Monday marked the beginning of a trial for a case that captured national attention a few years ago. Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser were both 12-years-old when they allegedly stabbed a fellow classmate 19 times and left her to die in a park in Waukesha. The injured girl was able to find help and survived. Weier and Geyser were said to be trying to please the internet horror character Slender Man. The girls, who are now 15-years-old, are being charged in adult court.
Jury selection for Weier's trial begins Monday. Her case expected to last five to seven days, once a jury is in place. Geyser's trial is scheduled for later this month.
Late last month, Weier pled guilty to attempted second degree intentional homicide as party to a crime with the use of a deadly weapon. She initially faced a charge of first degree intentional homicide. The plea means that the trial will only look at whether she is legally responsible for the crime or not guilty due to mental illness. If Weier is found guilty, she faces 10 years in prison and if mentally ill, she’ll be committed until 2020.
Over the last few years, Weier has been held at a juvenile detention center in West Bend while Morgan Geyser has spent a lot of the time at a mental institution. She’s been diagnosed with early onset schizophrenia.
For a while, lawyers for the two girls tried unsuccessfully to get the cases moved to juvenile court. There also was an effort to have the two girls tried separately, which is actually happening.
Lawyers petitioned to have the trial in the high-profile case moved out of Waukesha County. While a move was not granted, the jury will be sequestered.
