when did the slender man stabbing happen

The Slender Man stabbing occurred on May 31, 2014.

This tragic incident involved two 12-year-old girls, Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier, who lured their classmate Payton Leutner into a wooded area of Davids Park in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and stabbed her 19 times in a ritual to appease the fictional internet horror character Slender Man. Payton miraculously survived after crawling to a bike path where a passerby found her and called 911; one stab wound came within millimeters of her heart.

Key Timeline

• Planning Phase (Months Prior): The girls, obsessed with Slender Man creepypasta lore, plotted the attack using code words like "cracker" for knife during sleepovers.

• Attack Day: During a birthday sleepover game of hide-and-seek, they executed the stabbing; Leutner endured wounds to her arms, legs, torso, liver, stomach, and diaphragm.

• Immediate Aftermath: Geyser and Weier walked away believing her dead, heading to build a shrine in Slender Man's forest; arrested later that day after a massive search.

Legal Outcomes

Both were charged as adults initially but found not guilty by reason of mental illness:

• Geyser sentenced to 40 years in a mental health facility (2018); conditionally released July 2025 but recaptured November 2025 after fleeing a group home.

• Weier received 25 years; released under supervision in 2021.

Cultural Impact

The case spotlighted online horror fiction's influence on youth, sparking debates on internet safety, mental health, and "creepypasta" dangers—no direct Slender Man glorification, but documentaries and films like Terror in the Woods followed. Forums still buzz with Mandela Effect discussions, like false memories of Leutner dying.

"She suffered two stab wounds to major organs. One wound very narrowly missed a major artery."

TL;DR: May 31, 2014—two preteens stabbed friend 19x for Slender Man; victim survived; perps institutionalized.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.