The attorney for one of the 12-year-old Wisconsin girls accused of stabbing a classmate has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial, according to USA Today and The Associated Press.
The girls are being charged as adults in the stabbing, which was done to please the online character named Slender Man. Two doctors evaluated the girl, one hired by the defense and one hired by the state. The doctors came to the conclusion that Morgan Geyser was not competent to stand trial, according to attorney Anthony Cotton.
Waukesha County Judge Michael Bohren permitted the prosecution to seek an additional examination and to analyze the results of the exam. The additional exam will attempt to determine if the girl had any mental impairment or disease when the stabbing occurred. Hearings in the case are scheduled for August 1. Cotton objected to the added mental exam because a plea has not been entered on the charge of attempted first-degree intentional homicide.
The other defendant in the case is Anna Weier. They reportedly plotted the attack for months and their goal was to kill another 12-year-old girl. The attack took place on May 31 at a park in Waukesha, a suburb of Milwaukee. The victim has not been identified. She was left for dead in the park, but crawled to a road, where she was found by someone riding a bicycle.
Doctors said that the knife just missed a major artery close to her heart. She is now recovering at home. Prosecutors are preparing for the defense to enter an insanity defense in the case based on the findings of the doctors who examined Geyser. There have yet to be any pleas entered in the case.
Wisconsin law states that anyone deemed mentally incompetent to assist in his or her own defense can be tried, convicted or sentenced.
The family of the victim released a statement this week that said, “She continues to amaze us in her ability to persevere and move forward — taking one day at a time. Much of our strength comes from knowing that there is so much ‘good’ coming from so many people, and we continue to witness this firsthand from the compassion given to our little girl from around the world.”
