Teenager Found on Brink of Death After Years of Captivity
A shocking case of child abuse has emerged from Wisconsin, where a 14-year-old girl was allegedly starved to just 35 pounds while being kept locked in her bedroom for years by her morbidly obese family members.
Police discovered the teenager on August 21 after her father, Walter Goodman, 47, called emergency services claiming his autistic daughter was nearly comatose and hadn't eaten for days. When officers arrived at the Green Earth Trailer Court in Oneida, they found the victim in a horrifying state.
The girl's bones were prominently visible through her skin, and she appeared more like a child of six or eight years old than a teenager. Medical staff would later confirm she weighed only 35lbs - less than many toddlers.
Years of Systematic Abuse and Deprivation
According to criminal complaints seen by the Daily Mail, the victim revealed that the last time she left the house was when she was either 10 or 12 years old. She had been confined to her locked bedroom for at least two years, with surveillance cameras monitoring her every move.
The abuse extended far beyond simple confinement. Text messages between the suspects revealed they instructed each other to "only give her water at specific times" and that "she is not to be out of her room at all". They even discussed taking away her mattress, forcing her to sleep on the floor.
Walter Goodman told police his daughter didn't like to eat and claimed they hadn't seen a doctor in eighteen months because the last physician acted "weird". When questioned about the girl's mother, he crudely responded: "She's a w***e."
Medical Crisis and Hospital Recovery
At St Vincent Hospital in Green Bay, medical staff diagnosed the teenager with severe malnutrition and multiple life-threatening conditions. She suffered from pressure sores, a massive forehead bruise, hypothermia, and signs of multiorgan dysfunction including acute respiratory failure and cardiac issues.
She required feeding tubes initially but gradually began to recover. Hospital staff reported heartbreaking moments when the girl, communicating through written notes, asked "I'm hungry" and "I need a snack" multiple times.
In a particularly poignant moment, when she tried chocolate pudding for the first time and asked for another, she anxiously stated: "My dad will be so mad." When asked why, she explained: "He doesn't like when I eat this much."
The victim also revealed she bathed only "whenever they would let me", estimating it might be weekly or monthly. She lacked basic knowledge, not recognising deodorant when offered it by hospital staff.
Arrests and Community Shock
Police arrested four people on November 10, including Walter Goodman, his wife Melissa, 50 (who is not the victim's mother), their daughter Savanna LeFever, 29, and LeFever's partner Kayla Stemler, 27. All face multiple counts of chronic child neglect.
A neighbour, Pam Medina, expressed shock and anger, telling NBC 26: "I remember they carried her out... she looked very small... her head just kind of fell to the side. I didn't even know a child lived there." She added that if she had known, she would have "been beating them girls up" to rescue the child.
Medina noted the irony of watching multiple food deliveries arrive at the house daily while the teenager starved nearby.
Outagamie County assistant district attorney Julie DuQuaine described the victim's condition as skeletal, stating: "She was just literally skin and bones at 35lbs." Fortunately, the girl has since been released from hospital and is gaining weight and doing better, according to her grandparents.
The suspects are expected to return to court in the coming weeks as the legal proceedings continue.
