In a surprising turn of events, Morgan Geyser, who gained national attention due to her involvement in the Slender Man stabbing case, was apprehended in Illinois after leaving a group home in Madison, Wisconsin. Authorities are now preparing for her likely extradition back to Wisconsin.
Geyser was just a sixth-grader when she was charged in 2014 for stabbing a classmate to honor the fictional character Slender Man. Following her guilty plea to attempted first-degree intentional homicide, she was sent to a state mental health facility.
Despite prosecutors’ objections, Geyser received a conditional release from the facility this summer and started living in a supervised group home. However, the 23-year-old removed her ankle monitor and disappeared on a Saturday night, leading Madison police to launch a search.
Her escape led to her discovery at a truck stop in Posen, Illinois, where she was found with a man. According to a social media post by the Posen Police Department, Geyser initially provided a false identity. She later admitted, “I didn’t want to tell officers who I was because I had ‘done something really bad,’” suggesting they could “just Google” her name.
Reports from ABC7 confirmed that the man accompanying her, a 42-year-old, faced arrest for trespassing but was subsequently freed. Geyser was held at Cook County Jail as of Monday morning.
Waukesha County District Attorney Lesli Boese confirmed a warrant for Geyser’s arrest, with an extradition hearing scheduled in Chicago. Defense attorney Jonathan LaVoy remarked, “Extradition cases are very rarely ever contested, and are certainly very rarely ever won by a criminal defendant.” However, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) noted that Geyser could opt not to waive extradition, potentially prolonging the process.
During a press briefing, Boese stated that upon Geyser’s extradition to Wisconsin, she will be under the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ custody, which will determine if her conditional release should be revoked. Should this happen, Geyser might return to an institutional care facility, as indicated by Waukesha County Assistant District Attorney Abbey Nickolie.
Geyser’s history involves time spent at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute since 2018, and she had successfully petitioned for release last year. Her placement in a group home was finalized on September 17.
Boese mentioned the district attorney’s office was alerted about Geyser’s disappearance on Sunday, promptly informing the victim’s family. “While she (Geyser) was on the loose, we were very concerned about the safety of the victim and her family, as well as our community,” Boese said.
Geyser’s attorney, Anthony Cotton, has not communicated with her since her arrest and will not represent her at the Illinois hearing. “My guess is that Morgan (Geyser) will presumably be taken back to the mental health hospital, re-evaluated and further decisions will have to be made about whether or not she’s suitable for release in the future,” Cotton stated.
Madison Police Outlines Events
Cotton explained that Geyser was under near-constant supervision at the group home. The Madison Police Department reported that the last sighting of Geyser was around 8:15 p.m. on Saturday. An alert about her GPS device malfunctioning was received by the DOC at approximately 9:30 p.m., and the group home was contacted about two hours later.
The police timeline indicated that “Around midnight, DOC issued an apprehension request for Geyser,” though this request was not communicated to the Madison Police Department. A missing person report was filed by the group home at 7:46 a.m. on Sunday.
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