♪ 'cause that's what i'm supposed to do ♪ [ cheers and applause ] thiss nightline. >> tonight, the slenderman horror. a 12 year old girl stabbed 19 times.

>> did you feel bad that just stab one of your best friends? >> i thought about it, but then i decided that remorse will get me nowhere. it's easier to live without regrets. >> the shocking crime to please a fictional online character. >> she could be anywhere from 6ft to 14ft tall. he doesn't have a face. >> the ringleader now grown and pleading for release. >> it will make the community safer. >> the attorney with them from the start. what? he tells nightline about his client's remorse. >> morgan committed one act, not a pattern of acts. >> will they go free? plus, los angeles leveled the stunning before and after images. the deadly blaze becoming the most devastating in l.a. history. our david muir is with cal fire over the gutted pacific palisades. you can see just how quickly these fires spread. >> wind gusts reaching 7080 up to 100mph. along pacific coast

highway, every single home is gone. really? as far as the eye can see. >> wiping out the homesteads of generations. >> we have been in the palisades since the 1930s. i mean, my great grandma named helped name the streets how you can help the the streets how you can help the relief efforts. what's up, you seem kinda sluggish today. things aren't really movin'. you could use some metamucil. metamucil's psyllium fiber helps keep your digestive system moving. so you can feel lighter and more energetic. metamucil keeps you movin'. and try the 2 week challenge at metamucil.com —sounds like you need to vaporize that cold. dayquil vapocool? it's dayquil plus a rush of vicks vapors. ♪vapocooooool♪ woah. dayquil vapocool. the vaporizing daytime, coughing, aching, stuffy head, power through your day, medicine.

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joining us. i'm stephanie ramos. it was the attack that captivated the nation more than a decade ago. a 12 year old girl stabbed 19 times, barely surviving. shockingly, her own friends were to blame, saying they did it to impress a fictional online character known as slenderman. one of those responsible in court this week, now 22 years old. 22 year old morgan geyser appearing in a wisconsin courtroom this week. a far cry from the 12 year old, who admitted to a heinous act stabbing someone they called a friend when they were both just 12 years old. >> as you look at miss geyser sitting here in court as an individual, whether she still presents that same risk today. she doesn't. >> morgan's attorney pleading for his client's release after being held at the winnebago mental health institute for the brutal attack that's gripped the nation for more than a decade. >> when you have 212 year old

girls luring another friend out into the woods to stab her on behalf of a mythical figure named slenderman, it's going to be everywhere. >> and it was after that shocking story out of wisconsin, a brutal stabbing of a 12 year old girl. >> the girl told police she was with two other girls she knew. >> the victim's friends left her to die. >> in 2014, morgan's friend payton lightner stabbed 19 times. >> do you feel like you're a survivor? >> yeah. i shouldn't be alive. i really shouldn't after what happened. >> another friend there to anissa weier, who, like morgan, would also be confined to that same mental health institute. anissa was granted supervised release after nearly four years. >> the slenderman, he's. >> he's this tall, faceless man who preys on children. >> i was hired by the defense to evaluate morgan. i don't think she was deviously planning. i think she was feeling controlled

by slenderman. what she would tell me is that she really had no choice but to listen to slenderman. >> the brutal, premeditated attack, they say, was done to please the fictional online character slenderman, who the kids hoped to meet at an imaginary mansion in the woods. >> she could be anywhere from 6ft to 14ft tall. he's a tall guy who constantly wears a suit of. he doesn't have a face. >> didn't you feel bad that he stabbed one of your best friends? >> i thought about it, but then i decided that remorse will get me nowhere. it's easier to live without regrets. >> is the now grown adult behind those words truly reformed or still a risk to society? >> in a case like this, when someone is found not guilty by reason of mental defect, the question isn't whether morgan will be released. the question becomes when. >> it was may 2014 when the saga began in waukesha, a suburb of

milwaukee. the three teens had found friendship with one another go back five years ago to 12 year old payton. >> how would you describe her? >> hopeful. positive. an animal lover. i saw the good in people. >> looking back, anissa was never really invited to a lot of birthday parties or anything. i don't think she really made friends that easy. >> morgan did endure a lot of bullying, especially in the sixth grade by the other students. in the last year, she started to become moodier and a little bit more reclusive. >> she never talked about any of the sadness or any of the bad things. they knew what each other had gone through, and they were going to be there for each other. >> 312 year old girls had a sleepover. it happens all over the country all the time, but this one ended a little different when one member, a caller on big bend, came upon a

12 year old female. >> she appears to been stabbed. she appears to be what? stab. stabbed? correct. >> do you remember what you said to them? >> i trusted you, and then they told me to lay down. you'll lose blood. slower. like we're going to go get help. >> my colleague, 2020 co-anchor david muir, spoke to payton in 2019, in her only interview. he first met her and her parents just months after the attack. >> we just knew that, payton told us morgan stabbed her and the police hadn't been able to find the girls. >> and in fact, police believe those girls were walking. yeah, they were going to find a mansion in the woods. >> oh, the mansion? yeah, the mansion in the woods. they were going to the nicolet forest because they believed that there was a mansion there that slenderman lived in. >> police say they were hoping to impress slenderman with their actions. >> slender man was originally created as a fan fiction and an extension of the campfire horror

story. these images that were unclear whether they were nurturing or threatening. >> after being brutally stabbed, payton managed to crawl out of those woods nearly five hours later. the two other preteens were found and taken into custody. >> he was my only friend for a long time. >> why would you hurt your only friend? >> it was necessary. it was weird. i felt no remorse. i thought i would is worthy to feel remorse. i actually felt nothing. >> was it hard for you to wrap your head around what had been done to. you? >> no. which i guess says a lot about our friendship. i kind of wasn't really too shocked about it. after i heard why she did it, i was like, well, this doesn't surprise me at all because she believed so hard in this thing that she would do anything for it.

>> when i first entered morgan's bedroom, it just looked like a normal room for a girl of her age. but in her drawers and in the closet, there were numerous items that were disturbing in nature. >> they found all kinds of strange things going on there. strange drawings. dolls that had been mutilated. >> some of the dolls had their hands cut off, arms cut off, legs cut off. >> experts testified that morgan had been diagnosed with early onset schizophrenia. anissa separately was diagnosed with shared psychotic disorder. >> i just want to let bella and her family know. i'm sorry. >> i never meant this to happen. >> i think morgan's mental health state at the time of the stabbing was obviously it was.

she was in a bad state. we could see that obviously from all the doctor reports that were done back then. >> both morgan and anissa ultimately found not guilty by reason of a mental disease or defect. authorities said morgan was the ringleader and the one that had done the stabbing. she was committed to 40 years in a mental health institute. anissa committed to 25 years. >> it is very rare to be found not guilty by reason of mental defect, but when someone does, it means that that person was so psychologically incapable that they can't even be held responsible for a crime. >> i know that nothing i say is going to make this right, your honor, and nothing i say is going to fix what i broke. i'm never going to let this happen again. and i'm sorry. >> anissa would be released in 2021, while morgan continued at the winnebago mental health

institute. >> morgan received a lot of treatment at winnebago, specifically individual therapy, group therapy and medication. really a combination of the three. >> anthony cotton has represented morgan since the start of the case. morgan now identifies as a transgender man. >> morgan certainly up there in terms of having a positive outlook and a positive attitude for the future. >> in this week's hearing, cotton called three doctors to testify on morgan's well-being. >> she has improved coping skills for managing stress. specifically, i don't believe that she currently poses a significant risk, essentially, that she has had multiple opportunities to be in the community and has done very well. >> all agreeing that the 22 year old is fit to be released. payton's family disagreeing, releasing this statement ahead of court saying morgan geyser has withdrawn her request to be released twice. more recently, her request was denied. we are confident that the judicial system will make a decision that

will ensure the community and my daughter remain safe. prosecutors arguing morgan's credibility remains an issue that you should find. >> there's clear and convincing evidence of substantial risk. >> the judge ruling in favor of morgan's early release, saying while their crime was terrible, morgan has now grown up. >> this geyser does not pose a significant risk risk of bodily harm to herself or others, or of serious, serious property damage. now, when i make that finding, i take into account the dangerousness of what happened back in 2014. >> morgan is in good spirits. morgan is looking forward to the next stage. morgan has talked about wanting to be a librarian, wanting to continue publishing her her writings, wanting to be be in the in the art field. >> despite what happened all

those years ago, cotton believes geyser has shown remorse. >> morgan would be the first person to say it. it's unbelievable. you don't even want to discuss it how bad it was. but morgan committed one act, not a pattern of acts. >> in the meantime, the judge ordered the state to come up with a plan for morgan's supervised release within 60 days. >> this is not a case where morgan will just be able to walk free and go on with life. the conditional release is conditional. it's not unconditional. and so it means that morgan is going to have to abide by and adhere to certain requirements. >> when we come back, we switch gears. los angeles leveled the stunning before and after images. we meet those who have lost homes and heirlooms of lost homes and heirlooms of generations. ♪

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every>> night. >> abc's world news tonight with david muir is america's most watched newscast. >> welcome back. tonight, a split screen in los angeles. even as flames continue to blaze ferociously through multiple neighborhoods, consuming everything in their path, residents of areas already ravaged are making their way back to the homes they were forced to flee, only to find nothing there. here's abc's mola lenghi what used to be one of the most photographed and iconic stretches of malibu here along the pacific coast highway. >> now shockingly burnt to the ground. paris hilton's beach home here on the strip used to look like this. but here's what she came home to emotionally

sharing on instagram. i'm standing here in what used to be our home, and the heartbreak is truly indescribable. academy award winning actor anthony hopkins home now also decimated. but it's not just celebrity homes. today, prince harry and meghan were seen visiting fire victims in pasadena. across los angeles. the last three days have looked like an apocalyptic nightmare. today, multiple wildfires burning uncontrollably throughout the county, destroying thousands of homes and killing at least 11 people. with that number expected to rise. well, you can see it right over the shoulder here. >> home after home, just completely gone. >> my colleague, world news anchor david muir, taking flight over the pacific coast highway with cal fire, headed towards the unrecognizable neighborhoods of pacific palisades. the firefight continuing over the air. but for some communities, it's too little, too late. this is just a devastating view. >> as we fly over pacific

palisades, you can see down low just how quickly these fires spread, and you can see here every single home is gone, wiped off the map, really, as far as the eye can see here, the aftermath is unprecedented. >> 100,053 residents are under evacuation orders, and approximately 57,830 structures remain at risk. >> the eaton fire alone destroying more than 7000 structures in the altadena area. now the most destructive fire ever in los angeles history and the second most destructive in california history. >> we recognize the fear and uncertainty you may be feeling, and our hearts are with you during this challenging time. >> even with a significant drop off in the blaze and some containment, many of the infernos continue to rage. with more than 30,000 acres still burning in los angeles gone.

>> this is the kitchen for so many in pacific palisades. you got a little hot over there. >> i think the weight of picking up the pieces means combing through the rubble of their old lives. >> you know, growing up there, you know, your neighbors, you know everyone's business. we're all on the same soccer teams, kids, teams. i mean, the palisades, it is the most amazing place in the entire world. >> caitlyn doran's family has lived in pacific palisades for five generations. >> my grandfather is 84 years old. he actually met my grandma at palisades elementary and they bought their house. >> her parents, grandparents and aunt and uncle all lost their homes to the inferno. >> so we have been in the palisades since the 1930s. my great grandma helped name the streets. we waited as long as we could, but it is time to go. >> we first met caitlyn's family days ago as they were escaping the flames. her parents, grandparents, pets, even her 175

pound tortoise named tiptoe, ready to go, fleeing for their lives. right? now. returning to see the damage for the first time, sorting through the charred remains of their lives here, i feel like the next few weeks is we're just going to be attempting to kind of see what we have. >> we have the brick from the front of the house. it's just time to dream. get out the drawing board and, you know, hope. >> pray one family's hope for the future amidst the pain, for a brighter tomorrow. >> i believe that people will come back and they'll work hard as heck to rebuild the town. and i think that palisades strong. i mean, we'll come back however long it takes to get there. >> our thanks to mola when we come back, an announcement from abc and how you can help the abc and how you can help the people hit hardest by the fires.

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across the los angeles area. tonight, disney, the parent company of abc, announcing it's donating $15 million to wildfire relief. disney offering support to the red cross, the los angeles fire department foundation and the los angeles regional food bank, among others. our parent company also says it will work closely with the business community to find ways to support the rebuilding efforts in the area. the red cross and salvation army are on the ground. if you'd like to help, you can go to redcross.org or to the salvation army usa.org. our thoughts are with all of you out west. that's nightline. you can watch all of our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here monday. thanks for staying up with us. take good care, america. >> who is this guy? >> he was kind of creepy. >> pure evil. we were shocked. >> this is every woman's nightmare. >> this is not just any killer. >> there was 11 skulls drawn