Wisconsin girl convicted in Slender Man stabbing sentenced

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — One of two Wisconsin girls who tried to kill a classmate to win favor with a fictional horror character named Slender Man was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in a mental hospital, the maximum punishment possible.

Anissa Weier, 16, pleaded guilty in August to being a party to attempted second-degree intentional homicide, but she claimed she wasn't responsible for her actions because she was mentally ill. In September, a jury agreed.

Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren today sentenced Weier to 25 years in a psychiatric institution, retroactive to the date of the crime. That means she would be institutionalized until age 37.

Weier and Morgan Geyser lured Payton Leutner into a wooded park in Waukesha, a Milwaukee suburb, in 2014. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier urged her on, according to investigators. Leutner survived after she crawled out of the woods to a path where a passing bicyclist found her.

Both Weier and Geyser told detectives they felt they had to kill Leutner to become Slender Man's "proxies," or servants, and protect their families from him. All three girls were 12 years old at the time.

Weier apologized in brief comments before her sentencing.

"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," Weier told the judge, as she sat next to her attorney. "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."

Leutner family spokesman Steve Lyons said they were pleased with the sentence.

"They believe that justice was served," Lyons said. "The sentence today allows for some additional closure for Payton and her family and it also keeps both Payton, her family and the community safe."