L-R Walter Goodman, Savanna LeFever and Kayla Stemler (Photos courtesy Outagamie County Sheriff's Office)
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Preliminary hearings have now been set for the three people charged with child abuse after a 14-year-old girl weighing just 35 pounds was hospitalized, and police confirm charges are expected against a fourth suspect.
Walter Goodman, Savanna LeFever and Kayla Stemler each face five charges of chronic neglect of a child, consequence is great bodily harm and emotional damage. All three made initial court appearances Tuesday. Preliminary hearings were not immediately scheduled, but now have been in two cases.
Goodman, the girl’s father, returns to court Friday for a preliminary hearing. He is being held on a $150,000 cash bond.
Kayla Stemler, LeFever’s partner, has a preliminary hearing Nov. 19. She is being held on a $100,000 cash bond.
The preliminary hearing for Savanna LeFever, a step-sister, is Nov. 20. She is being held on a $150,000 cash bond.
Meanwhile, Oneida Police Chief Eric Boulanger confirms that Melissa Goodman, who is Walter’s wife but not the victim’s mother, is also expected to be charged.
The criminal complaint says Goodman called 911 in August to report his daughter, who he said is autistic, was lethargic, moaning and almost comatose.
According to the criminal complaint, the first officer on scene at the Hattie Lane home said the girl looked to be only six to eight years old.
Hospital employees said she weighed less than 40 pounds.
“The last time she saw a medical provider was approximately five years before this incident came to light,” Assistant District Attorney Julie DuQuaine said in court Tuesday. “She was very, very close to death — 35 pounds at 14 years old.”
The complaint said Walter Goodman told authorities his daughter didn’t like to eat or sleep. He claimed they’d offer her meals, but she wouldn’t eat.
Hospital employees said the teen suffered from severe malnutrition. She had signs of multiorgan dysfunction, including respiratory failure, cardiac dysfunction, severe acute hepatitis and pancreatitis, among other issues.
The criminal complaint said while the girl was hospitalized, one of the nurses explained to the victim she would get three meals a day. The nurse noted the girl’s “eyes lit up as she started listing off all the options of food she could have over the course of her hospitalization.”
The girl then said her dad would be so mad because he doesn’t like when she eats so much.
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