OUTAGAMIE COUNTY, Wis. (TCN) — One of four adults charged in a child abuse and neglect case involving a severely malnourished teenage girl has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
In August 2025, police were dispatched to a home after receiving a call that a teenage girl was unresponsive. Responding officers believed the girl, age 14, was between 6 and 8 years old based on her size. She was hospitalized and treated for malnutrition, pancreatitis, acute hepatitis, respiratory failure, optic nerve neuropathy, pressure sores, and cardiac dysfunction. She had not been to school or a doctor in years and weighed 35 pounds.
Four adults in the home were charged with multiple counts each of chronic neglect: her stepmother, Melissa Goodman; her father, Walter Goodman; Melissa Goodman’s adult daughter, Savannah LeFever; and LeFever’s partner, Kayla Stemler.
Melissa Goodman pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced July 1 to 15 years in prison followed by 10 years of extended supervision.
WGBA reports Stemler was sentenced Aug. 24 to eight years total behind bars, followed by 36 months of extended supervision. For the charge of chronic neglect causing emotional harm, she was sentenced to four years in prison and 18 months of extended supervision, and for the charge of chronic neglect causing great bodily harm, she was given four years in prison and 18 months of extended supervision. She was sentenced to probation for the false imprisonment charge. The sentences will be served consecutively.
The victim spoke at Stemler’s sentencing, WLUK reports, and said, “For years, I lived in an environment of neglect, abuse, and isolation. … During that time, Kayla was an adult. She saw what happening to me, she witnessed the condition I was in, the way I was treated, the suffering I endured. Despite having the opportunities to help me, protect me, and tell someone what was happening, she chose not to.”
Of her sentence, Stemler said, “I just hope you give me a chance to be a part of society again, sooner rather than later. I hope and pray for all of the healing and recovery for [the victim], and I hope she gets the help she needs to live a long, happy, and healthy life. I’m incredibly sorry for all of the harm and suffering I caused,” per WLUK.
LeFever has a plea hearing scheduled for Aug. 28, according to WLUK. Walter Goodman’s defense has raised issues of his competency. His court proceedings are ongoing, and he has an appearance scheduled for Oct. 30.
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