A 14-year-old girl was reportedly confined to her bedroom and deprived of food for over two years while her extremely overweight family monitored her via a webcam.
Authorities initially mistook the emaciated teenager for a child between six and eight years old, weighing only 2.5 stone when discovered in Wisconsin. She revealed that she had not stepped outside since she was around ten or twelve years old, leading hospital staff to resort to using a feeding tube due to her severe malnutrition until she could eat independently.
Four individuals, including the girl’s father, Walter Goodman, 47, who alerted emergency services, have been arrested on numerous counts of ongoing child neglect. His wife, Melissa Goodman, 50, their daughter, Savanna LeFever, 29, and LeFever’s partner, Kayla Stemler, 27, who all shared the residence with the victim, are facing similar charges.
According to allegations detailed in official documents, the young girl moved in with her father, stepmother, and step-siblings in 2020 following her mother’s incarceration. She had limited interaction with her father but first encountered her stepmother, Melissa, in 2019 while living with her grandmother.
The girl was reportedly restricted access to food, water, and restroom facilities, and confined to a locked room where she slept on a bare floor. Prosecutors alleged that the adults in the household either silenced her or imposed speech restrictions. The father claimed to have set up a webcam to monitor her due to past self-harm tendencies and attached an alarm to her door.
In a recorded conversation with emergency services, Walter mentioned his daughter’s eating difficulties and autism, a claim disputed by her former teacher. Medical professionals diagnosed the girl with severe malnutrition and multiple organ dysfunction upon her rescue.
The victim, now stable and in recovery with other relatives, has shown signs of improvement after enduring unimaginable trauma. A GoFundMe page established to aid her recovery reports significant progress in her physical and emotional well-being.
All four suspects are scheduled to appear in court in the approaching weeks.
