Three adults in Wisconsin are facing charges after a teenage girl was admitted to a hospital severely malnourished. Walter Goodman, along with his wife’s daughter and her partner, were arrested and charged with multiple felonies in relation to the teen. His wife has been arrested for her role in the abuse, but police haven’t gone further yet. The discovery of their disgusting mistreatment of the girl came to light after she was hospitalized. It seems that she has been enduring years of abuse at the hands of the adults in her life.
On November 10, 2025, Walter Goodman, Savanna LeFever, and Kayla Stemler were arrested, WLUK reported. The charges include chronic neglect of a child with consequence being great bodily harm, and emotional damage. The child in question is Goodman’s 14-year-old daughter, who has lived with her father since 2020.
Authorities learned that Goodman lived with his wife, Melissa Goodman, and her adult daughter, LeFever. Stemler, who is LeFever’s partner, and Melissa Goodman’s 15-year-old son also lived in the home.
According to the criminal complaint, Walter Goodman called 911 in August 2025 to report that his daughter was lethargic, moaning, and practically comatose. The first police officer who arrived said the girl looked like she was between 6 and 8 years old.
“This is the most egregious case of child neglect I think I have ever seen in my nearly 25-year career,” Outagamie County Assistant District Attorney Julie DuQuaine said in court. “The last time she saw a medical provider was approximately five years before this incident came to light,” she added. “She was very, very close to death — 35 pounds at 14 years old.”
The girl was taken to the hospital, where doctors said she was suffering from severe malnutrition. She had multi-organ dysfunction, including respiratory failure, cardiac dysfunction, severe acute hepatitis, and pancreatitis.
In the criminal complaint, Walter Goodman alleged that his daughter, who he said was autistic, had the mentality of a 4- to 6-year-old. If she didn’t want to eat, she simply wouldn’t. He also claimed that the teen self-harmed by skin picking and wouldn’t sleep, WBAY reported. When asked why he didn’t do anything about his daughter’s worsening health, he said he “didn’t think anything of it.”
A statement from a friend of Walter Goodman’s was also included in the complaint, per WBAY. The friend said he would often get irritated with the girl and “locked up in her bedroom with a camera on her.” Additionally, the friend said he heard the father say, “If I could leave her somewhere in the woods, I’d leave her.” Walter Goodman also told his daughter, “I wish I could kill you.”
In a series of text messages between the adults, LeFever admitted she “smacked her hands hard with the brush,” while Stemler also admitted to using physical violence to allegedly discipline the girl, according to WBAY.
“She’s just so skinny I’m scared she’s gonna die for real,” one text read.
Medical professionals said in the complaint that the girl had been dealing with severe child neglect over a prolonged period of months to years. The evidence contradicted Walter Goodman’s claims of the behavior only happening for a few weeks. According to the complaint, the girl’s “emaciation and overall physical appearance when admitted to the hospital was such that a reasonable caregiver would have known to seek medical attention.”
It was also revealed that the girl was able to eat and gain weight normally while she was in the hospital. Her “eyes lit up as she started listing off all the options of food she could have over the course of her hospitalization,” the document read, per WBAY.
“When RN said again that [victim] would get three meals per day she stated, ‘Oh my dad is going to be so mad.’ She went on to say, ‘He really doesn’t like when l eat that much, and the way that I get with food.’ When asked what she meant about the way she gets with food, [victim] stated ‘When I eat all of it, he also really doesn’t like if I eat sweets.’”
As of November 12, police also had Melissa Goodman in custody, WLUK reported. She has yet to be charged, but charges are forthcoming. Walter Goodman is being held on a $150,000 cash bond and is expected back in court on November 14.
Stemler is being held on a $100,000 cash bond and has a preliminary hearing November 19. LeFever’s preliminary hearing is set for November 20. She is being held on a $150,000 cash bond.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
