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(POSEN, Ill.) — “Slender Man” stabbing assailant Morgan Geyser is scheduled to appear in an Illinois courtroom on Tuesday for a hearing in which prosecutors are expected to request that she be extradited to Wisconsin, where she allegedly fled a group home over the weekend.

The 23-year-old Geyser’s court appearance comes a day after the Wisconsin district attorney, whose office prosecuted her in the high-profile 2014 stabbing case, called on the state Department of Health Services to send her back to a mental institution.

A Wisconsin judge signed an order in September allowing Geyer a conditional release from a psychiatric facility, where she had been held for a decade, to a group home in Madison. At the time, prosecutors objected to her conditional release, alleging 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.”

As part of the conditions of her release, Geyser was ordered to wear an ankle monitoring device.

On Saturday night, Geyser allegedly cut off her monitoring device and bolted from her group home with a 43-year-old person she told authorities she met a couple of months ago at a church event, according to a criminal complaint.

Following a massive search, Geyser and her companion were captured on Sunday night at a Posen, Illinois, truck stop, more than 165 miles from Geyser’s group home.

Geyser’s companion, identified by the Posen Police Department as Chad Mecca of Madison, was charged with criminal trespassing and obstructing identification, police said. Mecca was released on a citation and notified to appear in court on Jan. 15.

Waukesha County District Attorney Lesli Boese, whose office prosecuted Geyser in the 2014 stabbing case, expressed her hope that the state Department of Health Services, which has custody of Geyser, will file a petition to revoke the conditional release she had been granted.

“When we learned of Morgan’s escape over the weekend, it unfortunately validated the concerns we have raised from the very beginning,” Boese said. “We have been consistently and adamantly opposed to her release because her conduct has repeatedly demonstrated she poses a risk to the community.”

Boese added, “Her alleged actions this weekend only reinforce our position that a conditional release is unsafe and unacceptable.”

But attorney Anthony Cotton, who represented Geyser in the stabbing case, told ABC News correspondent Juju Chang on Monday that Geyser does not present a danger to her victim, the public, or to herself.

“The question becomes, going forward, is she still a risk to society? And I stand by every word of what I’ve said earlier. She is not a violent risk to others. I don’t believe that she is. And that’s why we found out that during her time out, she engaged in no violence whatsoever and had no weapons on her,” Cotton said.

Cotton said he hopes Geyser will be allowed to go back to a community group home.

“It will certainly present complications because we’re gonna have to go back to court eventually to try to get Morgan back into a community group home,” Cotton said. “So definitely this is not a good development and something that’s gonna have a negative impact on the work we do. It’s a setback.”

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. Geyser and Weier, who were both prosecuted as adults, claimed they committed the attack on Leutner to appease “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.

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(APPALACHIA, Va.) — A high school football coach who went missing last week is wanted for possession of child sexual abuse material and using a computer to solicit a minor, authorities in Virginia said Tuesday.

Travis Turner, 46, of Appalachia, Virginia, has been missing since Nov. 20, according to the Virginia State Police. The Union High School football coach is considered a fugitive, police said.

State police have obtained 10 warrants for Turner, including five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor, authorities said. The investigation remains ongoing and additional charges are pending, police said.

Agents with the state police’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation Wytheville Field Office were en route to Turner’s home on Nov. 20 as part of an investigation, not an arrest, when they were informed he was no longer there, police said.

“Police are actively searching for Turner,” Virginia State Police said in a statement on Tuesday. “Since his disappearance, VSP has utilized a number of assets, including search and rescue teams, drones and k9s, to assist in the search. VSP’s main priority is locating Turner safely; he is now considered a fugitive.”

Turner is a physical education teacher and head football coach at Union High School, in the Wise County public school district, according to the school’s website. Amid his disappearance, the football team has advanced to the Virginia regional final, scheduled for this weekend, during their 12-0 season.

ABC News has reached out to the Wise County Public Schools for comment on the charges Turner is facing.

School officials had previously said a Wise County Public Schools staff member had been placed on administrative leave, but did not identify the employee.

“A staff member has been placed on administrative leave with pay while an external agency reviews an allegation that was reported to the division,” the school district said in a statement to ABC News on Monday. “This is standard procedure and is not a determination of wrongdoing. This situation also involves an active law-enforcement matter, and the division cannot comment further.”

Wise County Public Schools Superintendent Mike Goforth said Monday that the school district is unable to provide additional details due to the “personnel and law enforcement components.”

Anyone with information on Turner’s whereabouts is asked to contact Virginia State Police Division 4 at 276-484-9483 or email questions@vsp.virginia.gov.

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(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.

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(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. 

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(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.

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(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.

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(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.

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(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.

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(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.

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(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.

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