L-R, Melissa Goodman, Savanna LeFever, appear separately before Outagamie County court via Zoom, November 20, 2025. (Outagamie County court/Zoom)
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Preliminary hearings were postponed Thursday for two suspects charged with child abuse after a 14-year-old was hospitalized in August weighing just 35 pounds. Similar actions happened Wednesday for the other two suspects.
Melissa Goodman and Savanna LeFever appeared in court Thursday by video from their jail cells. As no attorneys have been appointed yet, their preliminary hearings were rescheduled.
Goodman returns to court Dec. 11. LeFever returns to court next Tuesday.
Walter Goodman, the victim’s father, has a preliminary hearing Jan. 5. He does have an attorney.
The fourth suspect, Kayla Stemler is also without an attorney. She returns to court Dec. 2.
All four each face 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.
The criminal complaint says that Walter Goodman called 911 in August to report his daughter 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 6 to 8 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 at a previous court hearing. “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.
The criminal complaint also included a litany of text messages by the defendants, calling the victim a “dummy” and “stupid.”
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