A 14-year-old girl, weighing only 2.5 stone, was rescued from what is being described as a house of horrors where her overweight family members allegedly confined her and withheld food as a form of punishment. When authorities arrived, they discovered the girl in a severely malnourished and underweight state, with visible bones such as her collarbone, rib cage, hip, and cheekbones. She appeared to be the size of a much younger child.
Upon questioning about the girl’s condition, her biological father, Walter Goodman, 47, reportedly mentioned that she had eating issues and had not been taken to the doctor due to personal reasons. Goodman claimed that the teen was autistic and had been under his sole care since May 2020.
Officials in Wisconsin were alerted on August 21 when Goodman sought help for his daughter, who had fallen ill and remained without food for days, ultimately becoming comatose. She was rushed to the hospital where she was diagnosed with hepatitis, multiple organ dysfunction, and severe malnutrition.
According to Outagamie County assistant district attorney Julie DuQuaine, the girl weighed a mere 35 pounds (2.5 stone) and appeared skeletal. While teenage weights can vary, the average weight for a 14-year-old girl in the United States is around 9 stone, as per the US Centers for Disease and Prevention.
Text messages between family members hinted at further abuse, with allegations of locking the girl in her room without basic necessities and using physical punishment for eating behavior. The girl has since been removed from the household and is on the path to recovery under the care of another family, where she shows no aversion to food.
All four adults involved have been charged with chronic child neglect and are currently in custody on a $100,000 (£76,627) bail.