'Slender Man' interrogations reveal new details

Videotaped police interrogations obtained by a local television station show two Wisconsin girls describing in chilling detail their plan to murder a friend to win over a fictional character called "Slender Man" who preys on children.

The girls are accused of nearly killing a classmate, Payton Leutner, in a park in Waukesha, about 20 miles west of Milwaukee.

The two told their friend they were taking her bird-watching.

"People who trust you become very gullible," one girl told police. "It was sort of sad."

Leutner survived 19 stab wounds and crawled to a path near the woods. Leutner, who is now 13, has recovered and returned to school.

"We told her we were going to get help, but we really weren't. We were going to run and let her pass away. So, we ran," one girl explained.

WISN-TV obtained nine hours of videotaped interrogations of the girls, who were 12 years old at the time. The girls talk about the necessity of pleasing Slender Man, a horror figure popular in online fan fiction.

Drawings of Slender Man and dismembered Barbie dolls recovered from one girl's bedroom were shown in court this week, ABC News reported.

"He watches you," one girl told police. "I've never seen him. He's everywhere."

The girls also discussed their plans to kill their friend.

"We knew it was going to be at my birthday sleepover. You have no idea how difficult it was not to tell anyone," one girl said. "Truth be told, I wanted to be locked up so I couldn't hurt her. But, that time has passed and now I'm in here because we were so careless. I knew this would happen. I knew we'd get in trouble."

The girls were arrested while walking along a highway about five hours after Leutner was found and rushed to the hospital.

They told authorities they were on their way to a national forest in northern Wisconsin, where they thought they would find Slender Man and his mansion.

The girls have been charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide. If convicted, they could be sentenced to up to 65 years in prison.

Their attorneys are trying to get their case moved to juvenile court. A conviction there would send them to a secure facility until age 25.