A 12-year-old girl who was stabbed and nearly killed by two young classmates in an effort to appease a demonic fictional character has recovered and even attended a movie with her father, her family said Tuesday.
The young girl who was stabbed 19 times May 31 in Waukesha, Wis., was able to enjoy a "daddy-daughter night" out less than a month after the brutal attack.
"She has a courageous heart and bravely deals with both the physical and emotional challenges since the attack," the family wrote in a statement issued on a fund-raising website Tuesday morning. "Though many days consist of medical appointments and rehabilitation, recently she and her father enjoyed a ‘daddy-daughter night at the movies’ and thoroughly enjoyed a Disney film."
The family has raised nearly $50,000 through the gofundme.com to offset the girl's medical costs, the family said. The girl was released from the hospital on June 7.
Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier, both 12, have been charged as adults in the attack on their friend and classmate. The assault on the girl was planned months in advance, and the girls told police they were trying to prove the existence of "Slender Man," an tall blank-faced Internet character with black tendrils who supposedly haunts photographs and kills children.
Geyser and Weier allegedly lured the victim into the woods for a game of hide-and-seek, then one of them held her down while the other stabbed her again and again. The young victim was left in the woods to die, but she was found by a passing biker.
A judge ordered Geyser to undergo a competency hearing. Both are being held in lieu of $500,000 and are expected to return to court on July 2.
The victim's family released two photos of the girl's room. One shows a canopy of "get well" messages that were sent in as part of the "Hearts For Healing" social media movement that began on Twitter after the attack. The other is a photo of the girl, from the neck down, holding a card that simply says "thank you."
"We simply cannot put into words how grateful we are for the prayers, packages and heartfelt messages," the statement read. "We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support."
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