditional release, citing her progress in treatment at the Oshkosh facility. In December 2024, Geyser gained support from ongoing caregivers in a reversal of earlier mental health evaluations. Those doctors were also asked to address the recent concerns. Dr. Kenneth Robbins, who earlier testified on behalf of Geyser in two previous hearings, said he talked with a medical director at Winnebago, who in turn said the staff was previously aware of the "Rent Boy" book and her drawings. Any claims to the contrary surprised him, he said. Regardless, he reiterated his support, as he testified in April 2024 and again in January, for Geyser's move outside of Winnebago, saying the elements stated in the revocation petition carried little weight. "It doesn't change my opinion about her suitability for conditional release," Robbins said. He dismissed concerns about the contents of "Rent Boy," which he dismissed as comedic, not gruesome, and merely was part of Geyser's broader reading interests, including the Bible and books about Vincent Van Gogh and the Vietnam War. "It was very clear she doesn't take pleasure in gore and in violence," Robbins said. Responding to questions from Cotton, Robbins also acknowledged that state doctors had earlier referenced Geyser's artwork, including the one referenced in the revocation hearing. Dr. Brooke Lundbohm, one of those doctors, supported her conditional release in January despite knowledge of the drawing, he said. Lundbohm was asked by Bohren to offer her opinion, especially of whether she still supports conditional release. She did, adding that doctors were aware of Geyser's reading materials and her relationship with the man who sold her artwork all along. Dr. Deborah Collins, the other medical expert, also concurred. Nickolie and Cotton, not surprisingly, voiced competing opinions about what the information the court heard, with each insisting Geyser was being misrepresented by the facts at hand. Nickolie said the testimony raised "red flags" concerning the community's safety. She said that's why she strongly supported the petition of revocation. But Cotton said DHS officials ignored their responsibility by raising issues without talking to any of the doctors who had filed reports and testified in January that she could safely be conditionally released under a negotiated plan. "All of this is really a hit job on her," Cotton said. "The time has passed for the plan to be brought to this court," he said, adding, "Morgan is not more dangerous today." Bohren sided with the doctors who supported Geyser's conditional release, stating that none of the testimony he heard Thursday changes his earlier decision. He could not find "lying or subterfuge" by Geyser to manipulate the process. "I don't see a risk to the public, I don't see a risk to her," Bohren said. "I'm satisfied the state has not met its burden." The conditional release plan can advance, but the date the court could review that plan is not certain. It could happen as early as March 21, the date Bohren set Thursday. But it could happen as late as April 28 if the plan isn't ready for review this month. Contact reporter Jim Riccioli at This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Slender Man defendant Geyser again gets court support for release
The Independent
07-03-2025
- The Independent
Wisconsin judge refuses to block Slender Man attacker's release from psychiatric hospital
A Wisconsin judge on Thursday refused to block a psychiatric hospital from releasing a woman who stabbed her sixth-grade classmate to please a horror character called Slender Man more than a decade ago after prosecutors alleged she has been quietly reading gory novels and communicating with a man who collects memorabilia from murderers. Morgan Geyser has spent the last seven years at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute. Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren in January ordered her released after state and county health officials completed a community supervision and housing plan. Bohren was set to review the plan at a Feb. 28 hearing but prosecutors never presented it to him, instead asking him at the hearing to revoke her release. Deputy District Attorney Abbey Nickolie alleged during a follow-up hearing Thursday that Geyser, now 22, didn't tell her treatment team that she has been reading novels about murder and the sale of human organs on the black market. She also didn't inform the treatment team that she has been communicating with a man who collects murder memorabilia, allowing him to visit her and sending him artwork of a 'very violent nature,' Nickolie told the judge. Geyser's attorney, Tony Cotton, countered that Geyser only reads books the facility makes available to her and hospital officials track all her communications. She told her treatment team about the books and communications when asked, he said, adding that she can't have violated any conditions of release because conditions haven't been set. Bohren said that the revocation request lacked substance and he didn't believe Geyser was trying to intentionally hide anything. 'I don't see the risk to the public,' the judge said. Geyser and her friend, Anissa Weier, lured Payton Leutner to a Waukesha park after a sleepover in 2014. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier egged her on. They left Leutner for dead but she crawled out of the woods and got help from a passing bicyclist. All three girls were 12 years old. Leutner barely survived her wounds. Geyser and Weier told investigators that they attacked her to earn the right to be Slender Man's servants and to ensure Slender Man didn't hurt them or their families. Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree attempted homicide in 2017 but claimed she wasn't responsible for her actions because she was mentally ill. Bohren had committed her to the psychiatric hospital for 40 years in 2018. Geyser has asked the judge for a conditional release four times since June 2022. She withdrew her first two petitions. The judge denied her third request in April 2024, finding that she was still a threat to the public. She filed her latest request in October. He granted her fourth request in January after three psychologists testified that she's made progress improving her coping skills and emotional control and doesn't retreat into fantasy as often. One of the psychologists, Dr. Ken Robbins, warned that Geyser could become dangerous if she remains at Winnebago and loses hope. Prosecutors countered that Geyser couldn't be trusted, pointing to how she claimed during evaluations last year that she really attacked Leutner as a way of escaping her abusive father rather than to please Slender Man. They implied she was lying in hopes of increasing the odds she'd be released. Bohren ultimately found that Geyser had maximized her treatment at Winnebago and to be truly rehabilitated she has to rejoin society. Weier pleaded guilty to being a party to attempted second-degree intentional homicide with a dangerous weapon in 2017, but like Geyser claimed she wasn't responsible due to mental illness. She was committed to 25 years in a mental hospital but was granted release in 2021 on condition that she live with her father and wear a GPS monitor.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Yahoo
Slender Man defendant Morgan Geyser's conditional release put on hold pending new hearing
WAUKESHA - Morgan Geyser's efforts to be conditionally released from a mental health institution now faces a last-minute pushback following a sealed petition that asserts new concerns. A motion hearing will be held Thursday to determine whether Geyser, now 22, can move out of the Winnebago Mental Health Institute as was decided at a January hearing, when Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren concurred with three medical experts that a conditional release was warranted. That changed Friday, Feb. 28, when Bohren determined that there was probable cause to now deny Geyser's release into a transitional facility. In 2017, Geyser was found not guilty by reason of mental defect in the stabbing of her 12-year-old friend Payton Leutner in 2014. Bohren later issued a four-decade commitment order for treatment. Geyser had petitioned three previous times for conditional release, citing her progress in treatment at the Oshkosh facility. Geyser gained support from ongoing caregivers this year in a reversal of earlier mental health evaluations. The full details prompting the hearing on Feb. 28 aren't known. That's because the court sealed a petition by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Geyser's attorney Tony Cotton and Waukesha County Deputy District Attorney Abbey Nickolie both revealed some elements of the petition filed by Wisconsin Department of Health Services officials. The new concerns centered around Geyser's contact with an older man and books she has read. It's not clear what books have drawn concern or why. Geyser's failure to disclose certain information tied to both concerns were a factor in the petition to reconsider her conditional release. Thursday's hearing is expected to include testimony and reports from the same medical evaluators to discuss the new information. "Their theory that was discussed in court is that Morgan has read certain books which they believe are concerning," Cotton said in an emailed response to the Journal Sentinel Monday. "It's worth noting that Morgan's reading has never been restricted by the treatment team at Winnebago and any information the release planning committee has received has come from Morgan directly." As for her contact with the unnamed man, "Morgan herself asked for a no contact with this person," Cotton added. Before the petition, Geyser was scheduled for a March 4 hearing to approve the conditional release plan. That hearing was nixed as a result of the DHS petition, and a new review hearing has been scheduled for March 6. Contact reporter Jim Riccioli at This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Morgan Geyser conditional release on hold in Slender Man case update
