Teen Rescued from Abusive Home in Wisconsin
A 35-pound teenager in Wisconsin has been rescued from a troubling situation where she was allegedly held captive for years by her incredibly overweight family, being denied food as a form of punishment.
When authorities found her in the Oneida trailer where she lived with her father, Walter Goodman, 47, and his family, she appeared so frail that she could easily have been mistaken for a 6-year-old.
Goodman reported on August 21 that his daughter had fallen gravely ill and was “in a coma” after not eating for several days. He called 911, claiming that his daughter, whom he described as “autistic,” had refused food during that time.
Paramedics discovered the girl in a life-threatening state and rushed her to the hospital. There, she was diagnosed with severe malnutrition, heart failure, multiple organ failure, pancreatitis, hepatitis, and other serious complications, according to court documents.
“She looked like a skeleton,” remarked Outagamie County Assistant District Attorney Julie Duquain. “Only 35 pounds and literally just skin and bones.”
While Goodman insisted that his daughter was at fault for her condition, mounting evidence pointed towards him and his family being responsible for the abuse.
Court filings revealed that Walter once remarked to a friend, “If she misbehaves, I won’t feed her today,” adding, “I lock her in the bedroom and put a camera on her. That’s where she belongs.”
Text messages exchanged between Walter and his wife, Melissa Goodman, 51, along with their daughters Savannah Lefever and Kayla Stemler, indicated a harsh and abusive atmosphere, prosecutors said.
In one message, Stemler detailed a situation where the girl ate more than a single bite at a time, comparing her actions to misbehavior and saying she was punished with a belt. The friend’s reply was simply, “Okay.”
Further conversations among the family showed a deep-seated resentment towards the girl, whom they took in after her biological mother was imprisoned in 2020. One stepmother expressed a wish for the girl to “just go away,” while another family member even mentioned wanting to inflict physical harm on her.
Walter also often conveyed his disdain to friends, reportedly saying, “I wish I could kill you,” and at one point mentioned how he would abandon her in the woods if he could.
Documents associated with the charges detail that the family treated the girl with hatred, locking her in a bedroom devoid of a mattress and preventing her from leaving or playing outside for years. Notably, they punished her by withholding food and sometimes even physically abusing her.
Duquin described this case as “the most egregious case of child neglect” in her nearly 25 years of experience.
The girl was taken to the hospital and, after being released to a relative, is reportedly recovering well. Nurses noted that she showed no aversion to food, contradicting Goodman’s claims, and they mentioned he would become angry if she ate too much.
The Goodmans, alongside Lefever and Stemler, were indicted on chronic child neglect charges this week. They remain in custody under cash bail exceeding $100,000.
