A 12-year-old girl was accused of starting a fire in her family’s flat before stabbing and killing her stepmother Maria Torres, claiming that a ‘laughing clown’ had told her to do it
(Image: Getty)
A 12-year-old girl allegedly killed her stepmother because a “laughing clown” told her to do it.
The girl, who has not been named for legal reasons, is accused of setting fire to her family’s flat before fatally stabbing Maria Torres, 50, in July 2015. The child claimed she was acting under the influence of “Laughing Jack,” a fictional character from horror story website Creepypasta.
‘Laughing Jack’ has been described as a clown who befriends young people and becomes their imaginary friend before killing them.
Court documents revealed that the girl had been hearing voices and had developed an alter ego months before the incident. She had reportedly pleaded with her father for help, but her mental health deteriorated further in the absence of treatment.
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She was then diagnosed with multiple personality disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Despite this, 16 psychiatric facilities refused to admit her, and the state did not agree to place her in medical care – despite a court order stating that hospitalisation was the only viable option.
Instead, she was held at the Juvenile Detention Centre in Goshen, Indiana, where the girl was deemed a significant risk to herself and others. Because of strict safety precautions, other detainees were then forced to use paper spoons during meals to prevent any possible incidents involving sharp objects.
Her public defender, Holly Curtis, expressed deep frustration with the situation, saying, “This little girl has been failed by everyone.
“The risk level for her is beyond anything I think anybody can imagine… not being able to get the help she’s crying out for is one of the biggest travesties I’ve seen.”
The case echoes the notorious 2014 Slender Man stabbing in Wisconsin, where two 12-year-old girls attacked a classmate after claiming they were compelled by another Creepypasta character.
Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier lured their pal Payton Leutner to a sleep over and then an outdoor play session before stabbing Payton 19 times and leaving her for dead when they fled the scene on May 30, 2014.
They claimed they wanted to join the terrifying Slender Man cult and become his ‘proxies’ or puppets. Geyser and Weier believed the creepy internet meme was real and said he had visited them in their dreams.
When they were interviewed by police, both said they thought Slender Man would kill their families if they didn’t murder Payton.
Despite her horrendous injuries, Payton managed to crawl for help in the woods. As soon as police began questioning the girls it became apparent Geyser was suffering from serious mental health problems.
Before her trial, she was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and had heard voices and had hallucinations for years.
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