Court Delivers Blow to 'Slender Man' Girls

A Wisconsin state appeals court ruled Wednesday that two girls accused of trying to kill their classmate in an attempt to please the fictional horror character "Slender Man" should be tried as adults. The 2nd District Appeals court, in a pair of rulings, affirmed a lower court's determination that it was reasonable to try Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser as adults. The girls could appeal the rulings to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, reports the AP. Anissa and Morgan were 12 years old in 2014 when investigators say they lured 12-year-old Payton Leutner to a park in Waukesha, about 20 miles west of Milwaukee.

Authorities say the girls stabbed Payton 19 times in an attempted sacrifice to the "Slender Man," who is said to live in a mansion in a forest; authorities say the girls hoped to live in that fictional home after the attack. Payton was left for dead but managed to crawl from a wooded area where she was discovered by a bicyclist. The appeals court said in its Wednesday ruling that the Waukesha County Circuit Court properly examined the fact and rationally determined that the girls should be tried as adults. They're charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide and convictions could send them to prison for up to 65 years. As juveniles, they could be incarcerated for up to three years and then supervised until age 18.