Given the nature of the case, I think there's quite a bit we haven't heard - and perhaps may never hear. Which is fine, I don't need the gory details.
I was rather thinking of the factors that may have
contributed to this terrible event actually happening, and the lessons that can be learned from these factors. In particular:
1. Sophistication and effect of social media and new Internet genres
It was immediately obvious that few parents (myself included) understood the nature and effect of the media genre of which "Slender Man" is a part. Thirty minutes browsing forums illustrates many kids of that age - and older - really do believe that Slender Man exists or at least aren't sure. Consider the effect of that coupled with a child who is developing an early-onset schizophrenic disorder. When there are Internet bottom feeders who think it fun to wind these kids up, even a slightly sophisticated Internet prank would seem horribly real.
2. Kids immerse themselves in the Internet to a far greater extent than parents realize
Both time spent and the nature and range of the content is staggering. AW in particular.
3. The Internet is not "read-only" it's interactive
MG was particularly naive about giving out personal details like her real name and age. In a post to YouTube last year using the pseudonym "Jenny Portmite":
I love star trek! By the way Jenny is not my real name, Morgan is. But I am 11 and could not make an account under my name.
.
The criminal complaint reads as though the notion of the Nicolet Forest came from an external source:
...they learned he lives in a mansion in the Nicolet National Park which they discovered was in Wisconsin.
Note "learned" and "discovered". From whom?
4. Education required to see and act upon red flags
While it's hard to distinguish adolescence from a mental illness, there were - I believe - specific behaviors that were unique to MG, and which should have attracted greater interest. (The sledgehammer incident, which was actually brought to the parents' attention, her eccentricity and aloofness).
I have no proof, but I feel it highly likely that the victim was aware that her friend's behavior was particularly odd. But at 12, what could she have done about it? This would be the "education for kids" part: if your buddy is acting weird - talk to someone.
5. Understanding and recognizing psychopathy AW's reaction to her MG's suggestion that they kill their friend was "...surprised but also excited..." This is NOT a normal reaction to such a suggestion. I believe she knew it. Her postings include results from 5 "online psychopath tests", which suggest that the thought had at least crossed her mind. She indicates that she scored highly on them,
Having had the personal experience of being on the wrong side of a psychopath, I've done an amount of research. Psychopathy isn't an illness, it's the way a person is wired. Saying that they are "bad" or "evil" is a bit like chastising an attack dog for biting your leg off. It's what they do. Psychopaths aren't always violent criminals or Wall Street bankers. They are also doctors, lawyers, astronauts, CEOs and top military commanders. The latest thinking is that psychopaths are capable of empathy, but they have voluntary control over it that non-psychopaths do not have. On the plus side, this enables them to make crucial, logical conditions at times of great stress or danger. On the minus side, they are not
instinctively stopped from doing things that are considered wrong by society.
AW seems to be both intelligent and articulate. She MUST have known academically that attempting to kill someone would be wrong. But it just didn't register with her to be more concerned than - say - planning a robbery. It didn't seem to be a hell of a price to pay to attempt to prove that Slender Man was real. A psychopath with erroneous beliefs regarding what's real and not real is not good.
Contributing factors
These are IMHO, of course, and because I've neither seen nor ready anything that shows a simpler more readily understandable motive.
- The trauma of starting middle school
- A new immersive genre that many kids cannot differentiate from reality, with Slenderman as the central character
- A new friend (AW) who shares the same interests as MG and introduces her to Creepy Pasta and Slenderman
- MG developing schizophrenia and experiencing psychotic episodes believes that she can communicate with Slenderman and other fictional characters
- AW, also believing in Slenderman, has her belief reinforced as a result of MG's psychotic behavior
- PL questioning and perhaps criticizing MG's beliefs and behavior
- MG comes to believe that PL is the "enemy" and becomes the victim in the girls' attempt to become "proxies"
- The excitement of sharing and planning a clandestine plot
- The possibility of someone online "messing with the heads" of one or both of the suspects
- PL agreeing to go to MG's sleepover even though she has concerns about (and is perhaps scared by) MG's behavior (my conjecture based on "I hate you! I trusted you!")
- MG loses the final weak grip she had on her sanity and actually does stab PL, encouraged by AW who lacks the empathy that would have stopped
the whole affair before it started
If I'm right, what happened was due to an unfortunate concatenation of unusual circumstances... not willful cruelty.
