Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier never found it all that easy to make friends.
The girls lived in the same subsidised housing complex, Sunset Apartments, and caught the bus to and from school together.
Morgan had an angelic face with dimples, framed by long, dark, blonde hair. She wore black rimmed glasses.
She was obsessed with Harry Potter, and was once seen running through the playground at lunch time with her best friend Bella, imagining that Voldemort was chasing them. Otherwise, Morgan’s classmates described her as quiet and mysterious.
Anissa had short, dark hair, unusual for a girl of her age. She had a round face, fair skin and always wore thin glasses.
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She loved online forums, YouTube and her Internet history revealed that she had a dark sense of humour, often posting graphic dead baby jokes.
Since fourth grade, Morgan’s best friend was Payton Leutne, who went by the name ‘Bella’. The pair were inseparable. They both loved cats and rollerblading.
But two years later, when they were 12 years old, Morgan’s friendship with Anissa began to develop.
Anissa didn’t like Bella much, and often referred to her as a “bitch” behind her back. Maybe it was that Bella made friends more easily than Anissa, or that she was envious of her friendship with Morgan. Either way, the two were friendly, but only through Morgan.
The three girls attended Horning Middle School in Waukesha, a suburb of Milwaukee, in America’s north-east. A mother at the school described them as “misfits,” and certainly not “girly girls.” They weren’t at all interested in boys or music.
On May 30th, 2014, Morgan invited Anissa and Bella over for a sleepover to celebrate her 12th birthday. The three visited Skateland, an indoor rollerskating rink, which played top 40 hits.
At 9:30pm Morgan told her dad she’d had enough, and he drove the three of them back to the Geyser home. They played on the Internet for a few hours, before going to sleep – all sharing Morgan’s bed.
The next morning they had donuts and strawberries for breakfast, and then Morgan asked her mum if they could go to the park and play.

Top Comments
Childhood schizophrenia (unnoticed and untreated by the parents) and burgeoning lesbian jealousy as an insular friendship is challenged. Not a great combination.