Expert on criminally insane weighs in on "Slenderman" case

WAUKESHA-- A judge rules 12-year old Morgan Geyser is not competent to stand trial.  Geyser is one of two 12-year girls accused of stabbing a classmate 19 times to please the fictional horror character \"Slenderman.\"



\"She made clear that her primary concern was with her relationship to Slenderman,\" said Dr. Kenneth Robbins, who conducted Geyser's mental evaluation.



Doctors say Geyser still seemed eager to please Slenderman during the evaluation, and less concerned about the consequences of her actions.



\"If she says the wrong thing, if she upsets Slenderman, not only hers, but her family's lives could be in danger,\" said Dr. Robbins, during his testimony in Waukesha County, Friday.



Court testimony also revealed Geyser would often talk to herself and laugh hysterically when she's alone in her cell.



\"I think any placement outside of jail is going to be better for her,\" said Anthony Cotton, Geyser's attorney.



Dr. George Palermo is an international expert on the criminally insane and former psychiatrist for Jeffrey Dahmer.  He agrees with the judge's decision.



\"It's very clear that she is obsessed by these delusional ideas,\" said Dr. Palermo.



Dr. Palermo says Geyser's questionable behavior could be signs of mental illness-- schizophrenia, delusional disorder, and hysteria are all possibilities.



\"Hysteria is a disease that may manifest itself with psychotic behavior,\" Dr. Palermo explained.



Cotton says it's been difficult to get a complete picture of her behavioral history.



\"I don't know what was or wasn't brought up, I don't know what concerns people have expressed, I mean the school has refused to cooperate with our investigation entirely,\" said Cotton.



Dr. Palermo says Geyser's teachers should speak up.



\"Everybody should cooperate, to find out the reasons,\" said Dr. Palermo.



As Geyser moves from a jail cell to mental institution-- many hope doctors will figure out what led Geyser and her accomplice to commit such a horrific crime.



\"I think we're going to have a good picture in the next 90-days of what the issues are and what the psychiatric functioning is,\" said Cotton, \"so I think we're going to have those answers pretty quickly.\"



All action on Geyser's case is delayed until November 12.





 

Share this article: