WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — One of two Wisconsin girls who pleaded guilty to stabbing a classmate 19 times and leaving her for dead to please a fictional horror character called Slender Man is appealing her case.

The Journal Sentinel reports that an attorney for Morgan Geyser recently filed a court brief arguing that Geyser shouldn’t have been prosecuted as an adult because the girl believed Slender Man would kill her family if she didn’t stab her sixth-grade classmate.

Geyser and co-defendant Anissa Weier were committed to mental health institutions for stabbing Payton Leutner at a Waukesha park in 2014. Leutner managed to crawl out of the wooded park and survived. The girls were 12 years old at the time.

Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide and ordered to spend 40 years in the institution.

(Copyright (c) 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Join our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox