Kash Patel, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025. Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The FBI is working with the Department of Justice to see if there is “anything more” from the Jeffery Epstein files that can be released to the public, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.
Patel told journalist Catherine Herridge there are “protective orders and orders to seal in place that legally prohibit the disclosure of information related to any investigation when there’s a court order of that fashion,” when asked about whether the DOJ would meet the Dec. 19 30-day deadline to disclose materials, mandated in the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Attorney General Pam Bondi told ABC’s chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas last week that there was new information that came to light in the files, but declined to say what that new information was. She said that the Justice Department “will continue to follow the law” regarding what is released.
Patel was also asked about the president’s recent call for the DOJ to investigate Jeffery Epstein’s relationship with Democrats, and whether that would limit their investigation to only Democrats.
“We’ll just follow the facts,” Patel responded. “It’s pretty simple for this FBI.”
Bondi ordered U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York to investigate Democrats’ relationship with Epstein after President Trump essentially told her to do so.
“Based on the new referral, we’ll take a look at that and see what evidence comes but there’s an important distinction, the information that the government possesses versus the information that the Epstein estate possesses,” Patel said. “Those are two separate boxes of information, and the Epstein estate has not been willing to share information with the U.S. government, and so even though we’ve requested them to do so.”
Regarding how many of the Epstein files would be redacted and to what degree, Patel said the FBI “always” commits to as few redactions as possible “while also upholding always victim’s rights.
(LOS ANGELES) — Los Angeles police are searching for two gunmen after a 22-year-old woman — reportedly a Latin singer — was killed in an ambush-style shooting.
Around 1:25 a.m. Saturday, two men approached a parked car in the Northridge neighborhood and fired multiple rounds at several people sitting inside, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Maria De La Rosa was taken to a hospital where she died from gunshot wounds, police said.
The 22-year-old was, according to multiple reports, a Latin singer growing in popularity with about 40,000 Instagram followers.
Two others in the car with her were injured, according to police.
A motive isn’t known and no arrests have been made, police said.
(WASHINGTON) — Facing a 30-day deadline to release the Epstein files, the Department of Justice has asked two judges in the Southern District of New York to authorize the release of grand jury transcripts and exhibits from the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton – whom Attorney General Pam Bondi tapped to lead an investigation into prominent Democrats associated with Epstein – signed a motion asking the judges who oversaw the Epstein and Maxwell cases to approve the release of the grand jury materials, subject to the necessary redactions.
“In the light of the Act’s clear mandate, the Court should authorize the Department of Justice to release the grand jury transcripts and exhibits and modify any preexisting protective orders that would otherwise prevent public disclosure by the Government of materials the disclosure of which is required by the Act,” the motions said, referring to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, recently signed into law by President Trump.
While the motion noted that the law allows redactions to seal materials that “would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution,” the filings did not mention the recently initiated investigation into Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, and Reid Hoffman ordered by Trump.
Citing the 30-day deadline, the Department of Justice requested an expedited ruling on the motion and said it would “work with the relevant United States Attorney’s Offices to make appropriate redactions of victim-related and other personal identifying information.”
The Department of Justice unsuccessfully sought approval to unseal the grand jury records in August, with both judges concluding that the government did not demonstrate a legal basis to release the materials. In one decision, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman sharply criticized the DOJ for asking the court to get involved when the government already had the relevant files in their possession.
“The instant grand jury motion appears to be a ‘diversion’ from the breadth and scope of the Epstein files in the Government’s possession. The grand jury testimony is merely a hearsay snippet of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged conduct,” he wrote.
“The Government’s complete information trove would better inform the public about the Epstein case,” he added.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement logo as seen on ICE vehicle Sept. 19. 2025. (Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(HOUSTON, Texas) — An employee of a church in the Houston, Texas, area is charged with impersonating a public servant for allegedly pretending to be an ICE agent and threatening to deport a woman unless she paid him $500, according to court documents.
Donald Doolittle, 58, has served as the safety director of the Gateway Community Church of Webster, about 25 miles southeast of Houston, for 10 years, according to an affidavit filed with the Harris County District Court.
According to ABC Houston station KTRK, the alleged victim, identified in court documents as Rita Dumont Mayans, is a massage therapist.
According to a video of a Saturday court hearing obtained by ABC News, after receiving a massage last Thursday, Doolittle got into a disagreement with Mayans over his method of payment.
“And at that point, she said he pulled out an ID card labelled ‘ICE,’ stating he was an ICE agent who needs to see her ID,” a magistrate said during the hearing.
Mayans showed Doolittle her temporary visa, according to the magistrate, after which Doolittle allegedly demanded money from Mayans.
“He demanded she Zelle him $500 or he would take her away and she would never see her family or children again,” according to the magistrate.
Mayans sent Doolittle the money, after which he texted her that she would not hear from any other ICE agents, according to the magistrate.
Police learned of Doolittle’s alleged actions when Mayans encountered officers at a luncheon the following day, according to KTRK.
Doolittle’s bond is set at $10,000, according to court documents.
Neither Doolittle, his attorneys nor Gateway Community Church of Webster immediately responded to an ABC News request for comment.
Spike, a police dog with the Burbank Police Department, gave the “ultimate sacrifice” after he was fatally shot while searching for an armed suspect who escaped from officials following a traffic stop, police said. Burbank Police Department
(BURBANK, Calif.) — A California police dog gave the “ultimate sacrifice” after an armed suspect fled from law enforcement and fatally shot the canine in the line of duty, according to the Burbank Police Department.
Spike, who officials described as an “intelligent and devoted partner,” was killed on Saturday after authorities conducted a traffic stop, which escalated into an officer-involved shooting, police said in a statement.
While police were conducting the traffic stop on Saturday evening, the passenger of the vehicle fled on foot, ran up the nearby freeway ramp and jumped over the embankment wall into a nearby residential neighborhood, officials said.
Officers remained with the driver of the vehicle and requested assistance to find the runaway suspect, police said. A “coordinated search” was initiated using a helicopter and a police canine, later identified as Spike, officials said.
During the search, Spike located the suspect, who was armed with a handgun, officials said.
The suspect, who has not been identified, then fired “multiple rounds, striking the canine, before fleeing on foot,” police said.
Spike, who was transported to a local emergency veterinarian, “succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased,” police said.
After a continued search with the help of an air support unit, police said they were able to locate the suspect.
While officials were negotiating with the armed individual, the suspect began “shooting at police officers, striking police vehicles.”
Police retuned fire, fatally striking the suspect, officials said.
The individual’s handgun was recovered at the scene, with officials saying the investigation remains ongoing.
The fallen canine, who was “known for his gentle nature off duty and his tenacity and dedication while serving” was honored with a procession on Sunday.
“Your mission is complete, hero,” police said in a statement on Sunday.
Burbank police Lt. Derek Green told ABC Los Angeles station KABC losing Spike is “no different than losing a police officer.”
“It’s a dog, but it’s part of our law enforcement family,” Green told KABC. “These police K-9s are essentially a partner to it’s handler.”
Officials told KABC they are in the process of planning a public memorial for Spike.
Spike is at least the 22nd police K-9 to die in the line of duty in the U.S. this year, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. He is the first from California to die in more than two years.
Portland Trail Blazers Coach Chauncey Billups arrives for his arraignment hearing at U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on November 24, 2025 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Portland Trail Blazers head coach and National Basketball Association hall of famer Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty on Monday in Brooklyn federal court to charges he conspired to lure unsuspecting poker players to games allegedly rigged by the Mafia.
“We enter a plea of not guilty,” defense attorney Mark Mukasey said.
Prosecutors said Billups was one of the alleged scheme’s “face cards” who used his celebrity to attract high-rollers to poker tables that were equipped with x-ray technology and altered shuffling machines. The poker games were backed by organized crime families, according to the indictment, which was revealed Oct. 23.
The judge on Monday ordered Billups be released on bond, the terms of which are being negotiated in a separate courtroom.
Judge Ramon Reyes said he intends for the trial to begin in September 2026.
“Do whatever you have to do to get it ready to go,” Reyes said.
Billups, who spent 17 seasons in the NBA and was the 2004 NBA Finals MVP, is one of 31 defendants charged in the scheme, all of whom are due in court Monday. They’re facing various charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
All 31 defendants appeared in court on Monday.
“With respect to at least some defendants, plea negotiations have begun,” one of the prosecutors, Michael Gibaldi, said. He did not say which defendants might opt to change their plea to guilty and resolve their cases before trial.
Federal prosecutors previously signaled that they expect a number of the defendants will ultimately opt to plead guilty.
“Although it is too early for the government and any of the defendants to engage in substantial plea negotiations, the government and defense counsel for several defendants have begun productive discussions that the government hopes will ultimately lead to resolutions as to several defendants without the need for a trial,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing ahead of Monday’s status conference.
The evidence against Billups and his codefendants – including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former player and coach Damon Jones – comes from electronic devices, surveillance photographs, pole camera footage, bank records and phone records, prosecutors said.
Less than a week after the charges against Billups and others were revealed, the NBA announced that it was undertaking a review of how the league can protect itself from sports betting and whether it’s doing enough to educate coaches, players and other personnel about the “dire risks” gambling could pose to their careers, according to an NBA league memo obtained by ABC News.
Billups and Rozier were immediately placed on leave by their teams when the charges were announced, the NBA said.
Security video of Morgan Geyser. (Madison Police Department)
(POSEN, Ill.) — When she was captured on Sunday night, nearly 200 miles from the Wisconsin group home she allegedly fled, “Slender Man” stabbing assailant Morgan Geyser told officers who asked for her identity to “just Google” her, according to Illinois police.
The 22-year-old Geyser, who in 2014 stabbed a friend 19 times to appease the fictional character “Slender Man,” was located on Sunday after she allegedly cut off her Department of Corrections monitoring bracelet and left the group home where she had been a resident, authorities said.
Geyser was taken into custody in Posen, Illinois, police confirmed to ABC News.
Geyser was taken into custody at a truck stop in Posen with a 42-year-old man she had traveled across state lines with, according to a Posen Police Department statement released on Monday. Police found the pair sleeping on a sidewalk, according to the statement.
“The female repeatedly refused to provide her real name and initially gave a false one,” the police said. “After continued attempts to identify her, she finally stated that she didn’t want to tell officers who she was because she had ‘done something really bad,’ and suggested that officers could ‘just Google’ her name.”
Once she provided her real name, officers learned she was wanted for escape in Wisconsin. Both Geyser and her male companion were detained without incident, police said.
Geyser’s traveling companion, whose name was not released, was charged with criminal trespassing and obstructing identification, according to police. He has since been released and authorities did not provide information on his involvement in Geyser’s escape from the group home.
Posen Police said the pair took a bus to Posen from Wisconsin. Posen is about 25 minutes south of Chicago.
Before being located, Geyser was last seen in Madison, Wisconsin, around 8 p.m. on Saturday with an adult acquaintance, Madison police said in a statement posted on social media, which included a recent surveillance image of Geyser.
“Geyser will be held until transfer to Cook County for an extradition hearing at 26th and California,” the department said, referring by address to the Criminal Court Administration Building in Chicago. It was not immediately clear when that hearing would take place.
Prior to her daughter’s arrest, Geyser’s mother, Angie Geyser, said in a statement to ABC News on Sunday, “If you see Morgan, please call the police. Morgan, if you can see this, we love you and just want to know you are safe.”
Geyser’s attorney, Tony Cotton, also released a statement on Sunday to ABC News asking Geyser to turn herself in, saying it was “in her best interest” to do so.
In March, Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren ordered that Geyser be released from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute and sent to a group home after three psychologists testified she was prepared for supervised release.
As part of her release, Geyser was ordered to wear a monitoring bracelet.
Geyser, according to police, cut off her Department of Corrections monitoring bracelet and left the group home sometime Saturday night.
Geyser and another girl, Anissa Weier, were charged as adults and pleaded guilty to stabbing a classmate, Payton Leutner, 19 times in 2014, when they and the victim were 12 years old. Both Geyser’s and Weier’s guilty pleas were later vacated when they were found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Both of them were subsequently sent to psychiatric institutions.
“Payton Leutner and her family are aware of the most recent situation regarding Morgan Geyser,” a spokesperson for the Leutner family said in a statement to ABC News. “Payton and her family are safe and are working closely with local law enforcement to ensure their continued safety.”
“The family would like to thank all of the law enforcement entities involved in the efforts to apprehend Morgan,” the statement continued. “The Leutner family also wish to thank the outpouring of support from family, friends, and well-wishers who have contacted them during this difficult time.”
In January, Judge Bohren ordered the state Department of Health Services to come up with a plan for Geyser’s supervised release.
Geyser was transferred in March from the Winnebago Mental Health facility to a group home despite concerns raised by prosecutors, who alleged she had “violent” communication with a man outside the facility and had read a book in the facility with “themes of sexual sadism and murder.”
In 2014, Geyser and Weier lured their friend, Payton Leutner, then 12, to the woods in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where Geyser stabbed Leutner while Weier watched.
Geyser and Weier left Leutner alone in the woods. Injured and bleeding, Leutner pulled herself to safety and was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Leutner survived the attack that captured headlines worldwide after Geyser and Weier claimed that the stabbing was intended to please “Slender Man,” a faceless, fictional internet-based character that garnered a cult-like following.
Geyser pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted intentional homicide and was sent to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute in 2018. Geyser was later found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, and was sentenced to up to 40 years in a psychiatric institution.
(NEW YORK) — Traveling to your Thanksgiving destination may be smoother than heading home, with a cross-country storm possibly bringing rain and snow to parts of the Northeast and Midwest.
Here’s a look at the Thanksgiving week weather forecast:
Tuesday
A winter storm watch is in place for North Dakota and Minnesota, where 3 to 9 inches of snow may fall from Monday night through Wednesday morning. Wind gusts may reach 40 mph, causing blowing and drifting snow.
Meanwhile, on the East Coast, rain will hit the Interstate 95 corridor from Washington, D.C., to Boston, on Tuesday afternoon and evening.
Wednesday
In the Northeast, a few passing showers are possible from Washington, D.C., to New York City on Wednesday morning.
In the Midwest, snow will start falling across much of Michigan on Wednesday.
Thursday
On Thanksgiving, the lake-effect snow machine will turn on and bring a blast of snow to the downwind side of the Great Lakes through Friday.
A winter storm watch is already in place for towns like Orchard Park, New York, just south of Buffalo, for Wednesday night through Friday.
More than 6 inches of snow is possible and wind gusts up to 45 mph could lead to whiteout conditions.
Friday
On Friday, a new storm system will begin moving cross-country from the Pacific Northwest.
The storm may bring snow on Friday to the Plains, from the Dakotas to northern Missouri.
Saturday
On Saturday, rain is possible from Missouri to Louisiana, while snow is possible from Illinois to Michigan, including Chicago and Detroit.
Sunday
By Sunday afternoon and evening, this system may bring rain to much of the East Coast.
Sunday is predicted to be the busiest air travel day for Thanksgiving.
(NEW YORK) — What started as a dream vacation soon thrust a tight-knit blended family into shock and anguish when one of their own, a beloved teenage girl, was discovered dead on a cruise ship earlier this month.
Even more baffling and heartbreaking, her grandparents said in an interview with ABC News, the person authorities told the family is suspected of Anna Kepner’s death: her stepbrother.
“We were all having a great time,” grandmother Barbara Kepner recalled of the trip. “I couldn’t fathom why anyone would wanna hurt my baby.”
Her grandparents said 18-year-old Anna had her whole life ahead of her. She was an independent and “mighty” young woman, set to graduate high school in May and aspiring to join the Navy, the Kepners said. Those hopes came to a screeching halt when Anna’s body was found aboard the Carnival Horizon, where she and eight other family members were on holiday.
A cause of death has not been announced by authorities, but the Kepner family says the FBI has told them Anna apparently died from asphyxiation, possibly caused by a bar hold — an arm across the neck.
“We were looking forward to seeing her grow,” grandfather Jeffrey Kepner said. “The cruise itself wasn’t what made me excited. It was the fact that I was gonna get to spend another week with my youngest son and his family and all the grandkids.”
The FBI on Sunday continued to decline to comment on the ongoing investigation, and ABC News has not independently confirmed the details of Anna’s death.
“No such thing as steps”
The Kepners, their son, his three children, including Anna, his new wife, and her children from a previous marriage, took the trip together. It was to be a new tradition they were looking forward to keeping, Jeffrey Kepner said. The three generations had three staterooms on the ship.
“The two younger girls stayed with the parents and then the three teenagers, they decided amongst themselves they wanted to stay in the room together. But we had a larger room and we made it very clear that at any time if they weren’t getting along, they didn’t want to be together, we had an extra bed in our room that they could come to,” Barbara Kepner said.
The Kepners painted a picture of a happy group, where familial ties reached further than blood, and there’s “no such thing as steps” for siblings.
“It’s all family. It’s a blended family, yes, but that’s not how our family is,” Jeffrey Kepner said. “Our dynamic is we’re all just family.”
When Anna’s father remarried, the Kepners said they gained two new grandchildren.
“I loved them just like I’ve loved the rest of my grandchildren. They called us Memaw, Peepaw, told us they loved us,” Mrs. Kepner said.
“They were just like brother and sister,” Barbara Kepner said of the stepbrother now called a “suspect” in Anna’s death, according to court papers filed by his mother and Anna’s father in an unrelated matter.
Anna’s grandmother described the two teens as having been “two peas in a pod.”
“I know that those two kids cared about each other in the right way,” Barbara Kepner said. “I can’t accuse him because I don’t know what happened in that room.”
No formal charges have been filed.
Anna’s grandparents said authorities told the family that the stepbrother, according to security cameras, was “the only one seen going in and the only one seen going out” from the room he had been sharing with Anna.
Kepner said she couldn’t understand why anyone would do such a thing to Anna — and wants to see justice done.
“That will be for the courts to decide,” Kepner said.
The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s office declined to comment Friday. The Kepners said the family has been told preliminary information indicates that there were no signs of sexual assault and that there did not appear to be drugs or alcohol in Anna’s system.
Autopsy and toxicology reports that could confirm those details have not been completed.
“I couldn’t stop screaming.”
The last night her grandparents saw Anna alive, her dental braces had been bothering her at dinner, Barbara Kepner said. But Anna was still determined to join in the fun.
“She just said, ‘Meemaw, I think I’m gonna go back to my room for a little bit, I don’t feel well.’ And she must have felt better, because she got dressed up. And she came down, we were playing in the casino. And she sat down and she played $20. And she didn’t win anything. And she said, ‘Meemaw, I love you guys, I’ll see you later,’” Mrs. Kepner said. “She’d pop in and out to check in with us. And we never saw her again after that.”
The next morning, Jeffrey Kepner said he was buying bingo cards when a medical alert blared over the ship loudspeakers. He recognized the room number.
“I went blank,” Jeffrey Kepner said. “I was hoping that it was something minor.” Instead, what he saw when he walked in haunts him. “I still wake up seeing that,” he said.
Anna’s body was discovered by a room attendant “concealed under the bed,” and there were bruises on the side of her neck, according to the Kepners and a security source briefed on the investigation.
When her son — Anna’s father — entered the room, Barbara Kepner said, “all he had to do was look at her and he knew she was gone. And then my husband got there and pulled them out of the room. As he said, they cannot see what they saw.” Then her husband came to tell her what had happened.
“I knew when he walked in the room, something was wrong,” Mrs. Kepner said. “And all he could say to me was, ‘Anna.’ The last I can remember for probably hours that morning is I just screamed. I couldn’t stop screaming.”
The utter shock of the situation hasn’t left much room for grief yet, the Kepners said — but it has made them crave understanding and rack their brains for clues.
“Those are the questions that we’ve been asking — what did we miss?” Mr. Kepner said.
Barbara Kepner said she thought Anna would have told her if she had any concerns about her safety.
“With my grandchildren, I have one rule, and it’s the only rule I have with all of them. You be truthful with me, I’ll be truthful with you, and we’ll figure this out,” Kepner said.
She said on the ship, the stepbrother told her, “In his own words, say he does not remember what happened.” She added, “I believe, to him, that is his truth.”
The stepbrother was questioned along with other family members by law enforcement — who also pored over the ship’s security camera footage and access-card swipes to get a picture of who was where at the various times prior to the death, according to the Kepner family and a security source briefed on the investigation.
“He was an emotional mess. He couldn’t even speak. He couldn’t believe what had happened,” Mrs. Kepner said of the stepbrother. After the boat docked in Miami, the stepbrother was hospitalized for psychiatric observation and then released to stay with a family member, Kepner said.
Appearing virtually in a Florida family courtroom in connection with an unrelated custody matter connected to the divorce of Anna’s parents, the attorney for Kepner’s stepmother told the court Thursday that, immediately after the incident on the cruise ship, the stepbrother was “hospitalized.” He has since been released from the hospital and is now living with a relative of the mother and receiving counseling, the lawyer said. The lawyer did not explain the reason for the hospitalization.
“The biggest question that I want answered is the why. And that’s the answer that I don’t know if we’ll ever get,” Jeffrey Kepner said.
Along with the pain of the unknown, the grandparents said, has also come the feeling they’ve lost not one, but two kids they cared for.
“I now know how she died. It helps a little bit, but it’s not going to bring Anna back,” Barbara Kepner said. “No matter what we find out, no matter what they tell us, it’s not going to bring either one of these children back.”
Security video of Morgan Geyser. (Madison Police Department)
(NEW YORK) — Morgan Geyser, who in 2014 stabbed a friend 19 times to appease the fictional character “Slender Man,” was located Sunday night after she allegedly cut off her Department of Corrections monitoring bracelet and left a Wisconsin group home where she had been a resident, authorities said.
Geyser was taken into custody in Posen, Illinois, police confirmed to ABC News.
Before being located, Geyser was last seen in Madison around 8 p.m. on Saturday with an adult acquaintance, police said in a statement posted on social media, which included a recent surveillance image of Geyser.
Geyser was found Sunday night at a Thornton’s truck stop with another person, according to Posen Police, who said the pair took a bus to Posen, and were both taken into custody.
Police later said the person traveling with Geyser was a 42-year-old man, who was charged with criminal trespassing and obstructing identification. He was released, but remained at the police station, Posen police said. Authorities said they would not provide the man’s name, booking photo or details of his involvement.
“Geyser will be held until transfer to Cook County for an extradition hearing at 26th and California,” the department said, referring by address to the Criminal Court Administration Building in Chicago. It was not immediately clear when that hearing would take place.
Posen is about 25 minutes south of Chicago.
The police department said it was notified of the 22-year-old Geyser’s disappearance on Sunday morning.
Geyser’s mother, Angie Geyser, said in a statement to ABC News earlier on Sunday, “If you see Morgan, please call the police. Morgan, if you can see this, we love you and just want to know you are safe.”
In March, Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren ordered that Geyser be released from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute and sent to a group home after three psychologists testified she was prepared for supervised release.
As part of her release, Geyser was ordered to wear a monitoring bracelet.
Geyser, according to police, cut off her Department of Corrections monitoring bracelet and left the group home sometime Saturday night.
Geyser’s attorney, Tony Cotton, released a statement on Sunday asking Geyser to turn herself in, saying it was “in her best interest” to do so.
Geyser and another girl, Anissa Weier, were charged as adults and pleaded guilty to stabbing a classmate, Payton Leutner, 19 times in 2014, when they and the victim were 12 years old. Both Geyser’s and Weier’s guilty pleas were later vacated when they were found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Both of them were subsequently sent to psychiatric institutions.
“Payton Leutner and her family are aware of the most recent situation regarding Morgan Geyser,” a spokesperson for the Leutner family said in a statement to ABC News. “Payton and her family are safe and are working closely with local law enforcement to ensure their continued safety.”
“The family would like to thank all of the law enforcement entities involved in the efforts to apprehend Morgan,” the statement continued. “The Leutner family also wish to thank the outpouring of support from family, friends, and well-wishers who have contacted them during this difficult time.”
In January, Judge Bohren ordered the state Department of Health Services to come up with a plan for Geyser’s supervised release.
Geyser was transferred in March from the Winnebago Mental Health facility to a group home despite concerns raised by prosecutors, who alleged she had “violent” communication with a man outside the facility and had read a book in the facility with “themes of sexual sadism and murder.”
In 2014, Geyser and Weier lured their friend, Payton Leutner, then 12, to the woods in Waukesha, Wis., where Geyser stabbed Leutner while Weier watched.
Geyser and Weier left Leutner alone in the woods. Injured and bleeding, Leutner pulled herself to safety and was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Leutner survived the attack that captured headlines worldwide after Geyser and Weier claimed that the stabbing was intended to please “Slender Man,” a faceless, fictional internet-based character that garnered a cult-like following.
Geyser pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted intentional homicide and was sent to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute in 2018. Geyser was later found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, and was sentenced to up to 40 years in a psychiatric institution.
Weier was also found not guilty by mental disease or defect after pleading guilty to a lesser charge. She was sentenced to up to 25 years in a psychiatric institution. In 2021, at the age of 19, Weier was granted supervised release.
In an interview with ABC’s “20/20” in October 2019, Leutner said she had worked hard to heal from the attack and rebuild a normal life. She told ABC News that she was ready to reclaim her story.
“I’ve come to accept all of the scars that I have,” Leutner said in the exclusive interview with ABC’s David Muir. “It’s just a part of me. I don’t think much of them. They will probably go away and fade eventually.”
