Slender Man stabbing case defendant Morgan Geyser may face her new reality in courtfollowing her escapefrom a Madison group home, but for now her attorney says she should be returned to a mental health facility, not a jail.
Tony Cotton, who has represented Geyser since 2014 in the infamousSlender Man stabbing casein Waukesha, Wisconsin, posited that opinion to Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge K. Scott Wagner in a Dec. 1 letter.
"Given that she has no new criminal charges in Waukesha County and given that she has been previously found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect on the underlying offense, it is our position that she should be housed in a mental health facility, not a correctional institution," Cotton wrote, according to a faxed copy of the letter contained in court documents.
Geyser, 23, is being held in the Waukesha County Jail awaiting a Dec. 22 hearing, when a formal revocation of her conditional release is expected to be discussed by Wisconsin Department of Health Services officials. Cotton, who confirmed Dec. 1 he will continue to represent her, did not respond to a question about what Geyser can expect at that hearing.
He also acknowledged he isn't sure what action, if any, Dane County will take on Geyser's escape. Officials earlier noted that felony criminal charges are possible because Geyser allegedly cut off her court-mandated electronic tracking device that was one condition of her group home stay.
Geyser and co-defendant Anissa Weier were charged more than 11 years ago with attempted homicide involvingtheir friend Payton Leutner. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times in Waukesha near Davids Park in a wooded area. All three girls were 12 years old at the time. They were found not guilty by reason of mental defect or disease in 2017 and sentenced to mental confinement,Weier for 25 years, andGeyser for 40 years.
Geyser, whogained a court-approved conditional releasein January andeventual placement in September, reportedly fled the YoYo Quality Care group home in Madison late on Nov. 22, an incident that was not reported until early on Nov. 23. She, along with Chad Mecca, 43,were found at an Illinois truck stopshortly thereafter.
Geyser was quicklyextradited back to Wisconsinand placed in custody in the Waukesha County Jail.
Dane County District Attorney officials did not immediately respond to a Dec. 1 email inquiring about potential criminal charges tied to Geyser's escape. No charges had been filed as yet, according to court documents.
Contact reporter Jim Riccioli atjames.riccioli@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:Attorney urges judge to move Slender Man defendant Morgan Geyser