Teen Girl Behind Slender Man Stabbing Gets 25 Years In Psychiatric Ward

16-year-old Anissa Weier, one of two young girls who tried to kill a classmate in an attack inspired by the internet meme known as the Slender Man, has been sentenced to 25 years in a psychiatric institution, the heftiest punishment possible for her crime.

The Wisconsin teen pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree intentional homicide earlier this year, but claimed that he was not responsible, on the basis of mental illness. A jury accepted this, and this week, Waukesha County circuit judge Michael Bohren handed down the sentence.

The sentence is retroactive to the date of the crime, meaning that Weier will be eligible for release at the age of 37.

In 2014, when Weier was 12, she and accomplice Morgan Geyser lured their school friend Payton Leutner to a secluded area in the woods, where Geyser stabbed her 19 times while Weier watched and offered encouragement, according to official accounts of the attack.

The pair later said that their crime was inspired by the fictional Slender Man, who is the subject of creepy internet folklore – they claimed that they attacked their friend in order to become his “proxies” and protect their families from him.

Leutner survived the stabbing and crawled out of the woods, where she was found by a passing cyclist; she has since suffered ongoing psychological trauma, with her mother telling the court that she slept with scissors under her pillow for months, and still keeps her bedroom windows locked.

Weier made a brief apology before her sentencing this week, telling the court:

“I do hold myself accountable for this and that I will do whatever I have to do to make sure I don’t get any sort of delusion or whatever again. I want everybody involved to know I deeply regret everything that happened that day. I know that nothing I say is going to make this right and nothing I say is going to fix what I broke.”

The victim’s family are reportedly happy with the outcome, saying that it will keep their daughter and the community safe.

Geyser, who did the stabbing, will be sentenced next February after pleading guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide. Prosecutors are pushing for her to receive at least 40 years in a psychiatric institution.

The Slender Man is a supernatural character who first appeared on the Something Awful forums in 2009; he is typically depicted as a tall, thin, faceless man in a suit who stalks and abducts people, particularly children.

More Stuff From PEDESTRIAN.TV