One of the forensic psychologists who evaluated Anissa Weier says the 13-year-old is regretful and remorseful for her role in nearly stabbing a fellow classmate to death.
Antoinette Kavanaugh also doesn't believe that transferring the case from the adult court to the juvenile system would depreciate the seriousness of the attempted first-degree intentional homicide offense.
“She has mental health issues and they would best be addressed in juvenile court,” Kavanaugh said during the second of a two-day reverse waiver hearing where Weier’s attorneys are trying to get the case moved into the juvenile system.
Whether that happens will have to wait a little longer.
Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren said Wednesday he won’t make a decision on whether he will transfer Weier out of the adult system and into the juvenile system until after her co-defendant, Morgan Geyser’s hearing in June. Geyser's two-day hearing is scheduled to begin June 17.
Bohren will then make a decision for both suspects on Aug. 10.
Under the Serious Juvenile Offender Program, the maximum number of years the suspects could be held is three years.
While under the program, they would be housed at Copper Lake School for girls in Irma, Wis., a community in northern Wisconsin. If they are tried in adult court, they would also be housed at that facility until they are 18 years old but also face up to 65 years in prison if the cases stay in adult court.
However, the defense team and the psychologists who testified over the last two days for Weier noted the services and attention she would receive at Copper Lake School is less if the case stays in adult court.
It has been the defense’s goal from the time Weier was charged last year to have the case moved to the juvenile court system.
Maura McMahon, one of Weier’s attorneys, said the treatment within the juvenile system provides hope that she can rehabilitate from Day 1, as the system allows staff, her parents and a community agent to work with her.
Weier and Geyser told police that they attempted to stab then-12-year-old Payton Leutner to death to become proxies of a fictitious Internet horror character named Slender Man. Weier and Geyser attempted to follow through on this act following a birthday party sleepover at Geyser's house last year.
Medical experts testified that Weier was suffering from a shared delusional disorder with Geyser. One psychologist said Weier’s belief in fantasy has dissipated after ending contact with Geyser but Kavanaugh said Wednesday that she believes “seeds of delusion still exist” in Weier, who was in court wearing a purple blouse with sparkles.
However, Kavanaugh said intensive treatment wouldn’t take any longer than two years and that Weier wants to heal and is a good candidate for therapy due to her verbal skills.
But Kavanaugh said Weier doesn’t “fully understand how she got herself into this place.”
“She feels bad about what happened but she needs help understanding how her mental illness played a part in it,” Kavanaugh said.
In a closing statement, McMahon said Weier couldn’t escape Geyser’s influence over her, other mental health factors and lack of brain development played a role in the crime.
“She fell under the influence of a more disturbed individual and it caused her issues to flower,” McMahon said.
Leutner told police that Geyser, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, stabbed her while Weier stood beside them.
In addition to Kavanaugh’s testimony, psychologist Michael Caldwell finished his testimony from the previous day. Caldwell also recommended that Weier be transferred to the juvenile system. He said he feels Weier has a “low risk for any kind of future violence."
Caldwell added Weier also showed depressive symptoms after her delusional beliefs faded.
“It’s very common and is a very earth-shattering experience,” Caldwell said of what happens to people when they realize their beliefs weren't real.
Over the last two days, all the medical experts who have interacted with Weier talked about her need to please and follow others.
They also all testified about Weier’s struggle to deal with her parents’ divorce and ability to fit in entering middle school.
Kavanaugh also stressed the differences of the brain between juveniles and adults and noted that peer influence is greater in adolescents and are more likely to make riskier decisions.
Before Bohren will make a decision on whether to move the case to the juvenile system, he will make a ruling on a motion made by Weier's attorneys to dismiss the criminal complaint.
Joseph Smith Jr. and McMahon filed a motion in court on May 21 saying Weier’s presumptive placement in the adult criminal system is unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution and her exclusion from juvenile court jurisdiction violates the Equal Protection and due process clauses of the US and Wisconsin constitutions.
Bohren will make a ruling on that motion on June 10.