Morgan Geyser files new conditional release petition after 2025 group-home escape

Morgan Geyser, who carried out a 19-stab attack on her friend in 2014 claiming Slender Man influence, has asked the court for another conditional release after fleeing a Madison group home in late 2025. She had been confined at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute since a 2018 40-year sentence and was granted conditional release in January 2025 by Judge Scott Wagner, despite prosecutors’ objections, and moved to a group home in September 2025.

In November, she disabled her Department of Corrections ankle monitor, boarded a bus to Chicago with Chad Mecca, walked about 20 miles to Posen, Illinois, and was detained the next day, prompting Judge Wagner to revoke her release. Attorney Anthony Cotton filed a renewed petition on Tuesday, obligating the court to appoint mental-health professionals within 20 days to assess her fitness for release. The state, including the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and district attorneys, has consistently resisted her petitions, pointing to the escape and communication failures. A forthcoming hearing will feature testimony from appointed examiners, her Winnebago doctors, and other witnesses, while officials must again locate a group home willing to accept her.