12-year-olds Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier, charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide, will stand trial as adults in their upcoming court date.

On May 31, 2014 the two girls stabbed their friend and fellow sixth grader Payton Leutner 19 times and left her for dead in order to please the fictitious character and popular internet meme Slender Man. Leutner recovered and returned to school in September.

After they left Leutner for dead she was later found by a passing cyclist. Geyser and Weier were arrested by the police in June walking to what they believed was Slender Man’s mansion in Wisconsin State Park.

Slender Man is a popular meme to come out of the horror story site Creepy Pasta. Slender Man is a faceless, supernatural creature dressed in a suit and tie and is told to be anywhere between six-15 feet tall.

Although the girls’ belief in the character originally allowed them to claim they were not healthy enough to stand trial, they have recently been deemed healthy.

Wisconsin law says those ages 10 and older must be charged as adults for severe crimes, although an appeal to move the case to juvenile court is still possible.

Defense lawyers have argued that Geyser and Weier should be charged instead with second degree murder due to their alleged belief in Slender Man. This second degree murder can be tried in juvenile court.

If the girls are convicted as adults they will face up to 65 years in prison, whereas if they are tried as juveniles in juvenile court and convicted they can only be held there until they are 25-years-old.

Requests by Geyser and Weier’s attorneys for hearings to appeal the judge’s decision have been granted,  possibly resulting in the cases being moved to juvenile court. These hearings will be held in May and June.

To learn more about the case click here