Midwest
'Slender Man' stabber to be released as state warns of 'red flags'
The Wisconsin woman who attempted to kill her 12-year-old classmate to appease the fictional character “Slender Man” will be released despite the state’s claims there are still “red flags” concerning her behavior.
A judge has ruled Morgan Geyser, 22, can continue with her planned conditional release from a Wisconsin mental health institute, rejecting a last-minute petition from the State Department of Health Services asking for her to remain in custody.
The decision comes after failed attempts by Geyser’s defense team to have her released.
Officials asked Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren to reverse his initial decision after he ordered Geyser’s release in January, citing Geyser’s relationship with a murder memorabilia collector and her interest in violent books.
WISCONSIN GIRL, 15, SENTENCED IN SLENDER MAN STABBING CASE
Morgan Geyser is brought into Waukesha County Circuit Court for a hearing April 11, 2024. (Scott Ash/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
In 2017, Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in the violent stabbing of Payton Leutner but claimed she was not responsible due to her mental illness. She told investigators she tried to kill Leutner to please the horror character Slender Man and was ultimately found not guilty by reason of mental defect.
Geyser’s defense team and the state’s prosecuting attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
“Being found to be mentally ill as the cause of the crime has a pretty high standard,” Dr. Gail Saltz, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, told Fox News Digital. “The standard is an identifiable illness that impacts your ability to understand that what you’re doing is wrong and that you have the capacity to understand that. That’s true regardless of age. So, it is quite a high standard.”
WISCONSIN WOMAN CHARGED IN ‘SLENDER MAN’ STABBING DROPS REQUEST FOR EARLY RELEASE FROM MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY
Morgan Geyser is brought into Waukesha County Circuit Court for a motion hearing April 10, 2024. (Scott Ash/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Geyser and her friend, Anissa Weier, were 12 when they lured Leutner into a wooded park during a sleepover in May 2014. Geyser, encouraged by Weier, stabbed Leutner 19 times.
Leutner miraculously survived the attack.
SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER
Geyser has been in custody at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute for the last seven years. She was initially sentenced to 40 years in the psychiatric hospital and was permitted to ask the court to consider her conditional release every six months.
The Wisconsin State Department of Health Services did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
‘SLENDER MAN’ STABBER GRANTED EARLY RELEASE BY JUDGE AFTER MULTIPLE FAILED ATTEMPTS
Attorney Anthony Cotton talks with client Morgan Geyser after her petition for conditional release was denied in Waukesha County Circuit Court April 11, 2024. (Scott Ash/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Health officials asked Bohren to reconsider, citing Geyser’s relationship with a man who collects murder memorabilia. Prosecutors also said Geyser failed to inform her therapy team about a violent book she was reading.
Geyser’s defense attorney, Tony Cotton, refuted the claims, telling the court the center’s staff members were aware the collector had visited Geyser three times in June 2023 and that she only read books that were permitted by her care team. Cotton added that after Geyser discovered the man was selling items she sent him, she broke things off.
“Morgan is not more dangerous today,” Cotton said.
JUDGE DENIED RELEASE OF WOMAN WHO STABBED CHILDHOOD FRIEND BECAUSE OF ‘SLENDER MAN’
Waukesha County Deputy District Attorney Abbey Nickolie questions Dr. Brooke Lundbohm, a specialist in psychology, during a motion hearing for Morgan Geyser in Waukesha County Circuit Court April 10, 2024. (Scott Ash/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Bohren also listened to testimony from three psychologists who initially recommended Geyser be released during her hearing in January.
While Geyser’s apparent interest in violent topics concerns prosecutors, experts say some individuals may gravitate toward materials that offer a controlled way to indulge in their morbid curiosity.
“This is a gray zone in the sense that many people read violent material as a way of partaking and thinking about that sort of fantasy material,” Saltz said. “Horror movies exist because many humans have sadistic and masochistic urges that are satisfied by reading about or watching material of this sort.”
FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X
Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren presides over the second day of a motion hearing for Morgan Geyser April 11, 2024. (Scott Ash/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
However, agency officials argued Geyser remains a danger to the community, citing the book “Rent Boy,” which features topics such as murder and selling organs on the black market.
Prosecutors told Bohren they believed it was concerning that Geyser reportedly only disclosed the information when confronted by her care team.
“The state has real concerns these things are, frankly, just red flags at this point,” Waukesha County Deputy District Attorney Abbey Nickolie said during a hearing last month.
WISCONSIN WOMAN CONVICTED IN ‘SLENDER MAN’ STABBING CASE PETITIONS FOR CONDITIONAL RELEASE
Morgan Geyser is led out of Waukesha County Circuit Court after her petition for conditional release was denied April 11, 2024. (Scott Ash/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
While morbid curiosities may be normal for some, experts believe those with violent pasts could be influenced by materials about their crimes.
“Thought does not equal behavior,” Saltz said. “That being said, [with] somebody who has committed the behavior, we do worry that ultimately that will increase their urge to do something that they truly [want] to do and lead to a behavior that is considered a problem.”
Despite the state’s pleas to keep Geyser institutionalized, Bohren determined she was no longer a danger to society. Her next court appearance is scheduled for April 28, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
‘SLENDER MAN’ CASE: WISCONSIN JUDGE ORDERS CONDITIONAL RELEASE FOR WOMAN INVOLVED IN STABBING
Morgan Geyser appears in a Waukesha County courtroom Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
“There are many people who commit horrible assaults with the intent to kill and serve their time and the evaluation is that they acknowledge their crime, which [Geyser] clearly has,” Saltz told Fox News Digital. “They fall under all the ingredients that have to do with rehabilitation, who don’t even have a finding that mental illness was a factor and were then released into society. So, I’m saying this isn’t a totally unique situation.”
GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB
Weier also pleaded guilty to being a party to attempted second-degree intentional homicide with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to 25 years in a mental hospital. In 2021, she was released on the condition she must live with her father and wear a GPS monitor.
Attorneys for Weier did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
“You have to think about the victim in this case too,” Saltz said. “The attack was unbelievably traumatic. But, at the end of the day, it’s highly unusual to essentially lock up a 12-year-old for life.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
Were Detroit Tigers snubbed for 2025 MLB All-Star Game?
On “Days of Roar,” Evan Petzold — joined by Scott Bentley of “Locked On Tigers” — breaks down Detroit Tigers players in the 2025 MLB All-Star Game.
- The Detroit Tigers lost to the Seattle Mariners, 12-3, on Friday, July 11.
- Tarik Skubal allowed four runs in five innings in his first loss since April.
- Riley Greene drove in a run for the Tigers with a triple in the sixth inning.
The Detroit Tigers didn’t get the usual pinpoint control from ace Tarik Skubal in their series opener against the Seattle Mariners.
It hardly mattered by the ninth inning, with the Mariners scoring seven runs in the frame, highlighted by a Cal Raleigh grand slam (his second of the game) to give the M’s star an MLB-leading 38 homers on the season.
But it was the Mariners’ other slugger that gave them the lead for good.
On a 1-2 count in the top of the fifth, with the Tigers already down by two, Skubal hung a changeup to Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez. The slugger did not miss, sending the pitch 440 feet from home plate beyond the Little Caesars logo in left-center field.
It ended up as the deciding blow in the Mariners’ 12-3 win over the Tigers on Friday, July 11, at Comerica Park. Skubal allowed four earned runs against the Mariners after two consecutive scoreless starts (on June 29 and July 6), a less-than-ideal way for the ace to enter the All-Star break.
“I felt like I was fighting myself all day,” Skubal said. “Couldn’t get into a rhythm, for whatever reason.”
He finished the start allowing four hits and four earned runs in five innings, striking out five batters and walking two. And in a sign of things to come, his control seemed off from the very first batter.
Skubal hit Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford with his second pitch of the game on a wayward sinker, marking the first time in his career that Skubal has hit a batter to lead off a game. He forced consecutive ground balls from Rodríguez and Raleigh, however, with the one from Raleigh an inning-ending double play to keep the Mariners off the scoreboard in the first inning.
“I put us in a hole early. And as the starting pitcher, you try to keep your team in the game as long as possible. And I just didn’t do my job today,” he said.
Skubal allowed his first run in the second inning off a triple from first baseman Donovan Solano that got by a diving Parker Meadows in center field. The hit scored second baseman Jorge Polanco from first base, giving the Mariners a 1-0 lead, and it might have scored a second run had any Mariner but the slow-footed Solano hit it.
It was the first run Skubal had allowed in 18 innings, with his previous run allowed coming off a two-run home run from Athletics’ center fielder Denzel Clark on June 24.
Crawford was on the receiving end of another Skubal rarity in the third inning, drawing a one-out walk. Skubal, who entered the game with the lowest walk rate among all qualified starters (1.09 per nine innings), hadn’t walked a batter since his June 29 start against the Minnesota Twins.
Skubal’s second earned run of the game came off a two-out RBI single from Crawford in the bottom of the fifth. His next two came off one swing, the towering home run from Rodríguez on the next at-bat that made the score 4-1 in favor of Seattle.
This is the fifth loss the Tigers have recorded on a Skubal start and the first since a 1-0 loss against the Kansas City Royals on May 31. This is also the first time in 2025 the Tigers have lost a Skubal start by more than one run, and Skubal’s first loss since early April; he had won 10 consecutive decisions.
“It’s a good reminder these guys are human, and they’re going to have some of these games where they’re not at their best,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.
Skubal’s next start might be at the 2025 All-Star Game at Truist Park in Atlanta. Although American League manager Aaron Boone has not indicated who he will choose as his starting pitcher, the AL Cy Young favorite stands as a likely choice for the honor.
The four earned runs raised Skubal’s ERA from 2.02 to 2.23 on the season.
Tigers bats not quite hot enough
The Tigers offense, mostly silent through the first three innings with three total baserunners, got the first two runners on in the fourth via a Torres walk and Wenceel Pérez single. A soft flyout from Riley Greene and a strikeout from Spencer Torkelson looked like it would end the threat, especially with Zach McKinstry initially called out on strikes in what appeared to end the inning.
However, the umpires had a quick conference and determined that McKinstry’s whiff was actually a foul tip that hit the ground, allowing the inning to continue. The All-Star wasted no time with his do-over, dropping the next pitch into center field for an RBI single to tie the game at 1. Catcher Dillon Dingler reached first via a hit-by-pitch on the next at-bat to load the bases for Parker Meadows, but Meadows struck out to end the inning, ending the Tigers’ threat.
Mariners starter Luis Castillo outdueled his opponent, allowing three earned runs and six hits over five innings, striking out six Tigers.
“For a while, we didn’t put two really good at-bats together back-to-back, hardly at all. And that’s because Castillo was controlling the tempo and the timing and the barrel contact,” said Hinch.
A no-out Greene triple off Castillo in the sixth inning cut the score to 4-2, scoring Pérez from third base. Torkelson’s sacrifice fly to left field scored Greene and made it a one-run game, though Torkelson’s flyout was only a few feet away from clearing the left-center wall and tying the game.
Greene finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Pérez finished 2-for-3 with a run.
Comedy in the ninth
A bullpen relay of Tyler Holton, Carlos Hernández and Brant Hurter gave up a combined eight runs in the eighth and ninth innings, giving the Mariners a comfortable lead as the game approached its conclusion.
In a treat for those who stayed through the blowout, Tigers catcher Jake Rogers entered to pitch with one out in the ninth for his second pitching appearance of the season. His first came in a June 14 game against the Cincinnati Reds, which the Tigers lost, 11-1.
Rogers got Solano to ground out before hitting Luke Raley with a pitch in the next at-bat. He then induced third baseman Ben Williamson to line out to left to complete his first career scoreless outing.
The Tigers next face the Mariners on Saturday, July 12, with first pitch scheduled for 1:10 p.m.
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com
Milwaukee, WI
July 11 Harley-Davidson Homecoming concerts in Milwaukee Veterans Park canceled by storms
Festivalgoers evacuate amid tornado warning at Harley-Davidson Homecoming
Festivalgoers evacuate as tornado warning hits the Harley-Davidson Homecoming at Veteran Park in Milwaukee, Wis., on July 11, 2025.
One of the Harley-Davidson Homecoming festival’s centerpiece attractions — concerts in Veterans Park in downtown Milwaukee — ended not with a roar but with a whimper July 11, and abruptly, when the concerts were canceled around 6 p.m. due to approaching storms.
The cancellation happened about three hours after festivities in the park had started, but before the day’s biggest acts — including Treaty Oak Revival, Charles Wesley Godwin and headliner Hank Williams Jr. — were able to perform. Four of the day’s nine acts, including country rock band Ole 60, managed to play before the park was shut down.
It was the first of two consecutive days of concerts at the downtown Milwaukee park, the festival’s main event.
Social media posts on the festival’s accounts indicated around 6 p.m. July 11 that “Veterans Park is being evacuated due to severe weather approaching, bringing strong winds, lightning, and heavy rainfall. … The remainder of the festival day has been canceled.”
Similar announcements were made over the festival’s speakers at around that time, when Godwin was supposed to perform.
Skies were clear and remained clear for an hour after the cancellation July 11. Thousands calmly walked out of the park; some attendees swore, while others danced. A handful of fans stayed put and continued to camp out by the main stage despite the evacuation order.
Outside the festival entrance, the War Memorial Beer Garden sold evacuated fest-goers drinks, while a couple of savvy hot dog vendors camped out and took advantage of the situation. Several hundred people hung around, watching an unexpected 6:30 p.m. traffic jam of motorcycles roaring out of downtown on Lincoln Memorial Drive.
At around 7 p.m. July 11, Harley-Davidson posted on its social media channels that all July 11 passes purchased through the event’s primary ticket seller, Front Gate Tickets, would be refunded, and all two-day ticket holders who purchased passes through Front Gate would receive a 50% refund. Refunds will be processed directly within 30 days, according to the post.
“Unfortunately, due to severe weather in the area, we had to end the show earlier than we hoped,” read the company’s statement on social media. “Safety is our top concern, and this was the best course of action for our fans, artists and crew.”
The Harley-Davidson Homecoming is in its third consecutive year. It kicked off July 10 with events at the motorcycle company’s headquarters and adjacent Davidson Park, the Harley-Davidson Museum, Harley-Davidson Powertrain Operations and six area Harley dealerships.
Of all of the Homecoming festivals, the Veterans Park concerts have been the main event. Last year, they featured headliners the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jelly Roll and Hardy; in 2023, it was Foo Fighters and Green Day.
Both of those years were blessed with great weather, and the two festivals drew about 140,000 people combined.
Two-day passes and July 12 passes for the Veterans Park concerts this year were sold out before noon July 11, according to a media release.
The Veterans Park concerts July 12 are scheduled to feature nine acts, including headliner Chris Stapleton; buzzy undercard artists Sierra Ferrell and Turnpike Troubadours; and movie star and Harley fan Jason Momoa’s rock band Oof Tatata.
Those second day Veterans Park shows were still on as of 7:43 p.m. July 11. At that time, the forecast for July 12 called for a high of 84 degrees, with chances of a stray shower or thunderstorm.
At the risk of angering the city and his neighbors, Minneapolis developer and landlord Hamoudi Sabri has this week opened a private homeless encampment in the parking lot of a long-vacant building he owns on E. Lake Street. About 20 people have moved in.
Sabri says he plans to open a second encampment in the North Loop, at the same site where he had tried to operate a large encampment four years ago. At the time, overdoses, propane tank fires and heaping garbage led to its mid-winter closure by police.
He’s going to try again, Sabri said, because he’d fed up with the city’s homeless dispersal tactics, which have driven people struggling with mental illness and addiction from one hideaway to another. Homeless people end up breaking into his properties anyway, he said, so he would rather invite them to live in a contained place with portable toilets, garbage pickup and some form of management, where health and housing outreach workers could easily find them.
“I told the police, these guys, they’re exhausted,” Sabri said. “These guys are spilling around. So they need a place to stay, so I’d rather have them be in here, in one place, than have them every place.”
Hamoudi Sabri’s North Loop property currently does not have any tents, but the landlord says he will invite homeless people to live there again, as they had four years ago. (Susan Du)
On Friday morning, police officers attempted to clear the parking lot at 2716 E. Lake St. Most occupants broke down their tents and fled into the surrounding neighborhood.
Then Sabri arrived to intervene. In an interaction he recorded and showed to the Minnesota Star Tribune, he demanded officers leave the campers alone. They eventually left without forcing everyone to pack up.
Minneapolis’ Regulatory Services Director Enrique Velazquez told the landlord on Friday that by ordinance, no tent may be used as a dwelling “anywhere in the city of Minneapolis.”
“It’s a tough situation for sure,” Velazquez said in an interview. “The [city’s] Homeless Response Team has been to that site a few times already. They have provided some referrals with individuals that are interested in moving into shelter. We’ve made the county and their providers aware. But for all intents purposes, it’s not allowed. And even if a property owner does want people to go to a specific site so that they do not target or do damage, if you will, at any other locations, it’s still not something that as a city or as an enterprise, we’re in a position to allow.”
Tarik Skubal stung by Seattle Mariners early, and then bullpen blows up in 12-3 loss
From Labubus to Nintendo, San Francisco’s Union Square cashing in on viral trends
SB Reacts: Dallas Mavericks free agency and playoff prediction reactions
Teen escapes 78-year-old man’s car after being molested: Miami Police
Boston Celtics surprise addition shines in Summer League win over Grizzlies
-
Business1 week agoSee How Trump’s Big Bill Could Affect Your Taxes, Health Care and Other Finances
-
Culture1 week ago16 Mayors on What It’s Like to Run a U.S. City Now Under Trump
-
Politics7 days agoVideo: Trump Signs the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Into Law
-
News1 week agoVideo: Who Loses in the Republican Policy Bill?
-
Science1 week agoFederal contractors improperly dumped wildfire-related asbestos waste at L.A. area landfills
-
Technology1 week agoMeet Soham Parekh, the engineer burning through tech by working at three to four startups simultaneously
-
Politics1 week agoCongressman's last day in office revealed after vote on Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill'
-
World7 days agoRussia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,227