Judge rules in favor of Morgan Geyser, allows conditional release to proceed

WAUKESHA COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Morgan Geyser, who, along with a friend, stabbed a classmate in 2014 when they were 12, will likely be released in a few weeks, after a Waukesha County judge allowed her conditional release to proceed.

Last week, the state filed a petition to prevent her release after the Slenderman stabbing a decade ago.

But Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren said there is no evidence Geyser is a threat to herself or others.

For more than a decade, the now-22-year-old has been at the center of one of the most infamous crimes that garnered national attention.

At a court hearing Thursday, March 6, attorneys for Geyser and the state debated for four hours.

The ruling means Geyser could be released in just a matter of weeks from the Winnebago mental health institute she's lived at since 2017.

Geyser's attorney, Anthony Cotton, said after the hearing, "She's very happy, very relieved to be able to move on to the next phase in her life."

Cotton said her release is overdue.

Judge Bohren first granted the conditional release in January on Geyser's fourth attempt.

But last week, state prosecutors filed a petition to have it revoked.

Cotton said, "Really all of this is a hit job against her, and an unfair one at that."

When arguing for the revocation of the release, the state argued Geyser was reading a concerning book that contained violent content.

They also said she had been in contact with a man who reached out to her. They had written to each other, and Geyser sent him horror-inspired drawings. Prosecutors say he sold them online in what he called the "Slender Man package."

That man visited Geyser three times in 2023, but Geyser canceled a fourth visit and asked for a no-contact order.

Nicole Whiteaker, a conditional release program supervisor with Wisconsin Community Services, testified, "Pagel is sort of a classic example of somebody who appears to be fixated on the Slenderman case."

Back in January, three doctors agreed there was no recent evidence Geyser posed a threat to herself or others. Cotton said, "All of them, after years, support her release into the community."

On Thursday, those doctors said nothing had changed their minds since.

Psychologist Dr. Ken Robbins is one of them. "My opinion hasn't changed. I continue to believe Ms. Geyser should be released under conditional release."

Kathleen Martinez is a forensic mental health specialist for the Department of Health Services. She testified, "Miss Geyser did not break any… violate any rules of conditional release."

When Geyser is released, she will stay at a group home and work with a case manager, treatment provider, and other professionals.

Martinez explained, "If somebody is making progress in treatment, we would like to continue it in the community."

The location of the group home will likely be kept private. The judge and Cotton said she must be protected from people who try to reach her because of the notoriety of her case.

The conditional release could happen in a matter of weeks.

Cotton said, "She's done everything right, she's followed the rules, she hasn't done anything wrong. She needs to get out."

Geyser's next review hearing is scheduled for Friday, March 21. Geyser's treatment team will need to finalize a plan, and then the plan will be heard by the judge.