A person who stabbed a classmate when they were 12-years-old to please the fictional horror character Slender Man can be released from a psychiatric hospital, a judge has ordered.
In 2014, Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier – both aged 12 at the time – lured classmate Payton Leutner to a park after a sleepover where Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times. The pre-teen was lucky to survive.
They later told police they had stabbed their classmate to earn the right to be servants of the fictional Slender Man, claiming that they feared their families would be harmed if they didn’t do it.
Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide and in 2018 was sent to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, Wisconsin, with a 40 year sentence.
Geyser and Weier said they carried out the stabbing to appease ‘Slender Man’ (Getty Stock Photo)
Weier pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree intentional homicide and was sent to the same facility with a 25 year sentence, but released in 2021 to live with her father on the condition that she wear a GPS monitor.
AP now reports that yesterday (9 January), a judge ordered that Geyser be released from the psychiatric hospital.
Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren has been petitioned four times by Geyser for release since June 2022, though the first two petitions were withdrawn and the third one denied last April on the grounds of still being a threat to the public.
A teenager when sent to the psychiatric hospital, Geyser is now 22 and Boren has granted release with the judge finding them to no longer be a risk.
The judge ordered the state’s Department of Health Services to make plans within 60 days to house Geyser in a group home where they can be supervised.
Boren described the stabbing as a ‘brutal, terrible offense’ but said that Geyser had since grown up and must exist as part of society if there is to be rehabilitation.
At the age of 12, Morgan Geyser stabbed a classmate 19 times (Waukesha Police Department)
AP further reports that three psychologists who have worked with Geyser at the psychiatric hospital say there has been progress in the last few months.
Dr. Brooke Lundbohm told a hearing that the 22-year-old had been weaned off their anti-psychotic medication in 2023 and not suffered symptoms since then.
Another expert, Dr. Deborah Collins, said that there would always be a risk from Geyser since they had stabbed someone but had worked on their coping skills and emotional control, and hates what they did to Leutner.
The longer she’s there, at this point, ‘the harder it’s going to be to re-integrate’, was the opinion of Dr. Ken Robbins provided to the judge.
Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
A mother is alleged to have made a series of chilling internet searches in the days leading up to her infant son’s death, according to prosecutors.
Authorities have accused Savawna Bowen, 23, of waiting too long to seek medical attention for her four-month-old, who passed away on 11 January last year.
The mum-of-two, from Oklahoma, was arrested last Friday (3 January) on one count of felony child neglect, almost exactly 12 months after the little boy’s death.
The baby’s father, Daquan White, was also charged with the murder and child neglect shortly after the tot was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Police said he died after sustaining a broken jaw, broken ribs, a broken femur and a severe brain injury, according to Law and Crime.
Savawna Bowen allegedly made several internet searches before seeking medical attention for the child (Tulsa County Jail)
Doctors said the four-month-old could have survived if medical help had been sought by Bowen earlier, according to police in the city of Tulsa, The Daily Mail reports.
According to an affidavit obtained by News on 6, the mum had left her two children – the four-month-old boy and a two-year-old – in the care of White in early January 2023.
Bowen is said to have gone to stay with her boyfriend before returning to the home and raising concerns with the 23-year-old dad about a red spot on their baby’s leg.
White is alleged to have then told her that he heard a ‘popping’ sound when he lifted the boy’s leg.
It is then claimed that Bowen left the two youngsters in the care of White for another eight hours, as she headed out to spend time with her friends.
After eventually returning to the property, she noticed that the four-month-old was crying in pain.
White then allegedly admitted that he had put his fingers inside the infant’s mouth and pushed down in a bid to stop the baby from crying, authorities say.
The young child later had a seizure.
Prosecutors say Daquan White, 23, urged the mum to wait to take the baby to hospital and to lie about his injuries (Tulsa County Jail)
White is alleged to have pleaded with Bowen to wait to take the baby to hospital and to lie about the injury on their leg, the affidavit states.
It explains that on 3 January, 2024, the mum allegedly made an online search for the term ‘popped leg’, and the following day, prosecutors claim that Bowen then searched ‘baby’s femur is sticking out’.
The mum is then accused of making other searches including ‘baby not able to move mouth’ and ‘mouth swollen’ on 7 January last year.
Bowen finally took the baby to hospital on 8 January, 2024, where doctors reported finding a slew of horrific injuries on the little boy.
White was arrested for an outstanding warrant the next day before confessing that he had ‘committed dangerous acts’ on the baby ‘in an effort to get him to be quiet’, police said.
Almost exactly a year later, Bowen was arrested with one count of felony child neglect.
She was taken into custody at the Tulsa County Jail before posting a $10,000 bond, according to reports.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.
A woman has told how she managed to flee after her best friends allegedly tried to kill her as a teenager.
Alexa ‘Lexi’ Weinbaum explained she was just 16 years old when she had a brush with death after she was allegedly ‘poisoned’ with a substance by her so-called mates.
She shared the details of her ordeal in a series of TikTok videos on her account @lexiweinbaum, as well as clips discussing how she has worked to overcome her trauma.
Lexi, from Connecticut, explained she was ‘hanging out’ with three of her pals who she had ‘known for quite a while’, including a teen girl who had been her best friend since childhood.
In one clip shared online last year, the now-24-year-old said: “We were hanging out and they decided – without my knowledge and obviously consent – that they were going to administer me a substance, with the intention of having that substance end my life.”
According to the Daily Mail, the youngster was handed a bong which she believed contained marijuana – however, it was reportedly a synthetic version which is 100 times more potent.
Alexa ‘Lexi’ Weinbaum went viral after sharing her story online (TikTok/@lexiweinbaum)
Lexi said the substance – which is said to have been linked to cases of psychosis after consumption – caused her to black out after she took just one hit.
In a TikTok, she explained: “Now what they gave me essentially poisoned me, it caused a large amount of medical issues in my body that were later fixed through my hospitalisation.
“However, when they gave this to me they physically assaulted me, they recorded things and posted them to Snapchat.”
Lexi claims that after regaining consciousness and realising she was being attacked, she was only able to escape due to the relentless noise she made.
“I had screamed loud enough that I had woken up the mother of the person who’s house it was,” she went on. “She told me that I ‘wasn’t allowed to die on her property‘, so I was able to run away.
“My female friend chased me, she was the only one that followed me, and tried to convince everyone when I was screaming for help that I was crazy and that I didn’t actually need help.
“Until, eventually, I collapsed. From there, I went to the hospital after the ambulance reached me.”
Alexa says that beforehand, she had managed to alert a passerby and urged him to call 911, recalling how she was ‘begging him for help, while really choking on my words in the process’.
She was just 16 years old at the time of the harrowing incident (TikTok/@lexiweinbaum)
The teen then explained that she suffered a number of seizures on the street and was ‘just focused on surviving’.
Alexa said she was quickly given oxygen and administered an IV drip by paramedics, before doctors performed a series of scans on her brain and heart after reaching the hospital.
It was then discovered that the substance she had allegedly been plied with was K2, according to the Mail, which is also known as ‘Spice’, according to the US’ Drug Enforcement Administration.
It explains: “State public health and poison centres have issued warnings in response to adverse health effects associated with abuse of herbal incense products containing these synthetic cannabinoids.
“These adverse effects included tachycardia (elevated heart rate), elevated blood pressure, unconsciousness, tremors, seizures, vomiting, hallucinations, agitation, anxiety, pallor, numbness, and tingling.
“This is in addition to the numerous public health and poison centres which have similarly issued warnings regarding the abuse of these synthetic cannabinoids.
“In some instances, the adverse health effects can be long-lasting even after the user quits using the substances.”
Lexi said that medics also detected opiates in her system, which they suspected were also hidden in the synthetic marijuana.
The then-teenager spent several days in hospital before being released, but was been back and forth there in the following few months due to both physical and mental health reasons.
Lexi claims she has been left with heart problems following the incident, which took place around eight years ago.
Speaking of her friends’ possible motives, she continued: “I have assumptions as to why.
“There were things that people had told me that they thought was the reason why, there were things that I know of myself…but ultimately, I’m never going to know for sure.”
Alexa later launched her organisation, Sound of Survivors, which ‘is a platform dedicated to helping educate on violent crime, as well as providing essential resources to aid victims in their healing process’.
An expert has revealed how to spot the signs of Münchausen syndrome by proxy after Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s release from prison.
Gypsy Rose was famously a victim of the rare disorder after her mum, Clauddine ‘Dee Dee’ Blanchard, lied to the world about her being terminally ill.
Dee Dee forced Gypsy Rose to use a wheelchair and oxygen tank, and also took her to the doctors tricking them into diagnosing and treating her daughter for conditions such as leukemia.
Seeing no other way out of the situation, Gypsy Rose plotted with her boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn to murder Dee Dee, who Godejohn stabbed to death.
Godejohn was sentenced to life in prison, while Gypsy Rose served seven years of a ten year sentence.
But what exactly is Münchausen syndrome by proxy?
Psychotherapist Alex Iga Golabe spoke to the Daily Star to explain the signs of the serious mental illness.
Crime + Investigation
The Cleveland Clinic defines Munchausen syndrome as ‘when someone tries to get attention and sympathy by falsifying, inducing, and/or exaggerating an illness. They lie about symptoms, sabotage medical tests (like putting blood in their urine), or harm themselves to get the symptoms’.
‘By Proxy’ means lying about someone else’s illness.
Golabe says the illness ‘involves a parent or caregiver lying about their child being unwell or purposefully making the child ill, for instance manipulating test results to achieve a desired outcome. It is classified as a form of child abuse’.
They added that certain types of people are much more likely to have Münchausen syndrome by proxy.
They explained: “According to research, nearly all abusers are female (97.6%) and the victim’s mother (95.6%). Most are married (75.8%). Perpetrators were frequently reported to be in healthcare-related professions (45.6%), to have had obstetric complications (23.5%), or to have histories of childhood maltreatment (30%).”
As for how doctors go about diagnosing the condition, obviously that is quite tricky.
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Golabe said: “No diagnostic criteria exists. Doctors also have little knowledge about this condition.
“Doctors are also surrounded by illness and high mortality rates in hospitals so they are more likely to attempt to treat the child (victim)’s symptoms as legitimate to avoid death.”
According to Heathline, the warning signs of Münchausen syndrome by proxy in a child include repeated hospitalisations, symptoms that don’t match test results or fit any disease, and symptoms that improve under medical care but seem to get worse at home.
Alarm bells to look out for in caregivers are attention-seeking behaviour, trying to come across as selfless, refusing to leave a child’s side and speaking for them, becoming overly involved with doctors and nurses, exaggerating symptoms and appearing to enjoy being in hospital.
The mum of a man who died from his injuries after being hit by a car on Christmas Day has spoken out about his loss.
Aidan Chapman, 25, was rushed to hospital on Christmas Day in the early hours of the morning after being one of four people hurt when a car crashed into pedestrians in London.
The father-of-one died of his injuries on New Year’s Eve.
A man had driven on the wrong side of the road on Shaftesbury Avenue and a 30-year-old named Anthony Gilheaney was charged with four counts of attempted murder, along with causing serious injury by driving whilst disqualified and possessing a knife in a public place.
Police are treating Aidan’s death as a homicide.
25-year-old father of one Aidan Chapman died of his injuries after being hit by a car on Christmas Day. (PA)
In the immediate aftermath of their son’s death, his parents called Aidan ‘a loving, kind, funny soul and the world is a darker place without him’, and his mum has spoken out further.
Speaking to the Metro, Aidan’s mum Yasemin Akcajoca, 61, said she had ‘lost the light of my life’ after his death.
She said: “He was the light of everyone’s life he was so unique.
“On the day it happened he went out with a friend, he had so many friends. I didn’t want him to go out. The last thing he said was ‘I’ll see you in a couple of hours’. Then I got a call at 4am from the hospital. The worst call ever.
“The police took me to the hospital with blue lights. The journey was a nightmare it seemed to take forever. His injuries were too bad. He did not regain consciousness. I held his hand and spoke to him. It’s heartbreaking. I have lost my best friend.
“He was a great dad and a friend to all. He loved music and diving he was just such an amazing character. He wanted a career in music, music was his world.”
Aidan Chapman and three others were hit by a car in the early hours of Christmas Day on Shaftesbury Avenue. (Seiya Tanase/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
She went on to add that he was ‘brilliant together and really close’ with his 16-year-old sister and leaves behind a five-year-old son.
“We have not got his body so we cannot plan the funeral. It’s so stressful, we have been given so little information,” Yasemin said to the Metro.
“My daughter hasn’t come out of her room, we are very broken. I have to go forward for her sake.
“Aidan’ son is young but his mother said she will keep Aidan’s memory alive with him.”
The 25-year-old’s mum said that the many messages and offers of help she’d received after her son’s death was ‘a reflection of how popular Aidan was’.
Anthony Gilheaney is expected to appear before the Old Bailey on 24 January, the Metropolitan Police said the charges against him would be reviewed in the wake of Aidan’s death.
