The lawyer of a Wisconsin teenager accused of stabbing a classmate has told a jury the girl was suffering from a mental illness at the time and therefore not criminally responsible.
Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser allegedly stabbed their 12-year-old classmate 19 times and left her for dead at a Waukesha park in 2014, The Mirror reports.
The female victim miraculously survived by crawling to a road and getting help from a cyclist.
According to her lawyer, Weier told investigators she had helped stab her classmate to please the fictional horror character Slenderman, who she believed to be real. Fox6 reports that the teenager allegedly believed the act would protect her and her family from the character.
Defense attorney Joseph Smith told jurors that “Anissa’s broken mind caused her to lose touch with reality.”
“Anissa was under the command and control of a delusional disorder,” he said.
Weier was 12 years old at the time of the attack.
During opening statements, Waukesha County Assistant District Attorney Kevin Osborne said Weir and Getser were aware they were committing a crime.
Jurors must decide if Weier lacked the capacity to understand if her alleged act was wrong. If the jury rejects Weier’s defense, she could face up to 10 years in prison.
The trial continues.
