10: The Truth Behind Morgan’s Escape and Disturbing Murder Memorabilia | The Slenderman Stabbing

Payton Leutner never expected a sleepover to turn into a fight for her life, but in the quiet woods of Waukesha, two 12-year-old friends led her into a nightmare inspired by the myth of Slenderman. Stabbed 19 times and left for dead, Payton’s survival and the chilling motives behind the attack shook the nation and raised haunting questions about internet lore, childhood innocence, and the blurred lines between fantasy and reality. But recently one of her attackers, Morgan Geyser, briefly escaped from a Wisconsin group home where she had been placed after being conditionally released from a psychiatric institution…. If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow the show for weekly deep dives into the darkest true crime cases! To watch the video version of this episode, head over to youtube.com/@annieelise. .🔎Join Our True Crime Club & Get Exclusive Content & Perks..🎧 Need More to Binge? Listen to both of my weekly true crime series 10 to Life & Serialously with Annie Elise wherever you get your podcasts on the Annie Elise Channel!🍎 Apple Podcasts | Where you can also unlock access to 100+ and growing extra exclusive deep dives.💚 Spotify🔴 YouTube🎙️ All Other Platforms.📸 Follow Annie on Socials Instagram: @_annieeliseTikTok: @_annieeliseSubstack: @annieeliseFacebook: @10toLife.👗 Shop Annie’s Must-Haves! ShopMY: bit.ly/AnnieElise_ShopMy Amazon: bit.ly/AnnieElise_Amazon.🫵🏻 Get Involved or Recommend a CaseAbout Annie: www.annieelise.comFor Business Inquiries: [email protected].📚 Episode Sources Daily Mail | People | New York Post••••••••••••••••••🚨Disclaimers1️⃣ Some links may be affiliate links, they do not cost you anything, but I make a small percentage from the sale. Thank you so much for watching and supporting me. 2️⃣ Sources used to collect this information include various public news sites, interviews, court documents, FB groups dedicated to the case, and various news channel segments. When quoting statements made by others, they are strictly alleged until confirmed otherwise. Please remember my videos are my independent opinion and to always do your own research. 3️⃣ The views and opinions expressed in this video are personal and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the creator(s). These views are subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time and are not to be held in perpetuity. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information on this video and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. It is the reader’s responsibility to verify their own facts.

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• 1:23Speaker 03

  At just 12, these two girls nearly took another classmate's life. Prosecutors say she lured a classmate into the woods, nearly stabbing her to death to please a fictional character called Slenderman. They stabbed her 19 times.

• 1:37Annie Elise?

  Back in 2014, the entire country was shaken by one of the most senseless and haunting crimes that it had ever seen. Three 12-year-old girls, friends, walked into the woods together, and only two of them walked out. The third, Peyton, she had been lured there under the guise of a sleepover, and then she was stabbed 19 times while her friends urged each other on, shouting disturbing phrases like "go ballistic."

• 2:07Annie Elise?

  Miraculously, Peyton survived, but the horror wasn't only in what happened, but it was why it happened. Because when investigators asked the two girls responsible what drove them to do this, their explanation was so bizarre, so chilling, and so impossible to comprehend that it left the nation stunned. They claimed that they needed to kill to appease Slender Man, a fictional internet character. Now, in the years that followed, there were court hearings, psychiatric evaluations, emotional statements, and a very highly publicized sentencing. And despite a 40-year confinement

• 2:47Annie Elise?

  order, one of the attackers, Morgan Geyser, the girl who stabbed Peyton 19 times, was released earlier this year to a supervised group home. It was a decision that completely divided the community and outraged so many who believed that she remained dangerous. And then, just this past weekend, on November 22, 2025, something unspeakable happened again. Morgan cut off her ankle monitor, walked away from the group home that she lived in, and vanished. Days later, she was captured several states away, but what has come out in the aftermath is raising even more red flags. Who she was traveling with, how she

• 3:30Annie Elise?

  managed to flee, what she had been doing behind closed doors while in the facility, such as disturbing drawings, writings, and conversations, including with a murder memorabilia collector. Things that all paint a picture far darker than anyone realized. A picture that suggests that Morgan Geyser may have never been ready for release, and that this case may go much deeper and be much more alarming than we ever even knew. I'm Annie Elise. This is 10 to Life. Let's jump right in.

• 4:18Annie Elise?

  On May 31st, 2014, a guy named Greg was riding his bike down the bike path at David's Park in Wisconsin when he came across a horrifying sight. A 12-year-old who appeared to have multiple stab wounds. When he stumbled across this scene, this young girl was laying near the bike path and clearly, visibly injured, and just a horrible scene to witness. So Greg immediately calls 911. And what is so crazy about this case is Greg randomly took this path. He usually went on an entirely different path on his bike, but because he randomly chose

• 4:58Annie Elise?

  to go this direction this day and then literally just jumped into action and acted so fast is what ultimately saved this 12-year-old's life. Because of him, she got the medical care that she needed and she survived. But who was this 12-year-old girl? And how did a 12-year-old end up on a bike path with multiple stab wounds all over her body? Take a listen to this 911 call.

• 5:24Speaker 05

  911, your emergency. I'm trying to call a woman, I'm trying to remember a caller on Big Bend at the dead end just south of Rivera.

• 5:33Speaker 06

  Okay.

• 5:35Speaker 05

  Came up on a 12-year-old female. She appears to be stabbed.

• 5:38Speaker 06

  She appears to be what?

• 5:39Speaker 05

  Stabbed.

• 5:40Speaker 06

  Stabbed?

• 5:41Speaker 05

  Correct.

• 5:42Speaker 06

  Okay. Very familiar?

• 5:44Speaker 07

  Yes.

• 5:44Speaker 06

  Hi, sir. So is, are you with this 12-year-old female?

• 5:47Speaker 07

  Yeah, she says she's having trouble breathing. She said she was stabbed multiple times.

• 5:53Speaker 06

  Stabbed multiple times?

• 5:54Speaker 07

  Yeah.

• 5:56Speaker 06

  Okay, sir, are you with her right now?

• 5:58Speaker 07

  Yes.

• 5:58Speaker 06

  Does she feel awake?

• 6:00Speaker 07

  She's awake.

• 6:01Speaker 06

  Does she breathe?

• 6:02Speaker 07

  Yeah, she's breathing. She said she can take shallow breaths. She's alert.

• 6:08Speaker 06

  Okay, stay with her. We're sending the police department. Don't hang up, okay?

• 6:11Annie Elise?

  Very upsetting to listen to. Peyton Lutner is a 12-year-old girl who is described as just fun, hopeful, animal-loving, just a joy to really be around. And Peyton also attended the local middle school in Wisconsin. She was excited to meet new friends, participate in school activities, and in the 4th grade, she became friends with a girl named Morgan Geyser. And Peyton had become friends with Morgan after noticing actually that Morgan didn't have that many friends. She noticed that Morgan was kind of lonely and was kind of always doing her own thing, and she felt bad for her. So she befriended her, and they ultimately ended up hitting it off. The two of them instantly became close friends,

• 6:53Annie Elise?

  though it was said Morgan was apparently a little bit controlling sometimes. And a couple of years later, into this friendship, a new girl had started going to their middle school as well, and this was in the 6th grade. And her name was Anisa. And Morgan became close friends with Anisa. So the three of these friends began hanging out constantly. However, Morgan appeared to be closer to Anisa than Peyton was. And this often happens in groups of friends and girlfriends, especially when you're younger. You have a group of three friends, and two of them obviously have a little bit closer of a bond, and one ends up feeling left out. And it appears that's what was happening in this situation.

• 7:34Annie Elise?

  Peyton was beginning to feel a little bit left out as the bond between Morgan and Anisa grew stronger. It's also thought that perhaps Anisa was a little bit jealous of Morgan and Peyton's friendship, and that that may have been part of the reason why she tried to get this closer bond with Morgan, to try to, you know, break them up. Well, on May 30th, the three girls ended up having a sleepover for Morgan's birthday. It was expected to be a sleepover just like any other typical 6th grade sleepover. You, the girls went roller skating at Skate Land, they got frozen yogurt, they were just hanging out at Morgan's house before deciding that they were gonna go to bed, which was a little bit earlier than usual.

• 8:15Annie Elise?

  And that going to bed early part kind of sticks out as odd in this case, because usually Morgan wanted to stay up late, and the sleepover was at her house and for her birthday. However, she's the one who had the idea to go to sleep early. So nonetheless, the girls all settle in and hit the sack for an early night. With only Morgan and Anisa knowing what would be coming next, a plan that they had hatched to murder Peyton. And this plan had been in the works for six months. For six months, these two young sixth grade girls were plotting to kill their best friend. But why?

• 8:56Annie Elise?

  Well, apparently, they were planning this to prove their worth to someone by the name of Slenderman. And now you guys probably are thinking, oh, I remember this case. But there's a few of them that had to do with Slenderman, which is bizarre in itself. So they were planning to, you know, commit this murder on Peyton because they wanted to prove their worth to Slenderman. And Slenderman is a person who is a fictional character. It's a made up story about this really tall creepy guy who's completely faceless and he wears suits all the time. Just a true, you know, nightmare and scary story. And this Slenderman character also supposedly preyed on kids. He also apparently had a huge mansion, but in order to live in the mansion,

• 9:42Annie Elise?

  girls or boys or whoever these kids were who wanted to join needed to somehow prove their worth to Slenderman. So in order to do that, they planned on killing Peyton. Almost like a sacrificial offering of sorts, just beyond strange and beyond disturbing. But nonetheless, these two girls planned the murder of their friend as a means to please this fictional character. And this was a plan that they had talked about constantly with each other. So much so that they even talked about it in public. But when they would talk about it on the bus or other places in public, they would use code words. Now Morgan's mom knew that Morgan liked Slenderman because apparently

• 10:26Annie Elise?

  she herself was very into Stephen King novels when she was younger, when she was Morgan's age. And she figured, you know, this was just a normal middle schooler thing. You're kind of fascinated with the darkness. You're fascinated with the mystery and the mystical almost. So she didn't really think too much of it. And she had absolutely no idea what was going on deep down or at all that something was actually being plotted that was extremely sinister.

• 10:54Annie Elise?

  And as for Peyton, she did not believe in this Slender Man crap. It was not a Pirelli. She did not believe it. But because she was friends with Morgan and Anisa, she of course, listened to them talk about Slender Man all the time. Obviously, she didn't hear them talk about this planned attack, but she did know that they were fascinated with this character. But she didn't think anything of it because again, she just thought that it was what Morgan was into. That they were into this random creepy guy. She was just trying to be a good friend and listen with no judgment. So Morgan and Anisa had been plotting for months and ultimately had planned this murder to be at that birthday sleepover.

• 11:33Annie Elise?

  The plan was to wake up around 2:00 a.m., duct tape Peyton's mouth, and then stab her in the neck. And these girls went forward with that plan. They woke up, set their alarms, woke up at 2:00 a.m. However, when they woke up, they reportedly were too sleepy and went back to bed. Okay, a little too tired for murder. You're waking up, you're like, oh, no, maybe not today, maybe not now. It's 2:00 a.m. I need to roll back over. A little too tired for murder. Okay, yeah, I get it. Guys, I can't like, wow, okay. So in the morning, all three of the girls wake up and they have donuts for breakfast and they're all hanging out. They start playing on electronics, they're playing games, they're playing dress up together and really just again, doing typical sleepover stuff.

• 12:16Annie Elise?

  And while Peyton was getting dressed up in her dress up outfit in the bathroom, the girls quickly started hatching another plan. And the fact that these kids were playing a game as innocent as dress up, all while planning a murder at the same time is just sickening and very, very unsettling. These are literal children that we're talking about here, guys. So Anisa and Morgan's next plan was to murder Peyton at the park. Usually Morgan was not allowed to go to the park alone and she had to have an adult present with her. However, because it was her birthday, her mom decided to bend the rules a little bit and let the three girls go to the park together and have a good time.

• 12:58Annie Elise?

  Which was probably, in hindsight, the worst mistake the mom ever made. So the three friends arrive to David's Park and they go into the bathroom at first. And the plan originally was to blitz attack Peyton while she was sitting on the toilet in the bathroom and kill her. And there was a drain in the bathroom that Anisa and Morgan thought could catch all of the blood from the stabbing. And it seems wild to me that a 12-year-old is capable of thinking this far into things. Not only thinking about murder itself, which is disturbing enough, but also thinking about the cleanup and how you're going to catch all the blood. So when the friends got into the bathroom, Anisa hit Peyton's head against the concrete wall.

• 13:41Annie Elise?

  The plan now was to knock her out and then kill her because the two friends had read that it's easier to kill someone when they're asleep and unconscious and if you don't actually look the victims into the eye. However, when she hit Peyton's head, it didn't knock Peyton out. So the girls then moved on to the next thing. And the girls decided that they should play hide and seek outside in the park. But my question here is, why would Peyton stick around and continue to play a game with these girls outside after Anisa just hit her in the head? Was she desperate to fit in with these girls? Did she really not want to be left out, which just is heartbreaking to think about? So while they all go outside and prepare to play this game, Anisa pointed out to the

• 14:26Annie Elise?

  woods to Morgan and told her that they could kill Peyton there. So the plan was for Anisa now to run after Peyton and tackle her and then Morgan would handle the rest from there. But that is not actually what happened. The girls did end up tricking Peyton and getting her into the woods to play that game of hide and seek. Anisa told Peyton to lie on the ground and to cover herself with sticks and leaves to hide. So Peyton did that. And once Peyton did that, Anisa told Morgan, "Now, go ballistic, go crazy." Who says that? Who commands their friend and says, "Now, go ballistic, go ballistic, go crazy"? It is crazy, guys, like...

• 15:08Annie Elise?

  The verbiage that they are using, it is ju- like, clearly, there is no doubt, not remorse yet, but like, no reluctance to actually not do this, just saying, directing her, "Go ballistic, go crazy." So at that moment, Morgan actually jumped on top of Peyton and began stabbing her with a large kitchen knife. Morgan stabbed Peyton nineteen times before getting off of her. Now Peyton has maintained that her body must have been in complete shock because she says that she didn't even really feel the stabbings, which, thank God. So after Morgan got off of her, Peyton was hysterically screaming, in agony, trying to get up and trying to walk.

• 15:49Annie Elise?

  The girls told her to lay down and that they would go and get help, which, why would Peyton ever believe them? This was now the second time that her friends physically hurt her. So the two girls leave the scene with obviously no intention of returning to help. And incredibly, Peyton was able to muster up the strength to get up and walk out of the woods. She found a patch of grass near a bike path and then laid back down and collapsed. And at that point, she was obviously in agonizing pain with over nineteen stab wounds. And that was at the same time when Greg came upon the scene and called 911.

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• 17:00Speaker 02

  Time for a quick break to talk about McDonald's. It's the tangiest time of the year. For a limited time, head to McDonald's and get a McRib sandwich. Make it a meal by adding a medium fries and a soft drink like an ice cold Diet Dr. Pepper. So grab a McRib sandwich and embrace the tang. Save time by ordering ahead on the app. At participating McDonald's for a limited time. Dr. Pepper is a registered trademark of Dr. Pepper, 7-Up Inc.

• 17:28Annie Elise?

  Now let's take a beat and I just want to put this in perspective. Can you even imagine what kind of evil that truly takes to lure your friend out into the woods? And to jump and attack them 19 times while your other friend is egging you on? Go ballistic, do more, get her, get her. It is so scary to think about that there is this kind of rage, danger and evil rooted in 12 year old girls. But I suppose we have seen that happen before, not only with girls, but Aiden Fucci. Aiden Fucci was only 14 years old when he attacked 13 year old Tristan Bailey,

• 18:11Annie Elise?

  a classmate of his, and he stabbed her over 100 times with such force that the tip of the blade broke off into Tristan's skull. And it does seem, I would, I just have to say this. It does seem that with advancements in social media, technology, the ability to go viral. I have certainly seen in just my true crime coverage, a huge uptick in teen on teen violence. Whether it's because they want the notoriety that goes with it. They think that they're untouchable, whatever it is. There certainly in the last decade has been a big surge in this. And that is absolutely frightening to think about. So after Greg called 911, the paramedics and the authorities showed up

• 18:56Annie Elise?

  and Peyton was taken to the hospital. And then a full scale investigation and search for the other girls was underway.

• 19:04Speaker 09

  And you were biking by and she says to you what? Could you help me please? I've been stabbed multiple times. I quick got out my cellphone, I was shaken. He watches as the ambulance rushes her away.

• 19:14Annie Elise?

  And as all of this was happening, Peyton's parents were receiving the most devastating news and rushing to the hospital to be by Peyton's side. In an interview, Peyton's mom Stacy recalls the exact moment that she laid eyes on Peyton.

• 19:29Speaker 10

  She was terrified. She was crying, she couldn't breathe.

• 19:33Speaker 09

  But she saw you there.

• 19:34Speaker 10

  She saw me and she put her hand out and I rushed over to her. And I put my arms around her and I laid next to her and I hugged her and I said, you're gonna be okay, it's gonna be fine.

• 19:47Speaker 10

  But I could see that she was covered. Her arms and her legs and her abdomen were covered in stab wounds.

• 19:54Annie Elise?

  Peyton was extremely close to death. The stab wound on her chest was so close to her heart that if it had just gone a millimeter deeper, she would have died.

• 20:05Speaker 09

  Describe the moment you first see her. The surgeon who was there that day, when he was looking at the wounds, and in particular, the stab wound to the chest, he told me that had it been the width of a human hair deeper, that stab wound, that she wouldn't be here today.

• 20:20Speaker 11

  The knife stopped at the wall of the artery.

• 20:22Speaker 09

  Had it not?

• 20:24Speaker 11

  Had it not, she would have had a major heart attack from the amount of bleeding and probably died within a minute or two.

• 20:33Annie Elise?

  Detective Michelle Tressoni was working the case and met with Peyton at the hospital. She was fearful that Peyton actually wasn't going to make it, and her main concern was just to gather as much information as absolutely possible. Because in case Peyton didn't live through this nightmare, she wanted to make sure and she wanted to confirm that she could hold these people accountable. Meanwhile, Morgan's mom and Anissa's parents were being notified of the incident that occurred. Morgan's mom Angie discusses her take on those events in an interview.

• 21:04Speaker 12

  You know, the day the police came to our house, my son came downstairs. I was vacuuming downstairs. And my son came downstairs and he said, Mommy, the police are at our house. And I assumed he meant they were like outside here for the neighbors. And he was like, no, no, no, they're in our house. And I was like, what? So I went upstairs and there's several officers and one of them had a big riot shield. But they wouldn't tell us what happened. They just told us, well, they asked if Morgan was home. And I said, no. That she was at the park with her friends. And there was some confusion because my son wasn't aware that she had gone to the park. So he said Morgan was home. So I mean, they were instantly, they thought I was lying. They thought I was, yeah, hiding her.

• 21:49Speaker 12

  And they asked to search the house and they searched the house. And of course, she wasn't there. But they wouldn't tell me what had happened. They just told me that her friend was hurt and she said that Morgan did it. And I mean, instantly, I just, I couldn't even fathom how that could have happened. I mean, Morgan was such a...

• 22:09Speaker 12

  She was just always such a gentle and kind person. She was a vegetarian because she didn't want to hurt animals. But yeah, they just, they wouldn't tell us what was going on the entire day. They didn't tell us what was going on and they sort of, we were sort of made to be under the impression that Morgan was missing and she was in danger too. Yeah, and they didn't know where Morgan was.

• 22:33Annie Elise?

  What also is sick and disturbing is a mutilated Barbie doll was found, among other items, during the search at Morgan's house. During the search for the girls, Anisa's mom found Anisa's phone as well. And on the phone, there was a text note from three days earlier that stated, "This is my final wish to those who care. Do not grieve my absence, but remember me for who I was. I love and cherish you, and I wouldn't do you harm." Now that obviously heightened the search efforts and the panic because now there's a concern for a possible un-aliving, as that's what that note felt like. But the part of that note that says "wouldn't do you harm", that part is especially chilling,

• 23:17Annie Elise?

  considering it was just written a few days earlier before she participated in an attempted murder. After a five-hour search, the girls were finally located and they were sitting on the side of the highway. They were brought into the police station with blood all over their clothes. And the knife that they used was in Anisa's backpack. The interrogation literally gives me chills every single time I watch it.

• 23:42Speaker 13

  Your parents know that you're here talking to me, okay? And I'm glad, they're so glad that you're safe.

• 23:50Speaker 12

  I did notice she had a blood stain on the front of her shirt, and she was wearing two shirts. And I asked her, you know, "Are you okay?"

• 23:57Speaker 14

  Do you stand up and kind of stand there you go, just like?

• 24:00Speaker 13

  Right there.

• 24:01Speaker 14

  Okay.

• 24:02Speaker 13

  And it's on the white shirt underneath that.

• 24:04Speaker 14

  And it's on the shirt underneath it too? Okay. What is your name?

• 24:07Speaker 13

  Anisa Ware.

• 24:14Speaker 15

  Morgan seemed like she was very calm,

• 24:19Speaker 15

  very relaxed.

• 24:22Speaker 15

  I mean, she's at a police department and she's covered in blood. And this is like a normal day for her.

• 24:28Speaker 13

  All right, he's gonna help us out. We're gonna take some photographs of you right now. Do you mind just standing up, baby? All right, just stand up like that. Perfect.

• 24:39Speaker 14

  What is it?

• 24:48Speaker 14

  Do you know what happened to Bella?

• 24:50Speaker 15

  Morgan called Peyton by the name of Bella.

• 24:53Speaker 16

  She said that it was a nickname because there was another girl named Peyton.

• 24:56Speaker 14

  Is she dead?

• 24:59Speaker 13

  I don't know. Uh, would you want us to take her to the hospital?

• 25:04Speaker 14

  What? I was just wondering.

• 25:08Speaker 15

  She was very nonchalant. It didn't seem like it really concerned her too much if she was dead or alive.

• 25:13Speaker 13

  I still don't know what happened. And I don't know who did what, and I need to know that today. Okay?

• 25:22Speaker 15

  We didn't know what these girls were gonna tell us.

• 25:24Speaker 13

  What were you trying to do with her when you stabbed her?

• 25:28Speaker 14

  Kill her. I might as well just say it. We were trying to kill her.

• 25:32Speaker 13

  So why did you pick Peyton?

• 25:33Speaker 14

  I didn't pick her.

• 25:35Speaker 13

  Who picked her?

• 25:36Speaker 14

  Whoever Anita was talking about. She made it seem necessary.

• 25:41Speaker 16

  My thought was, why would she do this?

• 25:44Speaker 14

  There's this website, like, or a story that has one of those called Slender Man.

• 25:51Speaker 16

  Who the heck is Slender Man?

• 25:52Speaker 14

  We had to prove ourselves worthy to Slender Man.

• 25:56Annie Elise?

  The fact that these girls are just so nonchalant about stabbing their friend is completely mind-boggling. And so, obviously, at the end of these interrogations, they were not sent home. There is no way they were going home. They were both charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide. And then, when Morgan's locker was searched at school, they found a list of supplies that was needed, as well as very, very creepy drawings. Now, whether or not you think there was any true remorse, and any accountability in terms of them realizing that Slender Man was just a fictional character, that this wasn't real, that's for you to decide. Personally, I have my own thoughts on that. I did back when I first recorded this

• 26:38Annie Elise?

  episode. I still do today. And given what we now know about Morgan and her behavior while in the care facility, it just makes me think evil is evil is evil. And don't worry, we will get to that in a bit here. For three years, following their arrest, both girls went through mental health treatments, diagnoses, and court days. In 2015, the judge ruled that the girls were not eligible for juvenile court, and he actually allowed the cameras to come in and capture pictures for the very first time since they had been arrested. Both Morgan and Anisa looked extremely different just a year later. Morgan was diagnosed with schizophrenia,

• 27:20Annie Elise?

  which apparently runs in her father's family, and her father is diagnosed with that as well. She was also diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder. In January 2016, she was sent to a psychiatric hospital. Morgan's mother and she did an interview in regards to Morgan's mental health just a couple of months later.

• 27:38Speaker 12

  Well, that's such a big part of parenting in general is that you're always second guessing yourself. And in your job, you know, your job as a mother is to protect your child from bad things happening to them. And yeah, I felt like I failed. How did I, how didn't I know? How didn't I know that she was sick?

• 27:58Speaker 17

  Yeah.

• 27:59Speaker 12

  Even though I know, looking back, that she was, you know, she was doing well in school and she, she had friends. She didn't have a lot of friends, but she always had a handful of close friends. There were some things that we dismissed as, well, she was going through puberty right before she left. She got her period right before she was arrested. So there were some things that we dismissed as maybe typical teenage girl behavior that that weren't.

• 28:26Speaker 17

  Yeah.

• 28:27Speaker 12

  And that, I mean, knowing what I know now.

• 28:30Speaker 17

  Yeah.

• 28:31Speaker 12

  We would have, yeah, we would have looked into more at the time. But I don't think that there were any glaring, obvious clues that she was ill.

• 28:44Speaker 17

  Yeah.

• 28:44Speaker 12

  Again, there were no overt symptoms, you know, and even though she reports now having symptoms as young as three. Well, the way that she explains it is that because it was always like that for her, she just assumed that that's the way it was for everyone.

• 29:03Speaker 12

  She did make a conscious effort to hide her symptoms from us. I think part of that was because

• 29:12Speaker 12

  her hallucinations were friends. They were friendly for the most part. And she didn't want them to go away. I'll ask her, why didn't you ever tell me about this? And she says, because you would have done something. Yeah. It's like, well, yeah, of course I would have done something. The one thing that bothers me that's been so inaccurately reported

• 29:35Speaker 12

  about Morgan, and it even came up in court, is that she refused medication. It's 100% not true. She never refused treatment or medication. It was never offered to her properly? Exactly. You can't refuse something that's not being offered to you. And the statement that so many, you know, news sources have reported on, I mean, it's just not true. Okay. She never refused treatment.

• 30:01Speaker 12

  It bothers me because it was even listed as one of the reasons for denying her the reverse waiver. Yeah. That she refused treatment. Well, that's not true. She made a statement to her doctors that she didn't want to take medication because she didn't want to go her friend, uh, she didn't want her friends to go away. But that's not refusing treatment. No, it's, it's completely different.

• 30:23Speaker 12

  She's been nothing but compliant with her treatment.

• 30:27Speaker 12

  And even acknowledges how much it's helping her. Yeah.

• 30:29Annie Elise?

  Anisa, too, was diagnosed with PTSD, major depression, and personality disorder, as well as delusional disorder. Now, what are the odds that these two girls with this extensive medical history and diagnosis met each other and became friends? What are the odds of that happening? It just feels like it was a recipe for tragedy from the beginning. In August 2016, Morgan entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disorder. Two doctors were then ordered to evaluate her. And Angie did another update on Morgan in March of 2017.

• 31:10Speaker 18

  Nearly three years have passed since the so-called Slender Man stabbing attack on a Waukesha 6th grader by her two classmates. In some ways, it is a distant memory, but suspect Morgan Geyser's mom says it's not because of the time that's passed.

• 31:25Speaker 19

  When Morgan remembers the incident, it's like remembering something that someone else did. She wasn't in control of her brain at the time of the event, and she says it's like remembering someone else's memories.

• 31:42Speaker 18

  Morgan was diagnosed with schizophrenia a few months after the assault. Her mom Angie is convinced the illness was responsible for the stabbing of Morgan's friend Peyton Leitner.

• 31:52Speaker 19

  That wasn't Morgan who did that. This wouldn't have happened if not for Morgan's untreated mental illness.

• 32:01Speaker 18

  It never occurred to you that she was dangerous?

• 32:03Speaker 19

  No, of course not. No, I mean, if we had had any indication that Morgan had a serious mental illness, we would have gotten her treatment sooner, but unfortunately, no, we didn't know until after the incident.

• 32:17Speaker 18

  Angie Geiser later learned that disturbing drawings were found hidden in Morgan's room, and tells me she's asked Morgan why she hid them.

• 32:25Speaker 19

  Her standard answer when I ask her why she didn't tell us about things is, "Because we would have done something about it." So, why didn't you tell us you were afraid of Slender Man? Because you would have done something about it. Why didn't you tell us you were hearing voices? Because you would have done something about it.

• 32:43Speaker 18

  The Geisers shared these recent photos of Morgan at the secure state mental hospital where they visit several times a week. They had to fight to get her place there after she spiraled in juvenile detention.

• 32:54Speaker 19

  She deteriorated pretty seriously, and she self-harmed and ended up on suicide watch.

• 33:02Speaker 18

  Morgan is now a patient in the state mental facility after spending the first year and a half in juvenile detention with no medication for her by then diagnosed schizophrenia.

• 33:11Speaker 19

  We sit at a table together and we talk and sometimes she brings a game for us to play. She'll bring artwork or writing that she's been working on and she'll show that to me. This is Morgan's most recent report card. As you can see, she got straight A's. And she's aware of everything that she's missing out on. She misses her old life, she misses her friends, she misses Peyton.

• 33:34Speaker 18

  Does she ever talk about Slender Man or anything like that?

• 33:38Speaker 19

  No, no, no, that doesn't come up.

• 33:41Speaker 18

  Angie Geiser reveals she's had absolutely no contact with the victim Peyton or her parents since the day of the attack. If you could say anything to them, I mean, I must have thought about that many times, what you might say and...

• 33:56Speaker 19

  I'm just, I'm so sorry for what she went through. I'm so sorry for what Peyton went through.

• 34:02Speaker 19

  I would want them to know that Morgan is sorry too. Morgan has a lot of remorse for what happened.

• 34:09Speaker 18

  Her October trial will determine if Morgan's mental illness was responsible for the attack. Her mom can only hope the jury will find mental health treatment is more fitting than prison.

• 34:21Speaker 19

  I wouldn't be afraid to have her in our home. My goal is the same today as it was on day one, and that's to bring my daughter home.

• 34:29Annie Elise?

  In September of 2017, she pled guilty but not to be held liable. And she was sentenced for up to 40 years in a mental hospital. And in January of 2017, a niece's parents did an interview with Good Morning America about their daughter, but also about a documentary deal that they were given by HBO.

• 34:52Speaker 08

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• 35:21Speaker 17

  Hey, what's up, guys? It's Haley Bailey. Okay, I need to tell you about something. I just got YouTube Premium. It's got tons of awesome features, like offline downloads, so I can download my favorite videos before I travel and watch them whenever I don't have Wi-Fi. Because we all know airplane Wi-Fi is the worst. I get ad-free, I get backroom play, and there's like a ton more in there. You should try it. If you like YouTube, you'll love YouTube Premium. Try it now for two months free at youtube.com/premium. Trial eligibility varies. Terms apply. Cancel anytime. That's a mouthful.

• 35:54Speaker 20

  Bill and Kristy join us now. Thank you for being with us. And Bill, I want to begin with you, because I want to ask, what was that moment like when you found out what had happened and your daughter's involvement in it?

• 36:05Speaker 21

  It was really kind of surreal from the time I got the phone call to the time that we realized there were more things going on than what we were initially led to believe. Yeah, I think surreal is the best way to describe it, because you try to struggle with how are you processing what you're finding out about what your child is...

• 36:27Speaker 20

  Capable of?

• 36:28Speaker 21

  Being suspected of.

• 36:30Speaker 22

  Right.

• 36:31Speaker 20

  And Kristy, I know that when you watch the interrogation videos, both your daughter and the other young girls seem to believe that Slenderman is real, that there was no difference between fact and fiction for them.

• 36:44Speaker 22

  During the interview tapes that we've seen, they thoroughly believed that Slenderman was real, and they wanted to prove that he was real.

• 36:57Speaker 20

  And you had no indication of this at home? That this was like something that she was obsessed with or couldn't stop watching?

• 37:07Speaker 22

  We've never seen her watch videos or read stories or, "Hey, look what I found on the Internet," or anything. She was just typical.

• 37:18Speaker 20

  She was a typical 12-year-old at that point? You didn't think she had any of these...

• 37:22Speaker 22

  Compared to the other three children, she didn't show any other signs of...

• 37:30Speaker 22

  Disbelieves.

• 37:32Speaker 20

  Right.

• 37:32Speaker 22

  Anything.

• 37:33Speaker 20

  No suspension from reality. Why did you decide to do this documentary? Did you want to warn other parents?

• 37:38Speaker 22

  We were approached by HBO to do a documentary on the brain development of a human child, a juvenile child. And when we were approached, we were approached in such a manner that it made us comfortable that if we could not help our daughter, in this case, we might be able to help somebody else.

• 38:02Speaker 20

  I know, Bill, your daughter, as we said, was 12 at the time of this crime. I understand you don't think she should be tried as an adult. Why shouldn't she?

• 38:11Speaker 21

  But I think the laws themselves in the state of Wisconsin are outdated.

• 38:18Speaker 21

  As my memory has it, these laws were changed in the 90s to where a juvenile at the age of 10 could be tried as an adult. If you look at the way the laws are now, the law has not advanced with the technology and it has not advanced with what we now know about juvenile brain development. What I know about juvenile brain development, I just learned through the documentary. But if you look at the law in 2015, I believe it was, Wisconsin updated laws on drone usage because they had not advanced with the technology. And Wisconsin updated laws on cellphone usage for certain offenses because they had not advanced.

• 38:56Speaker 20

  You'd like to see them do the same when it comes to child brain development. Your daughter's 15 now.

• 39:01Speaker 21

  Yes.

• 39:02Speaker 20

  Has she expressed remorse?

• 39:03Speaker 21

  Absolutely.

• 39:04Speaker 22

  Absolutely.

• 39:05Speaker 20

  And I know that you all have never spoken to Peyton and her family yet. Is there anything that you'd like to say to them now?

• 39:14Speaker 21

  If they were here face to face, I would tell them I'm sorry. I tell them that I'm thankful that Peyton survived. And I would tell them that for as much as they are struggling with trying to process this and what happened to their daughter, we are struggling equally trying to process this with what happened not only to their daughter, but to our daughter.

• 39:40Speaker 20

  And Kristi, I know that you've been able to visit. Are you able to talk to your daughter about what happened and why it happened?

• 39:46Speaker 22

  Every time we visit her, it's always been audio and video recorded. So we never talk business kind of thing. Sometimes she tries to vent a little bit during our visits and most of the conversation is stuff that's already been revealed in court. So we feel comfortable enough trying to console her and help her with how she feels that day and everything. And along with Peyton, if I could say anything, I know on the day of the incident, she stated that she thought Morgan was her friend. So every day, I pray that Peyton finds true friendship.

• 40:27Annie Elise?

  In August 2017, Anisa pled guilty to a lesser charge of attempted second-degree homicide as a party to a crime with the use of a deadly weapon. She went to trial for the purpose of whether or not she could have been held criminally liable for the crime, given her mental state at the time. And during the trial, it shocked quite a few people, but she was found not guilty by a jury team of 12 for reasons of mental disease at the time of the crime. In December of 2017, she was sentenced to up to 25 years in a mental facility. While Peyton's family wasn't happy with these plea deals, they were okay with it because

• 41:08Annie Elise?

  it did spare Peyton the obligation of testifying in court and reliving that trauma. Because after the attack, Peyton was Understandably completely shook. She would sleep with a pair of broken scissors under her pillow and she wouldn't talk to anybody but her mom for months. At the time of these plea deals, Peyton was also still struggling with her scars and the look of her body because her surgeries that she had to have added six more scars in addition to those stab wounds, making the total number of scars 25. And that is a lot for anyone, let alone a teenage girl to deal with as you're trying

• 41:49Annie Elise?

  to get comfortable and trying to get familiar with your body and trying to build confidence. That is a lot to deal with. Peyton also would check the windows and doors every single night out of complete fear. So her family's decision to accept these plea deals and, you know, swallow it and understand that this was what it had to be was solely to spare Peyton from any added trauma of testifying and reliving this. Both girls' sentences were given no minimums. It was solely based on when doctors believed that they had had enough treatment. So in January of 2019, Morgan and her attorney filed an appeal, arguing that decision to try her as an adult. And the argument was that at just 12 years old, she was not able

• 42:33Annie Elise?

  to understand her rights and what rights she gave up when speaking to a detective alone. Now, I have a problem with that because you're trying to say at 12 years old, she didn't understand her rights, but she understood how to plan and plot a murder. She understood how to try to get away with murder and clean up with the drain in the park bathroom. I mean, who cares? Give me a break. Give me a break. So obviously that appeal was denied in August of 2020, but they ended up then filing it with the Supreme Court just a month later in September of 2020. Her petition ended up ultimately being denied in January 2021. So she's going to remain in a mental facility either for up to 40 years or until the doctors choose to clear her.

• 43:14Annie Elise?

  Now, here's the thing about Morgan going to this psychiatric facility. I don't know a whole lot about mental health, but what I do know is some of the behavior that she still was exhibiting was extremely alarming. For example, She would send very dark and disturbing drawings to a murder memorabilia collector. One source even describes one of these drawings as a decapitated body. And it wasn't just drawings, as if that's not disturbing enough, but she also would allegedly send romantic postcards to this man. As far as Anisa goes, she petitioned back in March of 2021 to be released. And in her petition, she stated that by petitioning the court for conditional release, she is not saying that she is done with her treatment.

• 43:58Annie Elise?

  Instead, she's saying that she has exhausted all the resources available to her at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute. And she says, "If I'm supposed to become a productive member of society, I need to be a part of society." So she was released in September of 2021 with conditions. But these conditions are pretty strict. She is conditioned to live with her father. She cannot leave the county without permission. She cannot go near Peyton's home or David's park. Her internet usage will be monitored. She can't have any social media. And she must continue her mental health treatment and her medication. She also has to participate in a minimum of 20 hours per week of structured and social activities.

• 44:43Annie Elise?

  Lastly, she is not allowed to contact Peyton until at least 2039. So while the prosecution did fight the petition in general, the judge ultimately decided to give her this heavily monitored release. When this all happened in September of 2021, Peyton's family attorney said that Peyton and the family were disappointed with this decision, but also that they felt comfortable with the number of restrictions that were being put on Anisa. The attorney also gave a brief update on Peyton, saying she has excelled through all of this. She's also on the recent high honor roll at her college and that she works at a Wisconsin company when she's not going to school full-time. And he also says that Peyton has bought her first used car,

• 45:26Annie Elise?

  really just bouncing back from this horrific incident and continuing to live her life. So on January 9th, 2025, a judge ordered the now 22-year-old girl Morgan Geyser, otherwise known as the Slender Man Stabber, you know, in the true crime world. The judge granted a conditional release from her treatment at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute. Now, her doctors for right now, of the current day, stated that she, quote, "continues to exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, also anxiety and autism." But they clarified that she has shown no signs of any suicidal ideation since her 2021 attempt, because she had attempted to take her own life a couple of years into her stay and sentence.

• 46:10Annie Elise?

  Now, since June of 2022, Morgan and her legal team have filed four petitions for her release. The first two were withdrawn after the doctors' reports essentially showed, you know, that she was not ready, and the third, in April of 2024, was also denied, stating that she still potentially presented a threat to the public. And then, of course, now this fourth petition, it was actually granted. Three different psychologists who worked closely with Morgan at the treatment facility all spoke in favor of her release, stating she had made immense progress. Take a listen.

• 46:41Speaker 23

  Correct. And again, that risk management part is a prediction of what she's likely to face, but her institutional stability, her acceptance of rules, her willingness to accept feedback, that all bodes well for her compliance with conditional release.

• 47:01Speaker 24

  To be clear, your ultimate conclusion is that you are in support of her petition for conditional release?

• 47:07Speaker 23

  Yes.

• 47:08Annie Elise?

  One doctor informed the court that Morgan had been taken off of her antipsychotic medications in early 2023, and since then, had not had any symptoms. Another argued that if she remained contained and began to lose all hope of ever becoming a functioning part of society again, she, quote, "may become more dangerous." Now, my first thought when hearing that was, how can they say she isn't a danger to society, but also say that if she reaches a low point, she could become even more dangerous? I mean, it sounds kind of contradictory, right? I don't know. It just worries me. And I think, too, after three petitions, where they say over and over again, "You're not ready", can you then learn how to fake being ready so that the fourth petition goes through?

• 47:52Annie Elise?

  Something about this just does not sit right with me. So the county circuit judge, Michael Boren, stated that her crime was, quote, "a brutal, terrible offense, but ultimately felt like she has since grown up." He also stated that in order for her to be truly rehabilitated, she needs to exist as a part of society. So the judge's final order was for the state Department of Health Services to set up a plan for her to be in a group home. Can you imagine what Peyton and her family must have been feeling in those moments? Hearing that Morgan was going to be released? Honestly, as a parent, it would be my absolute worst nightmare.

• 48:36Speaker 25

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• 48:51Speaker 08

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• 49:23Annie Elise?

  So I know that that was a lot, but earlier this year, there were already concerns about whether Morgan was ready to live in the community or not. Officials testified that she had been exchanging very disturbing drawings and also messages with a very particular older man, someone who sold murder memorabilia. She eventually asked for a no-contact order. However, the content of those communications certainly raised enough red flags that her supervision team openly questioned whether she should be released at all. Some of these drawings reportedly were of decapitated people, you know, very dark, very disturbing drawings. There were romantic postcards exchanged, things like that.

• 50:08Annie Elise?

  Now, on top of all of that, multiple group homes refused to take Morgan, and the release plan had to be reworked several different times before a judge finally did approve it. But after being released for just a short period of time on Saturday, November 22, Morgan cut off her ankle monitor and she left the group home. Now, what happened next unfolded across multiple state lines, but Morgan was found in Illinois with a 42-year-old friend who later told reporters that she just didn't want Morgan to be alone after she walked out of this group home. That's why she went with her. Now, really quickly, before I continue, I do want to talk about how Morgan and this 42-year-old friend allegedly met.

• 50:52Annie Elise?

  First and foremost, this friend's name, their legal name is Chad. However, they go by Charlie as well, and that's what Morgan refers to them as. And they met a few months ago at church. I also will say that the police refer to Chad as a he, but they were identified as transgender and have been called a she by Morgan, also going by Charlie. So to err on the side of caution, I'm just going to use the pronoun "they" because I've been unable to get a clear report in all of the different sources out there, whether Chad/Charlie identifies as male, female, "they." It's a little bit unclear. But for whatever reason, they met at this church, like I said, a few months ago.

• 51:37Annie Elise?

  And Chad/Charlie would often visit Morgan at the group home. However, the group home was going to revoke visitation for unknown reasons, things that have not been made public yet. And Morgan expressed how unfair she felt this was. Not only how unfair she thought it was, but she told Chad/Charlie how unfairly she was being treated at this group home. And of course, how upset she was that they were not going to be allowed to visit her anymore. Morgan also stated that on multiple occasions, Chad/Charlie visited her at this group home by climbing up to her window and sneaking in. Now, according to Chad Charlie, after Morgan was found by the police,

• 52:18Annie Elise?

  Morgan was crying, saying to them, "They'll take away our visitation. Charlie, please, you're my best friend." Chad Charlie also said Morgan made it clear that if they didn't go with her, whether or not she was still going, that she was not going to go back to jail. They then further went on to say, quote, "And I know what that means. At the end of the day, I followed what I thought was right, and I stand by that." Now, I don't know what the dynamic of their relationship was, but I will say, I find it a little bit unsettling, a little more than unsettling, that this 22-year-old girl and this 42-year-old person created such a close bond with each other and so rely on one another

• 53:00Annie Elise?

  that she felt the need to flee this group home strictly because their visitation was going to be revoked. And again, why it was going to be revoked? We don't exactly know yet. Was there some sort of weird dynamic? Was there weird behavior? Were there concerns? I mean, you don't just get visitation revoked for no reason, right? Ultimately, police in Illinois ended up responding to a call about two people loitering behind a truck stop. And that's when they found the two of them sleeping on the sidewalk. Officers say both Morgan and her friend initially gave false names. Morgan reportedly also told them that she did not want to identify herself at all because she had, quote, "done something really bad."

• 53:42Annie Elise?

  She just told them, you know, "You can Google me if you really want to know who I am."

• 53:47Speaker 26

  Then give me your name.

• 53:49Speaker 14

  I did something wrong. She doesn't know what I did.

• 53:52Speaker 26

  Okay, that's fine. I ain't... Let me talk to you again. I'll put you down. What is it that you did wrong?

• 53:59Speaker 14

  I did something really wrong.

• 54:00Speaker 26

  What?

• 54:01Speaker 14

  47 and Cicero.

• 54:03Speaker 26

  What did you do wrong?

• 54:04Speaker 14

  47 and Cicero, by the 500.

• 54:07Speaker 26

  It's not that you can't... Nothing can be that serious.

• 54:10Speaker 14

  Charlie X-ray, please, 777.

• 54:11Speaker 26

  That was... And what is your name? What, what's happened?

• 54:19Speaker 26

  We don't want problems with you, okay? We just want need to ID you, that's it. What did you have on? What?

• 54:30Speaker 14

  She doesn't know my real name.

• 54:32Speaker 26

  Okay, well. Give him your real name, don't tell him.

• 54:53Speaker 26

  Segment test.

• 54:54Speaker 14

  M O R G A N G E Y S E R.

• 54:57Speaker 26

  G U, what is it?

• 54:59Speaker 14

  G E Y S E R. I promise she did not know.

• 55:03Speaker 26

  G E Y S?

• 55:04Speaker 14

  E R.

• 55:05Speaker 26

  And then what's your date of birth?

• 55:06Speaker 14

  May sixteenth, two thousand two.

• 55:14Speaker 26

  So Morgan is your first name, right?

• 55:16Speaker 14

  Yeah.

• 55:16Speaker 26

  G E Y S E R. No, no, no, no.

• 55:18Speaker 14

  Let me say goodbye, please.

• 55:19Speaker 26

  Okay, we will.

• 55:20Speaker 14

  I will never see her again.

• 55:22Speaker 26

  Yeah, you will.

• 55:23Speaker 14

  No, I.

• 55:24Speaker 26

  Why?

• 55:25Speaker 14

  Because I did something bad, let me say goodbye.

• 55:28Speaker 26

  We will let you say goodbye. But just stand by, until we find and figure out what's going on. Okay?

• 55:33Speaker 14

  You'll promise.

• 55:34Speaker 26

  I'll let you say goodbye.

• 55:36Speaker 14

  No matter what I did?

• 55:37Speaker 26

  Yeah, no matter. That's my word, okay?

• 55:42Speaker 26

  Okay? You're being honest with me, I'll be honest.

• 55:44Speaker 14

  I'm being honest, that's my name. Trust me, I didn't want to give it to you.

• 55:48Speaker 26

  Okay.

• 55:48Speaker 14

  You'll see why in a second. But she didn't know my name.

• 55:54Speaker 14

  She didn't call my name. Not my name.

• 56:02Speaker 14

  Didn't call it right.

• 56:03Speaker 26

  Huh? Hold on. What is it?

• 56:23Speaker 26

  Is that your real name? Anything come back?

• 56:30Speaker 14

  That's my real name.

• 56:31Speaker 26

  What's your middle name?

• 56:32Speaker 14

  E.

• 56:32Speaker 26

  E?

• 56:33Speaker 14

  Trust me.

• 56:34Speaker 26

  Is that your real birthday?

• 56:35Speaker 14

  Yes, May 16, 2002.

• 56:37Speaker 26

  You got E, is that that word?

• 56:39Speaker 14

  No.

• 56:39Speaker 26

  Okay, middle name is.

• 56:40Speaker 14

  I'm 19, 40, so what about 1919?

• 56:45Speaker 26

  She said E, right? Yeah, E.

• 57:04Speaker 14

  I'm 1919 as well, probably understand any situation, so. I didn't know, I'm sorry. 1919, Morgan E. Gaiser, criminal record.

• 57:16Speaker 26

  Go ahead and put your hand in the bag.

• 57:18Speaker 14

  You said I could say that.

• 57:19Speaker 26

  I will let you, you guys go in the same place, okay?

• 57:23Speaker 14

  I'm 1919.

• 57:25Speaker 26

  Okay, okay, okay.

• 57:34Speaker 14

  10, 11, 12.

• 57:46Speaker 26

  We'll get you warm, okay?

• 57:50Speaker 26

  Have you ate?

• 57:52Speaker 26

  Have you ate anything?

• 57:53Annie Elise?

  After that, she finally gave her real name and officers confirmed that she was the missing Wisconsin escapee. Her friend was also charged with obstructing identity for lying to police, but she was released shortly after. She told CBS Chicago that the two of them had taken a bus from Madison to Chicago. Then they walked roughly 20 miles south toward Posen, Illinois before Morgan injured her foot. But get this, as all of this was going on, meanwhile, Wisconsin authorities apparently didn't even realize that Morgan was missing for almost 12 hours. The Department of Corrections got an alert on Saturday night that her ankle monitor

• 58:36Annie Elise?

  had malfunctioned, and when they contacted the group home a couple of hours after that, staff told them that Morgan wasn't there and that she had removed the monitor altogether. So Morgan had only been living in that group home because she was conditionally released from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute earlier this year. This, again, after experts had testified that she had made progress in treatment following the seven years of inpatient care that she had received. But now, after being arrested nearly 200 miles away, it begs the question, should she have ever been released to begin with? At the time of this recording, she's currently awaiting extradition. Now, her 42-year-old friend that was also found with Morgan, she said that the police

• 59:20Annie Elise?

  told her that Morgan would likely be sent back to Winnebago once she is returned to Wisconsin, so sent back to that mental health facility. But is that the answer? Is that just? I would think that this person is clearly a danger and doesn't follow the rules. Maybe now it's prison time. Maybe now it's time to actually get locked up. As of now, Morgan's entire situation is in limbo, and after more than 24 hours on the run, prosecutors and mental health officials will have to decide whether she is going to go back to that secure facility, face new charges, or undergo a whole new round of evaluations.

• 1:00:00Annie Elise?

  And with her release already extremely controversial from the start, the fallout from this escape, I mean, it's just the beginning. So I'm going to keep watching closely as every single update comes in because this is wild. I think that... Like I said at the beginning of this episode, I think evil is evil is evil. And I understand that there might be a mental health element at play here. And I'm not trying to negate that. But I also think that when somebody shows you who they are or what they're capable of, you either have to believe them or you do not grant them release. Whether it's prison that she belongs in or a mental health facility and a psychiatric

• 1:00:40Annie Elise?

  care facility for the rest of her life, one of those two, in my opinion, is where she belongs and needs to be placed forever. She clearly should not have ever been let out because she had the audacity and the thought to cut off her ankle monitor and go on the run across state lines. Then even when caught, refused to cooperate with authorities and give her name because she knew, in her own words, she had done something really bad. So if she has the capacity mentally to know that her actions are bad, it kind of takes you right back to the beginning of this case and what she did with Anissa DePeyton, right? You know, actions are bad. You clearly know right from wrong.

• 1:01:23Annie Elise?

  You just said it as police found you. So do you really belong in the psychiatric facility? Or do you belong in prison? I don't know. I have my opinions, but I'm curious to know what all of you listening and/or watching think about this case. Should she now go to prison and face new charges? Or does she belong in the mental health facility? Let me know. Thank you so much for hearing Peyton's story today. And this is a wild one. I will definitely keep you updated. Until the next one, please take care of yourselves and stay safe. Bye.

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• 1:02:42Speaker 03

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