Woman who stabbed classmate to please Slender Man can be released from psychiatric hospital

MADISON, Wis. (AP) —

A Wisconsin woman who at age 12 stabbed her sixth grade classmate nearly to death to please online horror character Slender Man will be released from a psychiatric hospital, a judge ordered Thursday after a trio of experts testified that she has made considerable progress battling mental illness.

Morgan Geyser has spent nearly seven years at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute. She has petitioned Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren, who committed her, for release four times since June 2022. She withdrew her first two petitions. Bohren denied her third request this past April, finding she still presented a threat to the public.

Geyser, now 22 years old, filed her latest petition in October. Bohren decided to grant her release after a day-long hearing Thursday, finding that she had maximized her treatment options at the facility and is no longer a safety risk. He ordered the state Department of Health Services to set up a plan to house her in a group home and supervise her for his consideration at a hearing within 60 days.

The judge said that her crime was a “brutal, terrible offense” but Geyser has since grown up and to be truly rehabilitated she must exist as part of society.

“She's done what she's supposed to do,” Bohren said. “She appears to have a good attitude.”

Geyser and Anissa Weier were 12 years old in 2014 when they lured their classmate, Payton Leutner, to a Waukesha park after a sleepover. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier egged her on. Leutner barely survived.

The girls later told investigators that they attacked Leutner to earn the right to be Slender Man's servants and they feared he would harm their families if they didn't follow through.

Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide and was sent to the psychiatric institute due to mental illness in 2018.

Weier pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree intentional homicide. She was also sent to the psychiatric center but was granted release in 2021 to live with her father and was ordered to wear a GPS monitor.

Three psychologists who have been working with Geyser since she was committed to the institute testified at Thursday's hearing that she's made impressive progress in just the last six months and should be released.

Dr. Brooke Lundbohm testified that Winnebago staff weaned Geyser off her anti-psychotic medications by early 2023 and she's suffered no symptoms since then.

Dr. Deborah Collins said Geyser is always at risk of reoffending simply because she almost killed someone but she has worked on her coping skills, improved her emotional control and retreats into fantasy less frequently. Collins added that Geyser told her that she hates what she did to Leutner and can't forgive herself.

Dr. Ken Robbins told the judge that she could become dangerous if she remained confined at Winnebago and lost hope.

“The longer she's there, at this point, the harder it's going to be to re-integrate,” Robbins said.

Waukesha County Assistant District Attorney Ted Szczupakiewicz argued that Geyser couldn’t be trusted, noting that she claimed during evaluations last year that she faked her delusions about Slender Man and actually attacked Leutner as a way of escaping her abusive father. He hinted that was a ploy to make the release more likely.

The judge shrugged that off, saying it's not unusual for mental illness diagnoses to evolve.

This story has been updated to correct that the judge denied Geyser's third petition in April.

Morgan Geyser appears in a Waukesha County courtroom Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Morgan Geyser appears in a Waukesha County courtroom Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Morgan Geyser appears in a Waukesha County courtroom Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Morgan Geyser appears in a Waukesha County courtroom Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Morgan Geyser appears in a Waukesha County courtroom Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Morgan Geyser appears in a Waukesha County courtroom Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — More evacuations were underway across Los Angeles on Thursday as another fire broke out.

The Los Angeles Fire Department issued orders Thursday afternoon for what’s known as the Kenneth Fire. The fire is burning near the West Hills neighborhood that is packed with homes in the San Fernando Valley.

More than 4,000 structures have been destroyed in the Eaton Fire in the Los Angeles area, as thousands more have burned in the Pacific Palisades community, fire officials said Thursday.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said structures could include homes, apartment buildings, commercial buildings or even vehicles.

Firefighters aided by calmer winds saw the first signs of successfully beating back the deadly and devastating wildfires Thursday, though the fires still burned out of control in and around Los Angeles as the enormity of the devastation started to come into focus with haunting scenes of destruction.

Dozens of blocks were flattened to smoldering rubble in scenic Pacific Palisades. Only the outlines of homes and their chimneys remained. In Malibu, blackened palm strands were all that was left above debris where oceanfront homes once stood.

At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and groceries were lost. So too were the Will Rogers’ Western Ranch House and Topanga Ranch Motel, local landmarks dating to the 1920s. The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage or specifics about how many structures burned.

AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on weather and its impact, estimated the overall damage could reach $57 billion.

City leaders were encouraged Thursday after firefighters made significant gains at slowing the spread of the two biggest fires that had ignited block after block from Pacific Palisades to inland Altadena, a community near Pasadena.

Crews also knocked down a blaze in the Hollywood Hills, allowing an evacuation to be lifted Thursday. The fire that sparked up late Wednesday near the heart of the entertainment industry came perilously close to igniting the famed Hollywood Bowl outdoor concert venue.

“While we are still facing significant threats, I am hopeful that the tide is turning,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said Thursday.

Water dropped from aircraft helped fire crews quickly seize control of the fires in the Hollywood Hills and Studio City, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said. Much of the widespread destruction occurred Tuesday after those aircraft were grounded due to high winds.

Wind gusts were expected to strengthen Thursday evening through Friday morning, with another round of strong winds expected early next week, raising concerns that the conditions could worsen, the National Weather Service said.

But Thursday's daytime forecast provided a window for firefighters — including crews pouring in from neighboring states and Canada — to make progress in reining in blazes that have killed at least five people and caused thousands of people to flee their homes.

Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said firefighters were able to keep the Hollywood Hills blaze in check because “we hit it hard and fast and Mother Nature was a little nicer to us.”

Fire officials said Thursday that they don’t yet know the cause of the fires but are actively investigating.

Earlier in the week, hurricane-force winds with gusts up to 80 mph (129 kph) blew embers, igniting the Southern California hillsides.

Thousands of homes, businesses and other structures have been destroyed in those blazes, known as the Palisades and Eaton fires. Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said the Palisades Fire alone has burned thousands of coastal structures.

Right now, it’s impossible to quantify the extent of the destruction other than “total devastation and loss,” said Barbara Bruderlin, head of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce.

“There are areas where everything is gone, there isn’t even a stick of wood left, it’s just dirt,” Bruderlin said.

The five deaths recorded so far were from those two fires. Cadaver dogs and search crews are searching through rubble and the death toll is expected to rise, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

Anthony Mitchell, a 67-year-old amputee, and his son, Justin, who had cerebral palsy, were waiting for an ambulance to come, but they did not make it out, Mitchell’s daughter, Hajime White, told The Washington Post.

Shari Shaw told KTLA that she tried to get her 66-year-old brother, Victor Shaw, to evacuate Tuesday night but he wanted to stay and fight the fire. Crews found his body with a garden hose in his hand.

On Thursday, recovery crews pulled a body from rubble of what was a beachfront residence in Malibu on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway. A charred washer and dryer were among the few things that remained.

While the two main fires were no longer spreading significantly, both remained at 0% containment, officials said.

In Pasadena, Fire Chief Chad Augustin said Wednesday that the city’s water system was stretched and further hampered by power outages, but even without those issues, firefighters would not have been able to stop the fast-moving blaze because of the erratic wind gusts.

Still, questions have been raised about why some hydrants ran dry and what caused the water system to buckle when it was needed most.

In Pacific Palisades, a hillside area dotted with celebrity homes, block after block of California Mission Style homes and bungalows were reduced to charred remains.

Roughly 180,000 people are under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 45 square miles (117 square kilometers) — roughly the size of San Francisco. The Palisades Fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles' history.

At least 20 arrests have been made for looting, and the city of Santa Monica declared a curfew Wednesday night because of the lawlessness, officials said. Luna said to protect properties national guard troops would be stationed near the areas ravaged by fire and a curfew was expected to go into effect from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m., starting as soon as Thursday.

Flames destroyed the homes of several celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton.

Jamie Lee Curtis pledged $1 million to start a “fund of support” for those affected by the fires that touched all economic levels from the city’s wealthy to its working class.

The main fires grew rapidly in different areas that had two things in common: densely packed homes in places that are choked with dry vegetation that was primed to burn. Flames moved so quickly that many barely had time to escape.

California’s wildfire season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change, according to recent data.

Dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which has not seen more than 0.1 inches (2.5 millimeters) of rain since early May.

Robert Lara sifted through the remains of his home in Altadena on Thursday with tears in his eyes, hoping to find a safe containing a set of earrings that once belonged to his great-great-grandmother.

“All our memories, all our sentimental attachments, things that were gifted from generation to generation to generation are now gone,” he said.

His mother and uncle lost their homes, too.

“I haven’t slept for two whole days now, and I keep asking myself, ‘What do I do? Where do I start?’” he said. “We’re lost.”

Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio and Watson from San Diego. Associated Press journalists Eugene Garcia and Krysta Fauria in Los Angeles; Ethan Swope in Pasadena, California; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Janie Har in San Francisco; Brian Melley in London; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland; and Tammy Webber in Detroit contributed.

Ari Rivera, rear, Anderson Hao hold each other in front of their destroyed home in Altadena, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Paul Perri searches through his daughter's fire-ravaged property in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Fire crews battle the Eaton Fire as it impacts a structure Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

A man searches though his destroyed home after the Eaton Fire in Altadena, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

Beach front properties are left destroyed by the Palisades Fire, in this aerial view, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Firefighters look over a home after the Eaton Fire burns in Altadena, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

The devastation from the Palisades Fire is seen from the air in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

A beach front property is burned by the Palisades Fire Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Beach front properties are burned to the ground by the Palisades Fire Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Paul Perri searches through his daughter's fire-ravaged property in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

A firefighter protects a beach front property while fighting the Palisades Fire Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The ruins of a burned property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

People walk along a street after the Palisades Fire ravaged a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

CORRECTS TO FIRE-RAVAGED STED OF FIRE-RAVED - Josh Lederer wears a mask to protect him from fumes as he retrieves his children's clothes from his fire-ravaged property in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The devastation from the Palisades Fire is seen from the air in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Ari Rivera, rear, Anderson Hao and woman hold each other in front of their destroyed home in Altadena, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Robert Lara, left, looks for belongings along with his stepfather after the Eaton Fire burns in Altadena, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

The devastation from the Palisades Fire is seen from the air in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

A man walks past a fire-ravaged business after the Eaton Fire swept through Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

The sun rises and destruction from the Palisades Fire is seen in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

The Palisades Fire ravaged a neighborhood in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

The Palisades Fire burns a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Fire-damaged vehicles are lined up at a dealership after the Eaton Fire swept through Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Water is dropped by helicopter on the burning Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

The Eaton Fire burns a vehicle Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Firefighters work from a deck as the Palisades Fire burns a beachfront property Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Embers are blown off a burning tree as the Eaton Fire burns in Altadena, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

A firefighting plane makes drops over ridges as the Palisades Fire burns in the hills between Pacific Palisades and Malibu Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Topanga, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Topanga Canyon inhabitants look on as the Palisades Fire burns in the hills between Pacific Palisades and Malibu Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Topanga, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Embers fly from a burning structure during the Eaton fire in Altadena, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Fallon Prockiw-Kline, center, gets emotional in front of her home which was damaged by the Palisades Fire, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Charred Buddha statues stand amidst other sculptures at burned out shop in Malibu, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Smoke from the Palisades Fire is seen during a commercial flight to Los Angeles, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Firefighters battle the Eaton Fire as it engulfs structures Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

Firefighters team up to battle the Eaton Fire Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

The Palisades Fire burns a beach front property Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Visitors to the Santa Monica pier look out at smoke from a wildfire in the Pacific Palisades blows over the beach in Santa Monica, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Beach front homes are destroyed by the Palisades Fire Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Thick heavy smoke from wildfires shrouds downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire around a burned structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

The Palisades Fire burns homes on a hilltop in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Residents embrace in front of burning structures as the Eaton Fire advances Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

Pedestrians help a firefighter stretch a hose as an apartment building burns, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in the Altadena section of Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

A statue and other structures are burned as the Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Firefighters aim a hose at the entrance to a Bank of America engulfed in flames on Lake Avenue, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in the Altadena section of Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Firefighters hose down a burning structure on Lake Avenue, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in the downtown Altadena section of Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

A resident of a senior center is evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Fire explodes out of a window of the Altadena Community Church, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in the downtown Altadena section of Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Homes damaged by the Palisades Fire are seen along the beach, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

The Palisades Fire burns a Christmas tree inside a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Fallon Prockiw-Kline, center, gets emotional in front of her home which was damaged by the Palisades Fire, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A wildfire-ravaged property is shown after the Palisades Fire swept through in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Thick heavy smoke from wildfires passes over the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

A firefighter battles the Eaton Fire, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Lisa Diaz hugs a neighbor outside of their homes as the Eaton Fire sweeps through the area Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

A man walks his bike among the ruins left behind by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A resident is evacuated from a senior living facility as the Eaton Fire approaches Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A firefighter battles the Eaton Fire Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Kelly Kline looks out at his home damaged by the Palisades Fire, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A burned-out car sits among rubble in the downtown Altadena section of Pasadena, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Fire crews battle the Eaton Fire next to a fully engulfed residence, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

A man walks past a fire-ravaged business after the Eaton Fire swept through Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

The Eaton Fire burns a vehicle Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Megan Mantia, left, and her boyfriend Thomas, only first game given, return to Mantia's fire-damaged home after the Eaton Fire swept through the area, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Beach front homes are destroyed by the Palisades Fire Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Beach front homes are destroyed by the Palisades Fire Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Water is dropped by helicopter on the burning Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A firefighter works from a deck as the Palisades Fire burns a beachfront property Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Firefighters work from a deck as the Palisades Fire burns a beach front property Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)