US Woman in ‘Slender Man’ Stabbing Case Captured After Cutting Off Monitoring Bracelet and Fleeing Group Home

Morgan Geyser, one of the two Wisconsin women convicted in the 2014 “Slender Man” stabbing case, was taken into custody on Sunday after authorities said she removed her court-ordered monitoring device and absconded from a supervised group home in Madison. The 23-year-old, who was 12 at the time of the widely publicized attack, was located more than 170 miles away in the Chicago suburb of Posen, Illinois, ending an hours-long search that had prompted alerts from law enforcement agencies in two states.

Madison police said Geyser was last accounted for on Saturday evening before her electronic monitoring bracelet sent a malfunction alert to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. According to officials, two hours passed before corrections staff contacted the group home, where they then discovered Geyser had allegedly removed the device and fled the residence with an adult acquaintance. Police issued a missing-person and “attempt-to-locate” alert on Sunday morning, asking the public to report any sightings.

Later that evening, officers in Posen responded to a complaint about two people loitering behind a commercial building near a truck stop and reportedly sleeping on a sidewalk. When approached by law enforcement, Geyser allegedly provided a false name and expressed reluctance to identify herself. According to reporting from CBS News, she told officers she didn’t want to give her real identity because she had “done something really bad,” adding that they could “just Google her.”

Authorities say Geyser eventually admitted who she was and confirmed she had left Wisconsin in violation of her supervision conditions. She was detained without incident. Police also arrested a 42-year-old woman who had accompanied Geyser; the companion was booked on suspicion of obstructing identity after allegedly giving police false information as well.

Madison officials said Geyser will be transferred back to Wisconsin, where she is expected to face consequences related to the escape and the removal of her monitoring bracelet, a device intended to ensure compliance with the court-ordered restrictions of her conditional release.

Geyser’s escape quickly drew national attention due to the notoriety of the underlying case. In May 2014, Geyser and her classmate Anissa Weier lured another 12-year-old girl, Payton Leutner, into a wooded area of a park in Waukesha, Wisconsin, during a sleepover. There, Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier encouraged her. The victim survived after crawling from the woods and being discovered by a passing cyclist.

The attack made international headlines when the girls told investigators they believed they needed to kill their friend to appease “Slender Man,” a fictional supernatural character originating from an internet forum and later adopted into digital folklore, online horror communities, and fan-generated stories. Both attackers told police they feared the imaginary figure would harm their families if they failed to carry out the act.

Though the crime occurred when the girls were preteens, they were charged in adult court due to the severity of the offense. Both ultimately pleaded guilty to attempted homicide. In 2018, Geyser was sentenced to 40 years in a mental health facility, while Weier received a 25-year commitment. Their sentences reflected not only the brutality of the attack but the psychological conditions presented during court proceedings.

Over time, both women petitioned for lesser supervision or conditional release. In March of this year, Geyser was transferred from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute to a Madison-area group home, where she was subject to strict monitoring, mental health treatment requirements, and movement limitations. The removal of her electronic bracelet and departure from the residence represented a serious violation of those terms.

State corrections officials have not yet publicly commented on the two-hour delay between the bracelet malfunction alert and the subsequent contact with the group home. The timeline is expected to come under review in the coming days as authorities evaluate whether any procedural failures contributed to Geyser’s ability to leave Madison undetected.

Payton Leutner, the survivor of the 2014 attack, has maintained her privacy in adulthood and has not issued any public comment on the recent developments.

Geyser remains in custody as Wisconsin officials coordinate her return and determine whether additional charges or sanctions will be pursued. The group home where she had been staying has not released a statement, and questions remain about the conditions of her supervision, the security protocols in place, and how she managed to leave the facility.

Despite the alarming nature of the escape, law enforcement emphasized that Geyser was taken into custody without injury to herself or others. The case continues to unfold as authorities assess the legal implications and the circumstances that allowed the breach to occur.