A teenage girl, aged 14, was reportedly confined to her bedroom and deprived of food for a period of over two years while her extremely overweight family members monitored her via a webcam.
Authorities initially mistook the girl for a much younger child, estimating her age to be between six and eight years old, when she was discovered in a severely malnourished state, weighing only 2.5 stone in Wisconsin. She disclosed that she had not been outdoors since she was around ten or twelve years old and had to be placed on a feeding tube by hospital staff due to her critical malnourishment.
The father of the victim, Walter Goodman, 47, along with his wife Melissa Goodman, 50, their daughter Savanna LeFever, 29, and LeFever’s partner Kayla Stemler, 27, have been arrested on charges of chronic child neglect. According to allegations outlined in official documents, the girl moved in with her father and stepfamily in 2020 following her mother’s incarceration, with limited previous interactions with her father.
The young girl was reportedly subjected to restricted access to food, water, and bathroom facilities, confined to a locked room where she slept on the floor. Prosecutors claim that she was either silenced or controlled in her speech by the adults in the household. The father mentioned setting up a webcam due to concerns about self-harm, along with installing an alarm on her door.
Reports indicate that one of Walter’s acquaintances overheard him threatening to withhold food from the girl as a form of punishment. Upon authorities’ arrival, Walter made disparaging remarks about the girl’s mother, referring to her in derogatory terms.
Medical assessments revealed the girl was severely underweight and malnourished, with prominent bones and a physique resembling that of a much younger child. Text messages retrieved from the stepmother and other family members contained demeaning language and references to abusive behavior towards the victim.
While the father claimed his daughter had autism, which explained her eating habits, a former teacher disputed this assertion, describing the girl as sociable and communicative. The neighbor who witnessed the girl being rescued expressed shock at the situation, stating she was unaware a child lived in the house due to minimal visibility of the victim.
The teenager was diagnosed with severe malnutrition and multiple organ dysfunction, requiring extensive medical treatment. However, she is now stable and recuperating with relatives, showing signs of improvement in her physical condition and emotional well-being.
A fundraising initiative has been established to aid in her recovery, highlighting her progress in gaining weight and height, along with her resilience and positive outlook towards the future. The accused individuals are scheduled to appear in court in the upcoming weeks for further legal proceedings.
