girls plead not guilty in slenderman stabbing

[The Caspian Hare]

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — A pair of 13-year-old girls accused of trying to kill their friend as a sacrifice to a horror fiction character called Slender Man sat silently in court Friday, prompting the judge to issue a not guilty plea on their behalf.

Judge Michael Bohren also said the young teens will stand trial together starting Oct. 15.

Defense lawyers didn't object to the not guilty pleas, though they did protest the court's jurisdiction in the case.

Attorneys for each girl said after the hearing that they believe the case should be tried in juvenile court.

"She was 12 years old when it happened," attorney Maura McMahon said.

Bohren decided recently that the case should remain in adult court, given the grim nature of the crime.

The girls each face a charge of attempted first-degree intentional homicide and could spend decades in prison if they're convicted in the 2014 attack.

Investigators say the suburban Milwaukee girls plotted for months to jump Payton Leutner after a sleepover. They intended to kill her, police say, to earn the favor of Slender Man, described in online fantasy stories as an unnaturally tall and thin creature who wears a dark suit and has no visible facial features.

Slender Man stories have proliferated in recent years, and the girls wanted to kill for him, in part, to prove his existence, police say.

http://www.aol.com/a...pleas/21225769/

[Vincennes]

I would hope that the Prosecutor is successful in keeping this out of the juvenile court system. These two pieces of evil need to face adult penalties.

I am also very tired of something else involved in teenage atrocities and that is that the parents are allowed to just walk away. You can't tell me that each of these girl's reached the level of mental participation in this Thin Man idea and the parents had no idea something very wrong was going on. There are only a couple of these crimes that the parents had realized psychological help was needed such as Paul Ciancia but, sadly, the help that was received was not successful. Those are the few that had at least made an attempt at fulfilling their responsibility. Other than that my thoughts go to the Sandy Hook shooter's mother who hauled the idiot to the gun range for some "quality" parental instruction. I think of his adult brother who later made a press statement that people needed to be aware of "how his life was also negatively impacted" and even more his father, living in New York, who didn't have time or incentive to visit what was unleashed on children of Sandy Hook. Or how about at least one set of the parents of the Columbine perpetrator, the ones who didn't notice the bombs being built in their own garage ! I read that particular mother was so upset by the event within the next couple of days she was spotted at the beauty shop getting her hair done and a manicure.

Personally, I'm sick and tired of this type of parent who just walks away, no questions, no penalties, while others are left to bury the victims while they are getting their hair done.

[Timothy]

I hope this is a wake-up call for anyone who wants to tell (or believes in) a fantastical story in the future.

See your GP and take up their referral to whichever professional they offer.

Tim.

Edit: And for the girls involved, I don't think that they should ever be allowed back into society.

Edited August 24, 2015 by Timonthy