OUTAGAMIE COUNTY, Wis. (TCN) — A fourth suspect has been arrested and charged with child neglect after authorities discovered a malnourished 14-year-old girl weighing only 35 pounds at their residence.
Melissa Goodman, the child’s stepmother, faces three counts of chronic neglect of a child, consequence is great bodily harm, and two counts of chronic neglect of a child, consequence is emotional damage. She appeared in court Nov. 16. Cash bond was set at $150,000, WLUK reports. She is set to return to court Nov. 20 for a status conference.
Walter Goodman, the child’s father; Melissa Goodman’s adult daughter, Savanna LeFever; and LeFever’s partner, Kayla Stemler, have already been charged. Walter Goodman and Stemler’s preliminary hearings are scheduled for Nov. 19 and LeFever’s is scheduled for Nov. 20, according to WLUK.
On Aug. 25, officers responded to a 911 call from Walter Goodman, who said his 14-year-old daughter, who reportedly has autism, was lethargic and had not eaten in four or five days, according to a criminal complaint obtained by WLUK. A first responder arriving at the home thought the girl was 6 to 8 years old because of her size.
A hospital evaluation detailed in the complaint showed she reportedly weighed 35 pounds and had signs of severe malnutrition, pancreatitis, acute hepatitis, and respiratory failure.
A friend of Walter Goodman allegedly told police Goodman said he wished he could leave the child in the woods and said he wished he could kill her, WLUK reported.
According to WLUK, Outagamie County District Attorney Julie DuQuaine said in court that the child “looked like a skeleton” in photographs she had reviewed. “She was just literally skin and bones at 35 pounds,” DuQuaine added. The child had not seen a doctor since September 2020 and had not attended school since the COVID pandemic.
The child has been released from the hospital and is gaining weight, WLUK reports.
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