Adult court OK’d for girls in knifing

MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin state appeals court ruled Wednesday that two girls accused of trying to kill their classmate to please the fictional horror character Slender Man should be tried as adults.

Investigators say the girls, who were 12 at the time of the attack in 2014, plotted for months before luring their classmate into some woods after a birthday sleepover and stabbing her. The victim, who also was 12, was found along a road, bleeding from 19 stab wounds that nearly killed her.

The girls have been charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide and, if convicted as adults, could go to prison for up to 65 years. The Associated Press hasn’t identified the defendants because their cases still could move to juvenile court, where proceedings are closed. The girls are now 14 years old.

Anyone 10 or older charged with first-degree attempted homicide is automatically considered an adult under Wisconsin law. But defense attorneys have argued that the case belongs in juvenile court, saying the adolescents suffer from mental illness and won’t get the treatment they need in the adult prison system.

The 2nd District Appeals Court also noted that the evidence showed the crime was not accidental or impulsive, but planned out and violent, making the case inappropriate for juvenile court.