A teenage girl, aged 14, was reportedly confined in her bedroom and deprived of food for a period of at least two years while her significantly overweight family members monitored her through a webcam.
Authorities initially mistook the emaciated girl for a child between six and eight years old when they discovered her at a residence in Wisconsin, weighing only 2.5 stone. She disclosed that she had not stepped outside since she was around ten to twelve years old. Due to her extreme malnourishment, medical staff had to place her on a feeding tube until she could resume eating on her own.
The girl’s father, Walter Goodman, 47, who alerted emergency services, along with his wife, Melissa Goodman, 50, their daughter Savanna LeFever, 29, and LeFever’s partner, Kayla Stemler, 27, were all apprehended on multiple charges of ongoing child neglect. Allegations suggest that the girl moved in with her father’s family in 2020 following her mother’s incarceration.
Reportedly, the victim was confined to a locked room with restricted access to basic necessities and was compelled to sleep on a bare floor. Family members allegedly limited her communication and monitored her closely through a webcam and an alarm system on her door.
Text messages within legal documents indicate derogatory language and abusive actions towards the girl from her stepmother, Melissa, and other family members. The victim was diagnosed with severe malnutrition and various organ dysfunctions upon medical evaluation.
Fortunately, the girl is now in stable condition and recuperating with other relatives. A GoFundMe page established to aid her recovery shows significant progress in her physical health, with a notable increase in weight and height. The defendants are scheduled for further court appearances in the near future.
