A Wisconsin father has been convicted of chronic neglect and false imprisonment in a case involving his 14-year-old daughter, who authorities found severely malnourished. Walter S. Goodman pleaded no contest to two counts of chronic neglect of a child—one involving great bodily harm and the other emotional damage—and one count of false imprisonment on November 3, according to the account provided.
Goodman was arrested in November 2025 alongside the girl’s stepmother, Melissa Goodman; her adult stepsister, Savanna LeFever; and LeFever’s partner, Kayla Stemler. Melissa Goodman was sentenced to 15 years in prison in July, and Stemler received an eight-year sentence in August. LeFever, who pleaded guilty in August, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 3.
Authorities became aware of the girl’s condition after Goodman called 911 on August 21, 2025. According to a criminal complaint, he told dispatchers that his autistic daughter had not eaten for four or five days and appeared to be comatose.
Responders found her severely underweight and malnourished. Authorities said she weighed 35 pounds and appeared to be the size of a child aged six to eight. At the hospital, doctors diagnosed severe malnourishment and found that she was hypothermic, had a glucose level of 24 and had multiple bedsores.
Investigators concluded that the abuse had continued for years and may have begun after Goodman gained custody of the girl in 2020. Authorities said she stopped attending school and was allegedly kept in her bedroom. A friend of Goodman told investigators he had heard him threaten to withhold food as punishment and say he kept the girl locked in her room with a camera.
Goodman is due to be sentenced on February 2, 2027, and faces a maximum sentence of 28 years in prison.
Sources: Us Weekly.