Four individuals, including the father of a 14-year-old Wisconsin girl, have been arrested and charged with child neglect after the girl was discovered weighing a mere 35 pounds and kept in a locked bedroom under video surveillance. The arrests followed an extensive investigation initiated when the girl's father, Walter Goodman, contacted 911 reporting his daughter was ill and vomiting.
First responders found the girl severely underweight and malnourished, appearing much younger than her age, with her collarbone, rib cage, and hip bones prominently visible. The girl was hospitalized and diagnosed with hypothermia, hypoglycemia, and multi-organ dysfunction.
She had no medical records for the past five years. While Goodman claimed his daughter was autistic and refused to eat, attributing her thinness to a lack of sleep and self-harming behavior that necessitated room surveillance, investigators and hospital staff found inconsistencies.
The girl denied self-harm and sleep difficulties, and forensic interviews revealed no such behaviors or issues. The investigation revealed the girl had been living with her father, stepmother Melissa Goodman, the stepmother's daughter Savanna Lefever, and Lefever's partner Kayla Stemler in a trailer home since 2020.
She had not attended school in person since the COVID-19 pandemic and was reportedly homeschooled. During interviews, Melissa Goodman suggested the victim exaggerated her ailments, while Lefever expressed no concerns.
Evidence gathered from a friend of Walter Goodman suggested a pattern of neglect, with Goodman allegedly commenting on not feeding his daughter if she misbehaved and keeping her locked in her room. Officers observed that the girl's bedroom door had holes for bolt locks.
A third-grade teacher from years prior described the girl as friendly and talkative with no eating problems and recalled no signs of autism. Text messages reviewed by officials showed Melissa Goodman, her son, and Lefever referring to the girl with derogatory terms and discussing her restricted feeding and sleeping on the floor.
One text message indicated the girl would only receive "real food" if she behaved well. The victim reported infrequent showering and had difficulty performing simple physical actions.
In the hospital, she expressed fear of her father's anger over eating a second pudding and showed excitement about the variety of food options available, listing desired meals and even looking forward to vegetables.
