12-year-old Wisconsin girl stabbed 19 times; friends arrested

CNN) -- They had something to prove to someone they found on a ghoulish website. So, two girls allegedly lured a third girl into a wooded area in Waukesha, Wisconsin, over the weekend and stabbed her 19 times, police said. The suspects allegedly left the victim to crawl to her own rescue. The three girls, all 12 years old, were friends, according to a criminal complaint. A bicyclist found the wounded girl alive Saturday, lying on a sidewalk in Waukesha, Police Chief Russell Jack said. She was in stable condition at a hospital on Monday. The girls were trying to impress a certain "Slenderman," the complaint read. One of the girls encountered the name on a website known as Creepypasta Wiki, which posts horror stories. Watch this video 12-year-old stabbing suspects arrested Watch this video Police: Suspects inspired by Internet Slenderman is the site's supposed leader, and to climb up into his realm, a user must kill someone, one of the suspects told police. The fictional Slenderman character is an Internet meme that often appears in horror stories, videos and images. On Tuesday morning, a lengthy statement was posted on www.creepypasta.com. The statement expressed condolences for everyone involved, and stressed that the site does not condone or encourage violence in any way but also noted that "it's hard to justify pinning blame on an entire genre of writing." Allegedly planned The two were arrested hours after the victim was discovered Saturday, and they were being held on preliminary charges of attempted first-degree intentional homicide. The complaint identified the girls as Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier. They are being charged as adults and appeared in court Monday. Bail was set for each in the amount of $500,000, Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel said. Anthony Cotton, Geyser's attorney, told CNN on Tuesday that he's spoken briefly with her. She is housed at a juvenile facility for females, he said, and the girl's family is in "shock." Geyser has not had a mental evaluation yet, but her lawyer expects her to be given one soon. Attempts to contact an attorney for Weier were unsuccessful Monday and Tuesday. The suspects attended the same middle school as the victim and had a sleepover at the home of one of the suspects Friday night, Jack said. "Both suspects had a fascination with a fictitious character that often posted" to websites dealing with stories about death and horror, the police chief told reporters at a news conference. According to the criminal complaint, the suspects had been planning the attack since February. They first thought to kill the victim by placing duct tape over her mouth while she was sleeping and stabbing her in the neck, the complaint read. Next, the plan was to kill her in a bathroom where there was floor drain that could make cleanup easier, it continued. But, finally, the girls decided to do it in a park while playing a game of hide-and-seek, the complaint read. It states: "As they left for the park ... (the victim) was walking in front of them and Geyser lifted up the left side of her white jacket and displayed the knife tucked in her waistband. Weier stated she gave Geyser a look with wide eyes and, when asked what that meant Weier stated, 'I thought, dear god, this was really happening.' " 'One millimeter away' from death Some of the victim's major organs were struck. One of the stab wounds was near her heart, and she was "one millimeter away from certain death," the complaint read. According to the complaint, the victim told the bicyclist who found her: "Please help me. I've been stabbed." She was in extreme pain and could only answer questions with yes or no. Authorities searched for the two other girls, and a sheriff's officer found them walking near Interstate 94, Jack said. He declined to say whether the suspects had blood on their clothes, but added: "There was evidence that was readily apparent when the two were taken into custody." That evidence included a large kitchen knife inside a purse that Geyser identified as one of her mother's old purses, according to the complaint.

Hall of Famer Dan Marino suing NFL over concussions suffered during career

Dan Marino Suing NFL over Concussions: Latest Details, Updates and Reaction AP Images 45.0K Reads 186 Comments Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, along with 14 other former players, filed a lawsuit against the NFL over concussions last week. “On information and belief, the Plaintiff…sustained repetitive, traumatic sub-concussive and/or concussive head impacts during NFL games and/or practices,” read Marino's short-form complaint, via the Los Angeles Times' Nathan Fenno. The Hall of Fame quarterback is seeking compensation in the form of "medical monitoring and unspecified financial recovery," per Fenno. Of course, this development has implications far beyond that. Bleacher Report's Ethan J. Skolnick put it simply: The NFL is no stranger to being sued in connection with concussions. There is currently a much larger ongoing lawsuit, as over 4,500 former NFL players are suing the league, claiming that the dangers of concussions were covered up. The players had seemingly reached a $765 million settlement, but judge Anita Brody rejected that sum in January amid concerns that it wasn't sufficient. Sol Weiss, a co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in that case, is also serving as one of Marino's attorneys. As studies reveal the effects of head injuries, the NFL is only going to continue to serve as a target—especially for former players who played before strict safety rules were put into place. It's becoming clear, however, that this massive aforementioned case may not be the end of it. FootballGuys.com's Sigmund Bloom touched on that: No matter how Marino's case plays out, this is a bad development for the NFL. The former Dolphin is one of the most respected players of his generation, and now that he has taken the league to court, we could see isolated cases such as this one pop up far more frequently. Either way, the league already has its hands full as lawsuits continue to pile up. Marino's case is sure to generate plenty of discussion and reaction considering his status and popularity throughout the league and among its fanbase, shining an even brighter spotlight on an already hot topic.