Slender Man teen burns house down in a Pasco County, Fla. home because she was obsessed with the fictional horror character, according to multiple reports. Police said that while the 14-year-old's mom and 9-year-old brother was asleep inside the house, the Slender Man teen burns house down.
According to the Huffington Post, the 7th-grade girl had done the deed since she was upset about being disciplined by her mother.
The incident where the Slender Man teen burns house down occurred early Thursday morning, at a home on Hermitage Lane in Port Richey, reports WTSP. Fire Rescue reportedly found heavy smoke and flames inside the home when they arrived on the scene.
The teenager involved in the incident of Slender Man teen burns house down has been identified as Lily Marie Hartwell. According to the New York Daily News, Hartwell soaked a towel and bed sheet with bleach and rum and set them on fire in the house of her family at Port Richey.
After the Slender Man teen burns house down, she reportedly walked to a park bathroom near her home and took a nap.
The teen apparently had an argument with her mother earlier over household chores, which pushed her to burn down her home with her mom and brother in it.
Fortunately, her mom and sibling escaped and survived the blaze. They were woken by a smoke alarm at 1:45 a.m. The teen's mom even ran back inside the house again since her daughter wasn't outside with them, but she was driven back by the heat.
According to the NY Daily News, as the Slender Man teen burns house down and the mom thought that her daughter was still inside the house, unsuspecting of the crime, firefighters rushed to find the Chasco Middle School student in the blazing home.
They eventually concluded that she was not there in the first place. Reports say it took several hours for around 17 laddermen to put down the fire.
Later on, multiple reports say that after the teen realized what she had done, she texted her mother saying, "Mom, I'm so sorry. I don't know why I did it. Did any of [YOU]get hurt?"
WTSP reports that the daughter was taken into custody after being located nearby.
According to The Suncoast News, because the Slender Man teen burns house down with her family still inside,
Pasco County, Fla. deputies charged her with one count of arson and two counts of attempted murder.
Meanwhile, after investigations, officials said the teen was fixated with Slender Man, which could be reason for the attack.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, during the investigation, the girl admitted to using the websites Creepypasta.com and SoulEater.com, which are both frequented by Slender Man fans.
Slender Man is a fictional character who has become the subject of various proses online which reportedly involved murder and diverse sinister acts.
Authorities said that because of the stories, the teen has become upset by past bullying and her mother disciplining her prior to bedtime.
According to the NY Daily News, during investigation of the Slender Man teen burns house down, authorities found the teen's journal marked "Keep Out." In there, she reportedly wrote, "If this keeps up there will be no safety in this house."
In addition, there were also several handwritten entries with thoughts about "killing" and phrases like, "Mom if you ever find this before it happens Im sorry..."
In June, according to multiple reports, authorities arrested two 12-year-old girls from Wisconsin for stabbing their classmate to death. They reportedly stabbed her 19 times to please Slender Man. One of the girls also told police that she and her friend were attempting to become "proxies" for the character.
As of the current moment, WTSP reports that investigators still have no evidence confirming the incident where Slender Man teen burns house down is linked to the violence found on the websites associated with Slender Man. Still, authorities are concerned.
Detective Daniel Toner would not call the attack as Slender Man-inspired, but he said the teen was definitely influenced by blogs and videos on the sites, reports The Tampa Bay Times.
Still, someone should be held accountable. Who is to blame for these attacks by young children, the youths or the websites feeding their fantasies?
After the June stabbing of the 12-year-olds, the moderator who runs creepypasta.com posted a statement about the stabbings, according to a report by the NY Daily News at the time.
The unknown author offered condolences to the victim and her family, but said that neither creepypasta.com nor creepypasta.wikia.com can be held responsible.
The post saId, "Most people don't watch Hannibal and turn into serial killers. I don't believe that it's the fault of Slenderman or horror writing in general that this happened. I remember reading scary stories and watching slasher movies when I was a child and young teenager and while they certainly gave me nightmares, they did not instill within me a desire to murder my friends."
Meanwhile, Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco told The Suncoast News, "There's a clear direction."
Nocco said that while the websites are not directly the cause of the incident where Slender Man teen burns house down, he is advising parents to be more aware of these websites and their content.
Nocco added, "She's involved in reading these things."
Slender Man teen burns house down and as of the current moment, the State Attorney's Office has not decided yet whether the 14-year-old will be charged as a juvenile or an adult, reports WTSP.
To know more about the history of Slender Man, you can see this article by The Washington Post.
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