More Than $30,000 Raised for 12-Year-Old Waukesha Stabbing Victim

The 12-year-old girl stabbed 19 times after a birthday sleepover last weekend came home from the hospital Friday, and the spirits of her family have been bolstered by the outpouring of support from Waukesha and the nation.

"Our daughter was released from Waukesha Memorial Hospital into the care of her family and friends," reads a statement released by the family. "She is excited to be out of the hospital, see her pets and continue along the road to recovery.

"Our family is extremely grateful for the outpouring of support and love from not only the local community but from around the nation and the world. We are especially thankful to everyone who has donated to the Hearts for Healing fund,"

A GoFundMe account has been created, and through Friday evening $33,000 has been raised to aid the family in her recovery.

The child was stabbed last Friday during a game of hide-and-seek in David's Park. The game was a ruse to lure the girl to the park where two other 12-year-olds, Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier, carried out a plot to murder her, according to authorities.

Severely wounded, the child crawled to a nearby road where a passing bicyclist found her, comforted her and called 911. Police found and arrested the girls.

Fund-raising efforts are being led by the Waukesha Community Arts Project, according to WISN TV.

“I think when she sees what people have been doing while she’s been (hospitalized), it’s going to warm her heart,” Paige Remmers, director of Waukesha Community Arts Project, told the station.

The effort is reaching the family.

“Everybody is so encouraged by the messages of love and hope that we are receiving and are able to pass along to the family,” said the victim’s family friend,

Dana Hoffmann, a friend serving as a family spokesperson, said the family is focused on recovery.

“She knows that a really bad thing happened to her, and she knows that the people who did the bad things were caught, and she’s happy that they were caught for doing the bad thing,” Hoffmann said.

» Listen to the 911 Call