The hearing is ongoing.
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Weier and Geyser have been in jail for two years. Geyser’s attorney put in a final plea saying she was sexually assaulted by her former female roommate in the detention center.
The girls were 12 years old when authorities say they lured their friend into the woods after a birthday sleepover and stabbed her repeatedly.
The Associated Press hasn’t identified the alleged attackers because their cases could move to juvenile court, where proceedings are closed.
“Unlike the co-defendant”, he said, “Morgan’s entry point to this crime was her psychotic condition”, which was unidentified and untreated at the time of the attack.
Geyser’s lawyers presented several witnesses who testified about the dramatic changes she has undergone since treatment, including medication, of her early onset schizophrenia, and plans for her to live with her grandfather, a retired police chief, in Manitowoc County, Wis. The victim, who was also 12, was found along a road, bleeding from wounds that almost killed her.
Prosecutor Ted Szczupakiewicz said he had never heard of a sexual assault, and Judge Bohren was also concerned that it hadn’t been reported immediately. He said the role of medication in the improvement of Cotton’s client “reinforces the concern” and “emphasizes the need” to keep a high bond to protect the public. If convicted as adults of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, they could face up to 65 years in prison, according to NBC News.
A letter, read to the court on Weier’s behalf, asked to reduce her bail so she could live with her family.
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The girls are now being held on $500,000 bonds. Her attorney had argued for that figure to be reduced to $5,000. His previous efforts to reduce his client’s bond to an amount her family could afford have failed. It’s not clear when an appeals court would rule.
