Schoolgirls accused of 'Slender Man' stabbing will stand trial as adults, judge rules

TWO schoolgirls accused of repeatedly stabbing their classmate to please a fictional internet monster called "Slender Man" must stand trial as adults, a judge has ruled.

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Slender Man is an internet myth

The girls, who were both 12 at the time of the alleged incident in Wisconsin, US, last May, will face first-degree intentional homicide charges with a dangerous weapon enhancer - which automatically places them in adult court under Wisconsin law.

If convicted, they could each face up to 65 years in a state prison, reported the Association Press.

Prosecutors argue that the girls plotted for months to kill their friend, who was also 12 at the time.

The girls are alleged to have invited their friend into attending a sleepover at one of their homes last May before luring her into a wooded park the next morning.

Probable cause exists that [the defendants] both attempted to kill [the victim] with a dangerous weapon

Judge Michael Bohren

They are then accused of stabbing her 19 times before fleeing the scene, according to court documents.

The girl survived her injuries and was found by a cyclist after she crawled from a wooded area, where she claims she was stabbed by the two girls.

However, both girls' attorneys have argued that the girls legitimately believed they had to kill their friend in order to protect their families from "Slender Man".

Anthony Cotton, an attorney for one of the girls, also called his client a schizophrenic in court on Friday.

Judge Michael Bohren was asked by defence teams to consider the charges during a hearing last month.

They suggested that contended second-degree attempted intentional homicide would be a more fitting charge because the girls thought they were defending themselves and their loved ones from "Slender Man" by attacking their friend.

Judge Bohren rejected the self defence claim and noted that the girls also thought killing their friend would make them "Slender Man's" servants, as well as earning them the right to live in his mansion and prove to others the creature was real.

Those motivations outweigh self defence, he argued.

Judge Bohren said: "Probable cause exists that [the defendants] both attempted to kill [the victim] with a dangerous weapon."

The girls' attorneys vowed on Friday to keep trying to move the case into the juvenile system.

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