♪ i don't want to face the world in tears ♪ this is "nightline." tonight, the slender man survivor, the 12-year-old girl stabbed 19 times, in the crime that left the world asking, who is slender man? her alleged attackers, her friends, said to have been plotting for months. tonight, david muir meets the survivor for the first time. how did she crawl to safety. and also tonight, the story he said we would never tell. george clooney wed. >> i love you very much. >> the a-lister not running away from marriage any more. >> and i can't wait to be your husband. >> the man who vowed he'd be a permanent bachelor tied cat not in venice and we're right there. who was invited and what are they flying in on this private jet?

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good evening and tonight, we begin with an abc news exclusive. you're going to meet a young woman with an extraordinary story of survival. she was the victim of a crime that shocked parents everywhere.

stabbed 19 two of her friends who said they were trying to impress a fictional internet character called slender man. now for the first time the girl and her parents are going on camera and abc's david muir, anchor of "world news tonight," has our report. >> she appears to be stabbed. >> she appears to be what? >> stabbed. >> reporter: in wisconsin, outside milwaukee. a saturday morning this mast pay, a horrific tale is just beginning to emerge. >> is there any bleeding? >> her clothing has god blood to it. >> you found her and she was just laying there? >> yeah. >> reporter: a birthday sleepover with three 12-year-old girls and now two girls of missing. the other, peyton, has crawled out of the woods, covered in stab wounds. 19 of them. she's now being wheeled into the operating room, having just told her mother her friends did this to her. >> they had run away and the police hadn't found them yet. and we just knew that payton told us morgan stabbed her and

the police hadn't been able to find the girls. >> in fact, police believe those girls were walking, they were going to find a mansion in the woods? >> yeah, the mansion in the woods. they were in the forest because they believed there was a mansion there that slender man lived in. >> reporter: incredibly, police say those girls were now headed to find a mansion where they believed a fictitious internet character lived, a character named slender man who police say they were hoping to impress. outside that hospital in that town -- >> a major search by ground and air -- >> these are the woods where the stabbing -- >> we are still on the scene -- >> reporter: a frantic search for the two missing, morgan and anisa. >> two 12-year-old girls stabbing their friend nearly to death is unimaginable any time. but especially for a safe community like the city of walkershaw. >> reporter: back at the hop the surgeon is about to discover

just how much damage has been done. >> the knife came directly down at this point where this large branch was coming off of this major artery. and cut through the tissue overlying it so that the vessels were totally exposed by this injury. >> the knife cut through the tissue but not the artery itself? >> exactly. the knife stopped at the wall of the matter. >> and had it not? >> had it not, she would have had a major heart attack from the amount of bleeding and probably died within a minute or two. >> reporter: that close to death, nearly five hours after payton crawled out of those woods, the two other girls are found. they were right here along interstate 94 heading out of wa walkashaw, a five-inch blade found in one of the girl's bags. >> both suspects had blood on their clothes. the knife from the stabbing was located in the backpack that was in the possession of the two suspects.

>> reporter: police say they were carrying clothes, granola bars, water bottles. one of the girls carrying a picture of her mother, father and siblings. she wanted to remember what they looked like after leaving her town for that imaginary mansion in the woods. neither girl puts up a fight. taken into custody they would soon be questioned. two parents were about to ask their daughter what happened too. at first payton couldn't talk, writing to communicate. >> do you remember the first message she wrote? >> "i want to go home." "when can i go home?" >> has payton talked at all about the horror of that moment? >> she told me she was scared, but the first time i asked her what she remembered about what happened, she said, "all i remember is the pain." >> how well did you know these two other girls? >> payton's best friends. >> no question in your mind they were best friends? >> best friends since about fourth grade. >> fourth grade we met morgan the first time. >> reporter: payton would talk to morgan every night on the

phone. >> were there red flags? >> they would have arguments but every 12-year-old girl has arguments. >> reporter: across town at the police department the two other friends at that sleepover now answering questions of their own. ellen gabler is a reporter at "the milwaukee journal sentinel." she's followed this case closely. >> the thing that was the most surprising and shocking to me was how planned out this whole thing was. >> reporter: a plot they tell police that was in the works for months. >> you can't believe this is actually 12-year-olds. especially 12-year-old girls. >> reporter: they tell police they committed this crime in part out of their devotion to a character they discovered on the internet. slender man. a tall, faceless, mysterious figure. a fictional character who lurks in the the background. sometimes peering over the shoulders of children. the story of slender man changing, evolving all the time. with help from fans all over the world adding to the story online. giving this fictional character new life every day.

>> he is the thing that we fear that we don't actually encounter. so we check under our beds for the slender man but he's not actually there. >> reporter: not there because he doesn't exist. but listen to what these two girls begin to tell police. anisa revealing to investigators it was morgan's idea to kill payton, to prove themselves "worthy" to slender man, telling police her friend suggested "we should be proxies for slender." >> the girls were very clear with police that they were trying to kill the victim. they wanted to do it as a sacrifice to slender man. >> reporter: and in excruciating detail they describe multiple plots all beginning with that friday night sleepover. >> they had originally planned to kill their friend that night in morgan's house. >> reporter: for some reason at that moment the girls changed their minds. >> they brought her here to the park on saturday morning to kill her in this bathroom.

their big concern was finding a drain for blood to go down. >> reporter: once inside that park bathroom, something happens between the girls, now hatching their second plot. >> there was a back and forth between morgan and anisa about who was going to stab the girl. both of them chickened out, essentially. and said that they told police they couldn't do it. >> reporter: but there would be one more plan. the girls leave that bathroom and walk down a nearby road to the woods. payton's parents take me there, revealing to me what their little girl told them. >> they got to the park and they told her they wanted to play hide-and-seek in the woods. she told me she didn't want to go. >> she sensed it? >> yeah, she did say she was forced to go. >> reporter: the girls tell police about that game of heat and seek. >> anisa and the victim were hiding, anisa told her to lay down and she didn't want to. >> reporter: she sits on payton

and payton says "i can't breathe." anisa tells investigators she was thinking, if i sat on her, morgan could then stab her. >> at that point, one girl says to the other, just go crazy. >> yeah. yeah. >> reporter: a short time later, anisa tells police morgan takes the knife, turns to her friend, and says, "i'm not going to until you tell me to." anisa says she then told morgan to "go ballistic, go crazy." payton is stabbed 19 times, stumbling, trying to get up. >> where on earth do you think she got the strength to crawl out of those woods? >> when we asked her, and she said, "i wanted to live." >> reporter: tonight, for the first time, payton. in the one place that now makes her smile the most. the animal shelter not far from her home. >> this is the place to come. >> reporter: the kittens needing a home. she shows me her favorites.

there are too many to count. her parents wanted me to see her smile again. >> she has the most beautiful smile. >> did that disappear? >> yeah. >> for a little while. >> we see peeks of it every once in a while. >> do you feel your daughter's been stolen from you? >> for the time being. >> we'll get her back. >> yeah. >> reporter: the smiles we then saw looking at her notebooks, the ones with the kittens on the front. >> some people would say she's doing remarkably well, given what's happened to her. >> yeah. >> i would say that it's way beyond expectations. i'm astonished at the way she's been able to recover. >> reporter: tonight, we're happy to show you the pictures. her walk down the driveway to the car. mom driving her back to school. >> she's an amazing child. >> she's meant to do something special. she's here for a reason. >> we have an update on the two suspects tonight. morgan has been found not

competent to stand trial, and she's been committed for treatment. and anisa will be examined by a doctor to determine whether she is fit to stand trial. our thanks to david muir for that extraordinary reporting tonight. up next here on "nightline," we switch gears spiral to a story straight out of hollywood. george clooney, who said he'd never get married, is tying the knot in venice and we are right there. never get married and tying the knot in venice and we are right there. i can't go, it's like bricks piling up. i wish i could find some relief. (announcer) ask your doctor about linzess-- a once-daily capsule for adults with ibs with constipation or chronic idiopathic constipation. linzess is thought to help calm pain-sensing nerves and accelerate bowel movements. it helps you proactively manage your symptoms. do not give linzess to children under 6, and it should not be given to children 6 to 17. it may harm them. don't take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain

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in love with a beautiful lawyer. and tomorrow in venice they will reportedly get married. the party list is filled with "a" listers and the paparazzi in full force. and we are in the middle of it all. >> reporter: the wedding of the year. we have just approached the hotel where the bride and groom are reported by staying. and i feel bad, like a bit of a stalker. but it's not every day that george clooney gets married. and amal alamuddin, today, the latest photos of the bride in a gorgeous red gown. three days of parties. >> she is marrying a big slesht. not surp prizing she will v has 12 dressing ready. i'm sure there will be plenty of outfit changes.

>> reporter: guest willing be escorted to the hotel by private taxis. and paparazzi have taken over the city for a star studded wedding party. spotted, matt damon and his wife, cindy crawford and her husband, randy gerber. and brad and angelina, sandra bullock and amal's sisters. and venice's city hall will shut down the roads around the building, for at least two hours, giving the couple time to enjoy their moment together privately. it's expected the guest rg staying here at the hotel

cipriani. and now with a cocktail. with all that hollywood glamour in venice, it's like victim e filming on a film set. we headed straight to the hotel to investigate. it's pretty suck v sesecluded. and it was pretty much business as nushl. take a look now, windows are covered. something is about to happen. >> it's no surprise they are getting going married in italy. george has close ties to the country and he has a close friend, the former mayor of venice that is going to marry them. >> clooney, the sexiest man

alive twice. said he was never going to get married again. >> i'm never going to get married again. because i wasn't very good at it. >> he has preached over the years that he wants to stay a bachelor. we have seen him not only fall in love but publicly declare his adoration for amal. >> reporter: clooney and his bride have had a whirlwind romance. educated at oxford and nyu, clooney net october. they got engaged. clooney seems smitten with his fiancee. >> i would like to say to my bride to be, amal, that i love you very much and i can't 2008 be your husband. >> reporter: their wedding will cost $13 million.

rooifrling kim kardashian and kanye west's affair. the couple choosing a white and yellow combination. >> they are considering a merged menu of lebanese and italian cuisine. >> reporter: there will be plenty of booze. randy gerber loading up his private plane with 50 cases of tequila. >> it's being shipped directly to venice, 100 cases, plenty for everyone. >> reporter: george clooney, smiling for the paparazzi today in venice. >> it's the most hyped up celebrity wedding of 2014 and puts the end to the summer of celebrity weddings.

>> reporter: in recent years, weddings kept top secret. no one knew that brad pit and angelina got married until after it was over. the 36-year-old blushing bride arrived in milan yesterday, carrying a big garment box. she is reportedly wearing alexander mcqueen. what will george clooney be wearing? >> we will see her in a traditional silhouette. we will see her in white or ivory, because it's her first wedding. >> reporter: george clooney is wearing a giorgio armani.

they sold the wedding pictures for $10 million. donating the money. and the sun sets on a romantic backdrop for a wedding, the world's most eligible bachelor will say good-bye to singledom. >> our thanks to lama hassan. it's not a tough assignment. we will be right back. keep it here. fuel-efficient, that's fun, and affordable, there's only the volkswagen jetta. like this one, 36 highway mpg. well, except for the 42 highway mpg jetta tdi clean diesel. oh, right, and the 48 highway mpg jetta hybrid. and if you want all that variety

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