A spokesperson for Payton Leutner's family says they agreed to the plea deal for Morgan Geyser and her co-defendant but they do not like it.
"These are two assailants who planned for six months how to commit murder and with that we supported jail time for both of them," said spokesperson Steve Lyons.
The family says the real focus should be on Leutner who survived the unimaginable.
"This is a young lady who crawled out of the woods and through all of her determination has done some remarkable things," Lyons said.
Now that both attackers are convicted her family said Leutner can move past being a victim and focus on being a survivor.
Leutner's family said though they will have to keep living with this. As it stands now if Geyser and Weier are sentenced to mental health institutions, they can petition for release every six months.
Geyser will face a sentencing hearing in December. The family hopes she is committed for the maximum time of 40 years.
The family also offered a statement saying the family was happy to avoid a trial:
The plea deal has the assailant pleading guilty to 1st Degree Attempted Murder. Our family considers this to be true and accurate.
Once the jury found Anissa Weier not guilty by reason of mental disease or disorder, we felt compelled that the plea deal was the right course of action and was best for our daughter. The emotional effects of a long painful trial are simply too great a burden on our daughter and family. Further, for the safety of our daughter, our family and the community, we simply could not risk the release of Morgan Geyser.
Though we do not believe that an institution is where these attempted murderers belong, the current legal system does not favor victims in this situation.
We wish to thank the District Attorney and her team in their efforts. They have assisted our family throughout the process.
With this closure, our daughter is a heroic survivor—and no longer a victim.
God bless everyone who stood by us during this horrific ordeal.
