WISCONSIN — Morgan Geyser, one of the women who attacked a classmate and nearly stabbed her to death when she was in middle school, has been granted conditional release from a psychiatric hospital where she has been for nearly seven years. 

Geyser, 22, has petitioned Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren, who committed her, for release four times since June 2022. She withdrew her first two petitions and Bohren denied her third request this past April, finding she still presented a threat to the public. Last time she petitioned for release in April 2024, Dr. Deborah Collins said releasing Geyser may be appropriate in six to 12 months, noting her “progress.”

Geyser filed her latest petition in October. Bohren decided to grant her release after a day-long hearing Thursday, finding that she had maximized her treatment options at the facility.

Three psychologists testified in support of Geyser’s conditional release on Thursday. The psychologists have been working with Geyser since she was committed to the institute and said she's made impressive progress in just the last six months and should be released.

Dr. Brooke Lundbohm testified that Winnebago staff weaned Geyser off her anti-psychotic medications by early 2023 and she's suffered no symptoms since then.

Collins said Geyser is always at risk of reoffending simply because she almost killed someone but she has worked on her coping skills, improved her emotional control and retreats into fantasy less frequently. Collins added that Geyser told her that she hates what she did to Leutner and can't forgive herself.

Dr. Ken Robbins told the judge that she could become dangerous if she remained confined at Winnebago and lost hope.

“The longer she's there, at this point, the harder it's going to be to re-integrate,” Robbins said.

Waukesha County Assistant District Attorney Ted Szczupakiewicz argued that Geyser couldn’t be trusted, noting that she claimed during evaluations last year that she faked her delusions about Slender Man and actually attacked Leutner as a way of escaping her abusive father. He hinted that was a ploy to make the release more likely.

The judge shrugged that off, saying it's not unusual for mental illness diagnoses to evolve.

The judge said Geyser does not appear to be a threat to herself or others.

Thursday, the judge said that Geyser's crime was a “brutal, terrible offense” but Geyser has since grown up and to be truly rehabilitated she must exist as part of society.

“She's done what she's supposed to do,” Bohren said. “She appears to have a good attitude.”

Bohren ordered the state Department of Health Services set up a plan for housing her in a group home and supervising her subject to his approval at a hearing within 60 days. This detailed plan includes factors such as where she will live, how she will continue psychiatric treatment, how she will support herself and what she will do if released.

Geyser and Anissa Weier were 12 in 2014 when they lured 6th grade classmate Payton Leutner, to a Waukesha park. Geyser stabbed Leutner repeatedly while Weier egged her on. Leutner suffered 19 stab wounds and barely survived, authorities said.

Geyser told authorities at the time she repeatedly stabbed a classmate to please the online horror character Slender Man.

Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide and was sent to the psychiatric institute because of mental illness. She’s been diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorder.

Weier was released from Winnebago Mental Health Institute in 2021, the same psychiatric hospital Geyser is at. Weier was granted a release to live with her father and was ordered to wear a GPS monitor.