We can’t say we’re too surprised by this decision.
One of the 12-year-old girls accused of stabbing her peer 19 times in order to please a fictional character named Slender Man was supposed to begin her trial for her actions this week, but a mental health evaluation performed by a forensic psychologist has put the trial on hold.
The girl is believed to be mentally unfit at this time and the judge presiding over the trial, Michael Boren, will have to decide next week if the girl should continue with the trial that would charge her with attempted first-degree intentional homicide.
Here’s what the girl’s attorney said:
“In his professional opinion she is not presently competent to proceed.”
The attorney has been adamant that his unnamed client’s case should be moved to juvenile court – a decision that should be made in the coming weeks. She’ll have a two-day probable cause hearing next week about the possible impending charges, and that will be followed by a reverse waiver hearing to determine whether she will moved to juvenile court or not. It is in the reverse waiver hearing that the attorney will ask the judge to consider her mental health state.
The attorney, whose name is Joseph Smith Jr., said:
“I have always maintained and continue to maintain that the issue of [her] competency is one of the many factors the court should consider in assessing whether to keep [her] in adult court or transfer her to juvenile court.”
Considering what this girl and her friend did to their classmate, deeming her mentally unfit would not be a huge surprise. We’re just so thankful the victim survived and is supposedly doing a lot better these days.
Stay tuned as we’re sure there will be information on this harrowing case very soon.
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