In a deeply troubling case from Wisconsin, a man and two women face charges of extreme neglect after a 14-year-old girl under their care was found in a life-threatening state, weighing merely 35 pounds.

The individuals charged are Walter S. Goodman, the girl’s father; Savanna LeFever, her adult stepsister; and Kayla Stemler, LeFever’s partner. They have been accused of chronic child neglect leading to severe bodily harm and emotional trauma.

According to the filed criminal complaint, Goodman contacted emergency services on August 21 at around 5:30 p.m. He reported that his autistic daughter had not eaten for four to five days and seemed to be in a comatose state.

Goodman informed the dispatcher that his daughter was lying motionless with her eyes open, describing the sight as “creepy.” He mentioned her tendency towards self-harm, noting her legs looked “horrible,” and explained that she was underweight because “she just doesn’t eat.”

First responders, upon arrival, found the girl to be severely underweight and malnourished, observing that her collarbone, rib cage, hips, and cheekbones were all alarmingly prominent, making her appear the size of a child between 6 to 8 years old.

The girl was initially taken to St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay but was quickly airlifted to Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee due to the gravity of her condition. Medical staff discovered she had a significant bruise on her forehead, a dangerously low glucose level of 24, a fever of 100.6, and signs of hypothermia, along with multiple bedsores. Diagnosed with severe malnourishment, doctors expressed urgent concern about the potential for catastrophic organ failure within 72 hours.

Doctors also noted that there were no medical records for the victim from the last five years, which is about the time her mother went to jail and she began living with her father, stepmother, and adult stepsister.

Goodman told authorities his daughter had been sick and “just throwing up” for about the last six days, but said he had not sought medical assistance, calling her condition “normal kid stuff.” He explained that the victim’s mother was diabetic, and while the victim had never been tested for the disease, he thought her sugar might be low.

“So I gave her a little bit of Wild Cherry Pepsi,” Goodman told police.

During the initial investigation, Goodman told police he put a camera in his daughter’s bedroom “because she self-harms” and “picks at herself.” He also said he had installed an alarm on the victim’s door because she did not sleep, claiming she would “stay awake for 1 to 3 weeks at a time.” Goodman also blamed his daughter severe weight loss on her lack of sleeping, not a lack of eating.

However, when police interviewed one of Goodman’s friends, he recalled a time in August when he was at the home fixing a four-wheeler and the victim came out and asked him about what he was doing. The friend said this “irritated” Goodman, who told her to keep quiet before allegedly making several disturbing comments. From the affidavit:

He heard [Goodman] make comments like, “If she misbehaves, I’ m not going to feed her today.” [The friend] said he told [Goodman] that he can’t do that, and [Goodman] said, “Well I keep her locked up in her bedroom with a camera on her, and that’s where she stays.” [The friend] said he told [Goodman] that he can’t lock a kid in a bedroom, that was abuse. [The friend] indicated that at times when [Goodman] brought [the victim] to his house, [Goodman] would tell [the victim] to “Shut the f— up,” and “Sit there and don’t say nothing.”

When the friend confronted Goodman about how he treats his daughter, the friend claimed Goodman went on a diatribe about the child, saying, “If I could leave her somewhere in the woods, I’d leave her.” The friend also recalled Goodman telling the girl, “I wish I could kill you.”

Police also spoke to the victim’s teacher from 2019 to 2020, who allegedly said she remembered the victim being “friendly and talkative” and could not recall anything about her being autistic or enrolled in any special education programs. Rather, the teacher said the victim had been “a healthy normal third-grade student, who interacted appropriately with her peers and staff.”

Authorities say LeFever and Stemler would often look after the victim when Goodman and his wife were out of town so another child in their care could get cancer treatment. During those times, police said LeFever and Stemler continued to abuse and neglect the victim.

During a Tuesday court hearing, Outagamie County Assistant District Attorney Julie DuQuaine said it was “the most egregious case of child neglect I think I have ever seen in my nearly 25-year career,” according to a report from Green Bay Fox affiliate WLUK. The prosecutors said the victim was “very, very close to death — 35 pounds at 14 years old,” when first responders found her.

Outagamie County Court Commissioner Brian Figy, who presided over the hearing, reportedly called the allegations “incredibly disturbing.”

“It’s alleged that the minor child was frankly living in a house of horrors,” he said.

Figy set Goodman and Stemler’s bond at $150,000 and LeFever’s bond at $100,000, all cash-only. It was not immediately clear when they were scheduled to return to court.