A Wisconsin stepmother accused of abusing her 14-year-old daughter, who reportedly weighed just 35 pounds due to alleged deprivation of food and water, has entered a no-contest plea in the case.
Melissa Goodman, 52, now faces up to 46 years in prison after pleading no contest to charges including chronic neglect causing great bodily harm, chronic neglect causing emotional damage, and false imprisonment.
She is scheduled to be sentenced on July 1.
Goodman, along with her husband Walter Goodman, has been accused of starving her autistic stepdaughter.
Melissa Goodman and Walter Goodman are alleged to have subjected the child to prolonged abuse, including severe food and water deprivation.
Goodman’s daughter, Savanna Goodman, and her girlfriend, Kayla Stemler, were also charged in connection with the alleged abuse, according to People.
Prosecutors in Wisconsin say the family locked the teen in a bedroom without a mattress, confined her to the room for years, and severely restricted her access to food and water.
Authorities described the mobile home where the family lived as a “house of horrors” for the teenager. When she was discovered by police in August 2025, she was so severely malnourished she was mistaken for a 6-year-old and was immediately rushed to the hospital.
Walter Goodman, the victim’s father, had called 911 to report that his daughter was lethargic and seriously ill.
Responding officers found the girl weighing just 35 pounds. She was hospitalized with multiple life-threatening conditions, including organ dysfunction, respiratory failure, and pancreatitis.
Walter Goodman, the victim’s father, reportedly called 911 to report that his daughter was lethargic and unwell.
Prosecutors allege that from 2020 until August 2025, the girl—whose name has not been released because she is a minor—was isolated inside a trailer on Hattie Lane in Oneida, Wisconsin.
Investigators say extended family members were told she was either on vacation or staying with other relatives, explanations used to account for her prolonged absence.
