GUILTY WI - 12-Year-Old Girls Stab Friend 19 Times for Slenderman, Waukesha, 31 May 2014 #1

[appleeye]

I am blown away by what I am finding on Twitter. To be honest... it's sick, sick stuff.

Did it make them do it, no. BUT were they communicating with any of these mutliple slenderman accounts in any way??? I have to wonder.

 

[Sonya610]

I have to be honest, if the internet had been around when I was 12 or so, this is exactly the kind of site I would probably have frequented.

LOL...me too!

When I was 10-12 TV was the main thing, and some books. Watching "Saturday Night Creature Features" was a HUGE favorite.

Night of the Living Dead -- the scene where the zombies are eating the folks that went to fill up the truck was pretty graphic and memorable. The only movie that seriously "damaged me" mentally was "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" but apparently most kids my age got PTSD from the film at the time. LOL.

Modern gore sites, or even not-so-great-silly-scary-story sites like creepypasta aren't really any worse.

Mary Bell didn't have the Internet yet somehow she came up with ideas!

 

[Ausgirl]

Mary Bell was very likely prostituted out to men by her mother from early childhood. Her crimes were reactive, focussed on genitals and probably stemmed from a variety of abuses at home. Once in prison and away from that environment she improved dramatically and could eventually rejoin society without the need for violent expression.

 

[Spice]

I am blown away by what I am finding on Twitter. To be honest... it's sick, sick stuff.

Did it make them do it, no. BUT were they communicating with any of these mutliple slenderman accounts in any way??? I have to wonder.

If they were that obsessed and had a smartphone or computer probably. Teens live for twitter. This is where I have to wonder about the tweets POST attempted murder. If someone were to copy cat this and try to up the ante for some positive feedback via twitter by "Slenderman" would whoever is tweeting this care or could they be held responsible in some way?

I mean, Bloody Mary didn't have a twitter when we were little. We had to imagine. But to a sick mind....a mentally ill person...Slenderman having a twitter voice could help validate a delusional mind that he is "real" and talking to them. Just crazy.

 

[Ausgirl]

If they were that obsessed and had a smartphone or computer probably. Teens live for twitter. This is where I have to wonder about the tweets POST attempted murder. If someone were to copy cat this and try to up the ante for some positive feedback via twitter by "Slenderman" would whoever is tweeting this care or could they be held responsible in some way?

I mean, Bloody Mary didn't have a twitter when we were little. We had to imagine. But to a sick mind....a mentally ill person...Slenderman having a twitter voice could help validate a delusional mind that he is "real" and talking to them. Just crazy.

That's a really interesting question - if police could track the kids' net usage to such an account, could that person be charged?

I would damn well hope so.

I've a morbid sense of humour at times, but that's just not amusing at all. Very sick. Very sick people, typing stuff like that. Even if it's just for attention or a stir - it's sick.

 

[appleeye]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/slende...-had-good-upbringing-neighbours-say-1.2664554

By all accounts, good, "normal" girls

 

[Sonya610]

I am blown away by what I am finding on Twitter. To be honest... it's sick, sick stuff.

That "stuff" is often referred to as "teen angst". Teenagers (or those with teenage mentalities) are jumping on the band wagon to make fun of the situation.

I seriously doubt if there was an "online persona" that talked them into this. This plan was several months in the making, most online trolls/personas don't stick around that long.

 

[JeannaT]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/slende...-had-good-upbringing-neighbours-say-1.2664554

By all accounts, good, "normal" girls

That's what makes this so newsworthy. There are certainly 12 year olds (mostly boys, though, probably) who injure people they know by stabbing them. It's juvenile assault and probably doesn't even make the news.

What makes this newsworthy is that this was unpredicted, in my opinion, and planned for so long.

 

[Ausgirl]

Also that it's girls, and that they acted in a such a cold and predatory way - to a friend. Plus, Slenderman.

Lots about this case is newsworthy. It's truly unusual. And as I posted a page back, the neighbours say her family are nice people, and they were known to be generally normal, nice kids.

So the burning question is "why".

ETA: Good call on comparisons to the Parker-Hulme murders (on which Heavenly Creatures is based):

Parker–Hulme murder case - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[appleeye]

All these slendermen accounts have been around for at least a year. I have found 5 minimum. These accounts are not new.

 

[Spice]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/slende...-had-good-upbringing-neighbours-say-1.2664554

By all accounts, good, "normal" girls

Paul Plotkin, another neighbour close to the father of one of the girls, said he was troubled by comments he's seen online suggesting the parents must have been absent, negligent, addicted to drugs or worse.

Bold from the article you linked above.

This is why we shouldn't sit back from our keyboards and judge other human beings and their parenting skills without knowing a single thing about them. In my opinion, it's cruel and not productive at all other than to make ourselves feel better about ourselves...

 

[JeannaT]

Also that it's girls, and that they acted in a such a cold and predatory way - to a friend. Plus, Slenderman.

Lots about this case is newsworthy. It's truly unusual. And as I posted a page back, the neighbours say her family are nice people, and they were known to be generally normal, nice kids.

So the burning question is "why".

Yes, I agree. The point is, 12 year olds stab acquaintances with some frequency and end up in a juvenile facility for years. It's not unheard of, at all.

What makes this one odd is that from the outside, no one could have predicted this attack based on their past histories and reputations. Oh and yes, they come from intact, caring families.

Lord of the Flies.

 

[Ausgirl]

Paul Plotkin, another neighbour close to the father of one of the girls, said he was troubled by comments he's seen online suggesting the parents must have been absent, negligent, addicted to drugs or worse.

Bold from the article you linked above.

This is why we shouldn't sit back from our keyboards and judge other human beings and their parenting skills without knowing a single thing about them. In my opinion, it's cruel and not productive at all other than to make ourselves feel better about ourselves...

Uh -- no. Nope. And there's irony in there somewhere.

I don't think it's cruel to speculate on what would make a 12yo plan and execute a murder. In the vast majority of cases, parents actually -are- to blame for the kids being haywire.

 

[JeannaT]

Paul Plotkin, another neighbour close to the father of one of the girls, said he was troubled by comments he's seen online suggesting the parents must have been absent, negligent, addicted to drugs or worse.

Bold from the article you linked above.

This is why we shouldn't sit back from our keyboards and judge other human beings and their parenting skills without knowing a single thing about them. In my opinion, it's cruel and not productive at all other than to make ourselves feel better about ourselves...

It seems it's human nature when ever anything bad happens to try to find blame and predictability. Otherwise, we are left feeling like the world is chaotic and our own children are at risk for the same thing and we'd never know it or see it coming or have any way to stave this disaster off.

Which in fact, is true. But humans can't stand that kind of uncertainty. So they decide quickly that this was predictable and preventable (in whatever form they want that predictability to take, that fits in with their own family lifestyle and circumstance).

 

[Spice]

Uh -- no. Nope. And there's irony in there somewhere.

I don't think it's cruel to speculate on what would make a 12yo plan and execute a murder. In the vast majority of cases, parents actually -are- to blame for the kids being haywire.

I think it's cruel to openly state that parents are somehow abusive, negligent, addicted to drugs and or somehow lacking in parenting skills when we know nothing about them. Assumptions are just assumptions and to defame these parents and judge them erroneously is cruel and bullying behavior. Speculating about the motivations of a killer are one thing, the parents did not kill anyone. So how is not cruel to sleuth their Instagram and then make comments such as "the apple didn't fall far from the tree" "they were unplugged" etc when we have no facts to support such a thing other than their taste in music or "goth" interests?

 

[claudicici]

I'm so glad there are so many voices of reason on this thread and I thank each and everyone of you that does not jump on the bandwagon and accuses the parents of neglect or questions their taste in popular culture etc.Like many here I've been interested in true crime since I was very young,I would check out books in the library about the Black Dahlia and Charles Manson when I was in elementary school,I have always loved Horror movies and books,Heavy Metal helped me through really hard times.We did not have the internet and my parents were not neglectful yet we found hardcore snooping around my friends parents bedroom,we secretly watched "Faces of Death" on VCR tapes etc...Again I agree 100% we can not blame the parents or the internet ,the pain these parents go through must be unimaginable and the dad who loves dark things must be going through even more pain knowing that the media is trying to put some of the blame on his interests.I do think it's very interesting that kids seem to carry out these acts in pairs,with one being the leader with sociopathic tendencies and mental issues and the other one always seems to be the mentally weaker one.Yes,this is definitely a mental health issue.At 12 years old a healthy mind would never be so delusional as to think a fictional character is real and would clearly have enough empathy as to know killing your friend is wrong on so many levels.IMO this case has nothing at all to do with teenage angst either,teenage angst is not being able to deal with society,being angry and feeling misunderstood.This is clearly not what was going on here.These girls are delusional.I am so glad the victim survived and I hope she will be able to get all the help she needs,she will face so many issues.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

'Slender Man' Cited in Stabbing Is a Ghoul for the Internet Age

By Keith Wagstaff

When two 12-year-old girls were asked why they allegedly lured a third girl into the Wisconsin woods and stabbed her 19 times, they gave the police a name: Slender Man. The suspects appeared in court on Monday.

He might be a mystery to adults, but to many kids, Slender Man is as recognizable as Dracula. He is often found lurking, an eerie Where’s Waldo?, in the back of blurry photos online. He has long, spider-like limbs, no face, and stories say he can hypnotize children into walking into his embrace.

From fake “archival photos” and “police recordings” to an elaborate background story and faux documentaries about the spectral figure, Slender Man is a crowd-sourced creation that, in another century, could have numbered among Grimms’ fairy tales...

http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/slender-man-cited-stabbing-ghoul-internet-age-n121741

 

[Ausgirl]

I think it's cruel to openly state that parents are somehow abusive, negligent, addicted to drugs and or somehow lacking in parenting skills when we know nothing about them. Assumptions are just assumptions and to defame these parents and judge them erroneously is cruel and bullying behavior. Speculating about the motivations of a killer are one thing, the parents did not kill anyone. So how is not cruel to sleuth their Instagram and then make comments such as "the apple didn't fall far from the tree" "they were unplugged" etc when we have no facts to support such a thing other than their taste in music or "goth" interests?

I haven't seen any comments of that nature here... aside from "unplugged".

I've seen people second-hand commenting on what others have dug up. And I can speculate, ask questions, wonder. I didn't accuse the parents of a crime. No-one here has. As I said, the majority of child crimes involve defective parenting, I don't think it's defamatory to ponder about whether it may have caused these kids to act this way.

Anyway, the owners of Creepypasta have given a very articulate statement to the press:

http://www.news.com.au/technology/o...f-horror-stories/story-fnjwmwrh-1226942516909

 

[claudicici]

sadly the comment about "the apple did not fall far from the tree" was in fact made right here on this thread

 

[Ausgirl]

Well. Thank goodness I missed seeing that.

There's a difference between pondering whether the home life contributed to this horrendous act of violence and.. saying things like that.