A Wisconsin woman who brutally stabbed her classmate 19 times in 2014 to appease the fictional “Slender Man” has escaped from supervised care and fled to Illinois, exposing dangerous gaps in our mental health monitoring system that put innocent communities at risk.
Story Snapshot
- Morgan Geyser, the “Slender Man” stabber, escaped from a Wisconsin group home and was captured in Illinois with an accomplice.
- Monitoring systems failed catastrophically – authorities didn’t know she was missing for nearly 12 hours after her ankle bracelet was removed.
- Her 42-year-old friend was charged with obstruction for helping Geyser evade capture and giving a false identity to the police.
- Geyser will likely return to Winnebago Mental Health Institute after being released earlier this year following seven years of treatment.
Escaped Killer Evades Detection for Hours
Morgan Geyser vanished from her Madison, Wisconsin, group home on Saturday evening around 8 p.m., but authorities remained unaware of her disappearance until nearly half a day later.
The Wisconsin Department of Corrections received an ankle monitor malfunction alert Saturday night but didn’t contact the group home for two hours. This delayed response allowed Geyser and her accomplice to travel over 170 miles to Illinois, highlighting serious flaws in our supervision systems for violent offenders.
CHARGED: The friend of the woman who stabbed a classmate to please the fictional character Slender Man has been charged with obstruction.
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— WDEF News 12 (@wdefnews12) November 24, 2025
Multi-State Manhunt Ends at Illinois Truck Stop
Posen police discovered Geyser and her 42-year-old friend sleeping behind a Thorntons truck stop on Sunday night after receiving reports of loitering. When confronted, Geyser initially provided false identification and told officers she had “done something really bad,” suggesting they “just Google” her.
Her companion also gave police a fake name, earning an obstruction charge before being released Monday morning. The pair had traveled by bus to Chicago before walking 20 miles south to Posen.
Friend Enables Dangerous Fugitive’s Escape
Geyser’s adult friend admitted to CBS News Chicago that she deliberately assisted the escape because she “didn’t want Geyser to be alone.” This reckless decision endangered multiple communities as they harbored a convicted violent offender who had removed court-ordered monitoring equipment.
The friend’s actions demonstrate how misguided sympathy can override public safety concerns, allowing dangerous individuals to evade the supervision systems designed to protect society.
Horrific 2014 Attack Still Haunts Victim
Geyser’s original crime shocked the nation when she and accomplice Anissa Weier lured 12-year-old Payton Leutner to a Waukesha park during a sleepover in 2014. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier encouraged the attack, believing they needed to kill their friend to become servants of the fictional “Slender Man” character.
Leutner barely survived the brutal assault. Both attackers were convicted and sentenced to decades in mental health facilities, though Weier was released in 2021.
Mental Health System Failures Endanger Communities
This escape exposes critical weaknesses in how we monitor violent offenders released from psychiatric care. Geyser had been released from Winnebago Mental Health Institute earlier this year after serving seven years of a 40-year commitment, with experts testifying about her mental health progress.
However, the system’s failure to promptly detect and respond to her escape raises serious questions about whether current monitoring protocols adequately protect public safety from individuals with violent histories.
