When first responders walked into a home in the town of Oneida, Wisconsin, they thought they were dealing with a very young child.
According to FOX 11 reporter Emily Matesic, the officer who first saw the victim believed she was about six or seven years old based on her size.
She was actually 14 years old.
And she weighed just 35 pounds.
Outagamie County officials told Matesic this is one of the worst child abuse and neglect cases they have ever seen.
It’s the kind of case that makes you stop and ask how so many systems failed at once.
“House of Horrors,” Court Commissioner Says
During the suspects’ initial court appearances, Outagamie County Court Commissioner Brian Figy did not try to soften his words.
He called the allegations “incredibly disturbing” and said the girl was “living in a house of horrors,” according to Matesic’s report.
The victim was removed from the home in August.
By that time, she wasn’t just malnourished.
Matesic reports that the 14-year-old was suffering from multi-organ dysfunction — including respiratory failure, cardiac dysfunction, severe acute hepatitis, and pancreatitis.
Assistant District Attorney Julie DuQuaine told the court she had seen photographs of the girl and said she “looked like a skeleton” and was “literally skin and bones at 35 pounds.”
Doctors and nurses did not know if she was going to survive.
That’s how close this case came to being a homicide investigation instead.
Four Adults Charged In One Home
Emily Matesic explains that four adults are now facing multiple counts of chronic child neglect, both physical and emotional.
The defendants are:
- Walter Goodman – the girl’s biological father.
- Melissa Goodman – Walter’s wife.
- Savanna LeFever – Melissa’s adult daughter.
- Kayla Stemler – LeFever’s partner.
All four were arrested in November and are being held in the Outagamie County Jail.
According to Matesic’s report, the charges they face carry possible sentences of more than 80 years in prison.
Bail for Walter and Melissa Goodman and Kayla Stemler was set at $150,000 cash each.
Bail for Savanna LeFever was set at $100,000 cash.
They are all due back in court for preliminary hearings later this month as the case moves forward.
Every one of them is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
But the criminal complaints that Matesic walks through paint a deeply disturbing picture of what this teenager allegedly endured.
Years Of Isolation And No Doctor Visits
According to Matesic’s breakdown of the criminal complaint, the victim went to live with her father in 2020 after he said her biological mother went to jail.
Shortly after arriving in his home, the girl had what appears to be her last doctor’s visit.
At that time, she was attending school virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The complaint says she was enrolled virtually again for the 2020–2021 school year.
But the following year, she was reportedly being homeschooled.
Assistant District Attorney DuQuaine told the court that the girl had not been to a doctor since September 2020 and had not been in school since COVID.
That means, if the allegations are correct, she spent years with almost no outside eyes on her health, her weight, or her basic well-being.
From a broader perspective, this is where a lot of people will wonder how many red flags were missed – by schools, doctors, neighbors, and any agency that might have checked in.
When a child disappears from classrooms, from doctor’s offices, and from everyday public life, it’s easy for abuse to hide behind closed doors.
This case is a harsh reminder of why consistent contact with teachers and medical professionals can be a life-saving safety net.
The Father’s Explanation – And What Texts Allegedly Show
In interviews with authorities, Walter Goodman reportedly tried to explain his daughter’s condition.
Matesic reports that Goodman told investigators his daughter was autistic, and that she didn’t eat or sleep.
He claimed the adults in the home offered her several meals a day.
According to him, because she didn’t sleep and burned extra calories, she simply could not gain weight.
But prosecutors say the text messages between the adults tell a very different story.
Matesic cites one message from Kayla Stemler to Melissa Goodman that reads:
“Just so you know, [the victim] was taking more than one bite at a time, and when Savanna confronted her, she continued to argue with her, so I used the belt.”
Melissa Goodman allegedly replied:
“That’s fine.”
In another text exchange described by Matesic, Stemler complains:
“I’ve only had her since Saturday, and I’m so mad to the bone. I don’t know how in the world you do it.”
Melissa responds:
“It’s hard to be honest. And some days I don’t want to anymore and wish she’d just go away. I’m just being honest.”
Then Savanna LeFever chimes in with:
“I just want to karate kick her dumb head.”
Stemler replies:
“I totally get that.”
If these messages are correctly attributed and admitted in court, they don’t sound like the attitudes of caregivers struggling with a medically fragile child.
They sound like contempt, frustration, and a willingness to use violence as punishment.
“If I Could Leave Her In The Woods, I Would”
The criminal complaint also includes details from a friend of Walter Goodman, as relayed in Matesic’s report.
That friend told authorities he confronted Goodman about how he treated his daughter and urged him to treat her better.
According to the complaint, the friend says Goodman replied, “If I could leave her somewhere in the woods, I’d leave her.”
The friend says Goodman then turned to his daughter and said, “I wish I could kill you.”
The complaint also alleges that the girl spent most of her time locked in her room.
Goodman told authorities he used a webcam in her room to watch and communicate with her, claiming she would self-harm.
ADA DuQuaine told the court this was the most egregious case of child neglect she has seen in nearly 25 years.
Those kinds of statements from seasoned prosecutors and judges carry weight.
They’ve seen a lot.
For them to call this case among the worst they’ve ever handled says a lot about how extreme the alleged neglect really was.
Discovery, Hospitalization, And A Glimmer Of Hope
Despite everything, this teenager is alive.
Matesic explains that the case only came to light when Walter Goodman called 911 in August, reporting that his daughter was very weak and lethargic.
When the first officer arrived, he assumed he was looking at a much younger child because of her size.
She was rushed to a hospital in Green Bay, and later transferred to Children’s Wisconsin near Milwaukee.
At the hospital, staff started doing something that seems shockingly simple: feeding her.
Matesic reports that a nurse explained to the girl that she would get three meals a day, and the girl’s eyes “lit up” as she began listing all the foods she could choose from.
The teen then told the nurse that her father would be “so mad” because he didn’t like when she ate a lot.
That small detail may be one of the most heartbreaking in the whole case.
Imagine being 14, weighing 35 pounds, and feeling scared that someone will be angry if you eat.
According to DuQuaine, the girl has now been released from the hospital.
She is gaining weight and “doing better.”
For all the horror in this story, that part matters.
It proves that once basic care and nutrition were provided, her body responded.
The damage was terrible, but not irreversible.
What Happens Next – And What This Case Says About Us
Legally, the four defendants will continue to work their way through the Outagamie County court system.
As Matesic notes, their next court date is for preliminary hearings later this month, and the charges they face could put them in prison for decades if they’re convicted.
But beyond the courtroom, this case raises bigger questions.
How did a teenager vanish from school, from doctors’ offices, and from the view of any mandatory reporters for years without anyone stepping in?
Why wasn’t homeschooling oversight, or lack of medical visits, flagged earlier?
We may never get complete answers to those questions.
But Emily Matesic’s detailed reporting, along with the voices of officials like Commissioner Figy and ADA DuQuaine, make one thing very clear:
This case didn’t just happen because of four alleged abusers.
It also happened in the spaces where no one was looking.
For now, the most important fact is that the girl is out of that house, in recovery, and finally being treated like a child who deserves care, food, and safety.
After living in what officials are calling a “house of horrors,” she’s finally getting a chance at a normal life – and it’s on the justice system, and the community, to make sure nothing like this gets ignored again.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
