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Parents Of 12-Year-Old Slender Man Stabbing Suspect Speak Out, Say Daughter Shouldn’t Be Tried As An Adult [Video]

By Patricia Ramirez
Published on: 08:59 PST, Jan 16, 2017

Anissa Weier was just 12-years-old when she and a friend allegedly carried out the “Slender Man stabbing.” Now, her parents are speaking to the media for the first time. The horrific crime took place on May 31, 2014, and Weier and her 12-year-old friend Morgan Geyser are accused of violently stabbing classmate Payton Leutner, also 12-years-old, 19 times in a wooded area near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The reason: The girls claimed that they were trying to impress Slender Man, a fictional character that originated online.

As Fox News reports, the parents of the Slender Man stabbing suspect claim they were “shocked” when they got the call that their daughter had allegedly been involved in the horrific crime. Bill Weier, Anissa’s dad, called the situation “surreal” in an interview with Good Morning America.

“It was really kind of surreal from the time I got the phone call. I think surreal is the best way to describe it, because you struggle with what your daughter’s… suspected of.”

The victim of the Slender Man stabbing thankfully survived the vicious ordeal she endured. After allegedly being stabbed nearly two dozen times by attackers Weier and Geyser, Payton Leutner bravely managed to crawl from the woods to seek help. The little girl made it from the wooded area where she’d been left for dead to a road. That’s where the Slender Man stabbing victim was found by a passing bicyclist who got her the medical intervention she needed to survive.

As the Daily Mail reports, Peyton thought her attackers were her “best friends,” unaware that the duo of would-be pre-teen murderesses had allegedly plotted her death for roughly five months. On the night before she was allegedly attacked by the Slender Man stabbing suspects, Peyton Leutner reportedly had a sleepover with the pair to celebrate Morgan Geyser’s 12th birthday. The next day, the victim was lured into the woods and brutally stabbed.

Peyton suffered stab wounds over much of her body, including her arms, chest, and abdomen. Fortunately, she made what has been described as a miraculous recovery (both mentally and physically) following the Slender Man stabbing and has largely resumed a normal life in the nearly three years since the attack.

Both of the Slender Man stabbing suspects have been charged with attempted murder in the case, and it is widely expected that each will be tried as an adult for the role they allegedly played in the unthinkable crime. A trial in the case is expected later in 2017, and the suspects (now 15-years-old) could spend 65 years each in prison if convicted.

The Slender Man stabbing suspects have pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder charges levied against them, citing mental illness. Both teens were taken into custody shortly after the stabbing, and they remain behind bars pending trial.

As ABC News reports, the parents of Slender Man stabbing suspect Anissa Weier don’t believe that their daughter should be tried as an adult in the case, despite the fact that Wisconsin law allows minors as young as 10 years of age to be handled by the adult justice system. The Weiers claim that the law is not “not sufficiently up-to-date with the science of juvenile brain development.”

In addition to speaking publicly with the news media for the first time since the horrific Slender Man stabbing took place in 2014, Anissa Weier’s parents have also participated in the soon-to-be-released HBO documentary Beware the Slenderman. The long-anticipated film will be released on January 23, and it explores the Slender Man stabbing in shocking detail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tJcmjG0VFA

According to the parents of Slender Man stabbing suspect Anissa Weier, their daughter is remorseful for what she did. Further, they claim that the then-12-year-old actually believed in the mythical Slender Man, adding that she thought that if she didn’t kill someone in the name of the creature, Slender Man would kill her family.

The Weier family agreed to participate in Beware the Slenderman to raise awareness among parents regarding what their children are being exposed to online.

“If we were not able to help our daughter,we might be able to help someone else.”

The Weiers have reportedly reached out to victim Payton Leutner and her family on behalf of themselves and their daughter, claiming that they hope the teen is able to find “true friendship” after her unimaginable experience with two girls she thought were her best friends. However, they have added that both they and their daughter are also struggling in the aftermath of the 2014 stabbing.

“As much as [Payton’s parents] are struggling with how to process this and what happened with their daughter, we are struggling equally trying to process this with what happened, not only to their daughter, but to our daughter.”

According to Anissa Weier’s parents, they were, prior to the stabbing, unaware that their daughter had ever been exposed to the Slender Man mythology.

What do you think? Should Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser be tried as adults for their alleged roles in the horrific attempted murder of their 12-year-old classmate? Should prosecuting the teens focus more on treating their alleged mental illnesses than punishing them by way of decades of incarceration? What are your thoughts on the Slender Man stabbing case?

[Featured Image by Michael Sears/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel/AP Images]

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