US teen pleads guilty to internet villain-inspired attack

Chicago, August 22 : One of two girls accused with stabbing a friend inspired by a fictitious internet character pleaded guilty to a reduced attempted homicide charge in a Wisconsin court. Anissa Weier, who is now 15 but was 12 years old at the time of the 2014 crime, agreed to plea to a lesser charge of second-degree homicide as party to a crime yesterday, with use of a deadly weapon.She originally faced first-degree intentional homicide. She will stand trial next month to determine if she is legally responsible considering her mental health condition. She told the court she participated in the attack, because she feared the internet character Slender Man — a villain featured on a horror website — would otherwise hurt her and her family, according to US media. Both she and her alleged accomplice Morgan Geyser are accused of stabbing their friend Payton Leutner 19 times at a park. A bicyclist found Leutner and helped her get to a hospital.