It was a beautiful and sunny Saturday morning in Waukesha, Wisconsin on May 31, 2014 when a cyclist came upon Payton Leutner laying near a bike path in a park. The 12-year-old girl had been stabbed multiple times and left for dead, but after extensive life-saving measures, would miraculously survive the vicious attack. Authorities were forced to confront their fundamental assumptions when she told them that her own friends, Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser, had been the ones to carry out the heinous act. Both girls believed that the fictional character Slender Man would harm their families, but killing Payton would dissuade him in their favor.

Reshaping motive into a dilemma of insanity and delusion, they were found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a mental health institution. But the story was far from over, creating a bigger conversation about mental health in the legal system and the true definition of justice. How far does guilt go, how do we heal as a community and is closure a tangible thing or just a feeling?

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All music is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution.

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*A special thanks to ABC's 20/20 "Out of the Woods", The Independent, Slenderman by Kathleen Hale, HBO's Beware the Slenderman & CBS News for information that allowed this episode to be possible. 

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