A Wisconsin stepmother accused of starving and imprisoning her 14-year-old autistic stepdaughter until she weighed just 35 pounds entered a no contest plea to multiple felony charges in the shocking child abuse case.
Melissa Goodman, 52, appeared by video from jail in a wheelchair and pleaded no contest to chronic neglect causing great bodily harm, chronic neglect causing emotional damage and false imprisonment.
She faces up to 46 years in prison when she is sentenced on July 1.
According to a criminal complaint, the teenager was found in critical condition on August 21, 2025, after her father, Walter Goodman, called 911 and reported that she had not eaten in four to five days and was lethargic, vomiting and nearly comatose.
When officers arrived at the family’s ‘house of horrors’ in Oneida, Wisconsin, they found the 14-year-old weighing just 35lbs. Her bones were visibly protruding and police initially mistook her for a child half her age.
She was rushed to the hospital suffering from severe malnutrition and life-threatening complications including untreated diabetes, acute respiratory failure, cardiac dysfunction, severe hepatitis, pancreatitis, hypothermia and hypoglycemia, according to the complaint.
Nurses said the teen also had pressure sores and a massive bruise on her forehead, and required feeding tubes before she was able to eat on her own.
Prosecutors alleged she had been locked in her bedroom for years, deprived of food and water, forced to sleep on the floor without a mattress and monitored by surveillance cameras.
Melissa Goodman, 52, appeared by video from jail in a wheelchair and pleaded no contest to three felony charges, including chronic neglect causing great bodily harm and false imprisonment
The girl told police that she had not been outside the home at the Green Earth Trailer Court in Oneida for at least two years
A photo of a pair of seemingly loving parents before Walter, left, and Melissa Goodman, right, faced multiple counts of chronic neglect of a child
The girl was allegedly given limited bathroom access and was not allowed to speak except into a surveillance camera mounted in her bedroom, according to a criminal complaint previously reviewed by the Daily Mail.
Investigators recovered text messages from Melissa Goodman’s phone in which she allegedly instructed family members to remove the girl’s bed, limit her access to water and ‘slap her azz again,’ per the complaint.
Police also found photos of the teen lying on the bare floor wearing only underwear and socks, according to the complaint.
The victim later told hospital staff that she believed it had been two to four years since she had last played outside, according to the criminal complaint.
She also wrote notes asking: ‘I need a snack,’ ‘Can I watch TV?’, ‘I need to poop,’ and ‘I can’t breathe.’
Once she regained enough strength to communicate by writing, the girl repeatedly scribbled messages including ‘I’m hungry’ and asked when she would be allowed to eat, Daily Mail previously reported.
After she was given chocolate pudding, she reportedly said: ‘My dad will be so mad.’
When asked why her father would be upset, she replied: ‘He doesn’t like when I eat this much.’
Melissa, 50, is pictured in her mugshot after her arrest. She faces 46 years in prison at sentencing
Walter, 47, has been charged with multiple counts of chronic neglect of a child
When nurses told her she would receive three meals a day, her eyes ‘lit up.’
The teen said she was looking forward to eating pancakes, tacos, M&Ms and vegetables.
Medical staff discovered the teen did not know what deodorant was and lacked the strength to turn on a sink faucet by herself.
She told nurses she bathed only weekly or monthly, according to the complaint.
She also told staff she no longer had the strength to reach the bathroom on her own and had to pull herself along using walls and furniture.
Melissa Goodman is the first of four defendants to enter a plea in the case.
Her husband Walter Goodman, daughter Savanna LeFever and LeFever’s partner Kayla Stemler were also charged.
The family allegedly told relatives that the teen was on vacation or staying with other family members to explain why she had not been seen for years.
Neighbor Pam Medina said she had no idea a child was living in the trailer, despite seeing grocery deliveries arrive regularly.
Kayla Stemler, 27, LeFever’s partner, was also with the victim and faces the same charges
Savanna LeFever, 29, is Melissa’s daughter and has also been charged
She recalled the girl looking ‘very small’ when first responders carried her from the home.
Despite the years of alleged abuse, the girl reportedly still said during a police interview that she had love for her family, but also no longer wanted to be locked in her room or be monitored with a camera.
The teenager has since been released from the hospital and is gaining weight, according to prosecutors.
