Tween Wisconsin Girls In 'Slender Man' Stabbings Found Fit To Stand Trial

By Chuck Sudo in News on Dec 19, 2014 5:40PM

Two Wisconsin girls accused of stabbing a friend 19 times in order to impress an Internet meme known as the “Slender Man” have been deemed competent to stand trial as adults. The girls and their victim from Waukesha were all 12 years old at the time of the incident.

According to the criminal complaint, the two girls charged in the crime invited the third over for a slumber party and planned on stabbing her during the sleepover. They waited instead until the next day when all three went into the woods. The victim crawled out of the woods, was rescued by a passing bicyclist and has recovered from her physical wounds. Investigators said one of the girls admitted to stabbing the victim in order to become “proxies” of the Slender Man, an online bogeyman they insisted was real. (Moderators of the website where the girls discovered the Slender Man story responded after the story went national, reminding people the character is a work of fiction.)

The issue of the girls’ competency has been fought in court for months since then, with defense attorneys for one of the girls insisting last month their client still believes the Slender Man exists. Psychologists testifying for the defense said one of the girls was unfit to stand trial “because she would be unable to make decisions in a complex setting such as a criminal trial.” A psychiatrist testifying for the prosecution disagreed and found her capable of understanding and taking part in her defense. Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren apparently agreed with the prosecution and ruled the girl fit to stand trial. Attorneys for the other girl waived their right to dispute a mental evaluation last month and Bohren later ruled her fit to stand trial, as well.

For those wondering why two tweens are being charged as adults in this case, Wisconsin law requires attempted homicide cases to begin in adult court before attorneys can request the case be moved to juvenile court.

WTF, Wisconsin?

The girls, if convicted as adults, face up to 60 years in prison. (Again, they were 12 when they were arrested.) If they wind up being tried as juveniles, they could be held in a juvenile facility until they turn 25.

(Multiple media outlets have reported the names of the two girls, since they were charged as adults. Chicagoist has decided not to do that; if you’re curious about their names, click the links we’ve provided in the post.)