Inset: Kayla Stemler (Outagamie County Jail). Background: The area in Wisconsin where Stemler nearly starved a 14-year-old girl to death (Google Maps).
A 28-year-old Wisconsin woman will spend nearly a decade behind bars for severely abusing and starving a 14-year-old girl who authorities found weighing just 35 pounds and "very, very close to death" in her home last year.
Outagamie County Circuit Judge Vince Biskupic on Monday sentenced Kayla Stemler to eight years in a state correctional facility after she pleaded no contest to one count each of chronic neglect causing great bodily harm, chronic neglect causing emotional damage, and false imprisonment, all as a party to a crime, court records show.
In addition to her incarceration, Stemler will have to serve three years of extended supervision and two years of probation.
During the sentencing hearing, Biskupic described the circumstances of the case as "jaw-dropping," "stunning," and "sickening," according to a report from the Post-Crescent.
Stemler was one of four adults charged after authorities discovered the girl in August 2025 in what Law&Crime previously reported was a "house of horrors."
The girl's father, Walter S. Goodman, called 911 on Aug. 21, 2025, saying his daughter was autistic, had not eaten in "the last four [or] five days," and appeared to be "comatose." When first responders arrived, they found the girl severely underweight and malnourished, with her collarbone, rib cage, hips, and cheekbones prominently visible. She appeared to be the size of a 6- to 8-year-old child.
The girl was taken to a hospital in Green Bay before being airlifted to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee. Doctors diagnosed her with severe malnourishment and found that she had a glucose level of 24, was hypothermic, and had multiple bedsores. They were concerned she could suffer catastrophic organ failure within 72 hours.
Investigators determined that the girl's condition had developed over years. After Walter Goodman gained custody of her in 2020, she stopped attending school and was allegedly kept inside her bedroom, where her father had installed a camera and an alarm on the door.
A friend of Walter Goodman told police that he once heard Walter Goodman threaten to withhold food from the girl if she acted out. From a probable cause affidavit:
He heard [Walter Goodman] make comments like, "If she misbehaves, I'm not going to feed her today." [The friend] said he told [Walter Goodman] that he can't do that, and [Walter Goodman] said, "Well I keep her locked up in her bedroom with a camera on her, and that's where she stays." [The friend] said he told [Walter Goodman] that he can't lock a kid in a bedroom, that was abuse. [The friend] indicated that at times when [Walter Goodman] brought [the victim] to his house, [Walter Goodman] would tell [the victim] to "Shut the fâ up," and "Sit there and don't say nothing."
Stemler lived in the home with her partner, Savanna LeFever, LeFever's mother, Melissa Goodman, and Walter Goodman. Authorities alleged that Stemler and LeFever would care for the girl when Walter and Melissa Goodman were away from home so another child could receive cancer treatment.
At Monday's hearing, prosecutors detailed additional conditions the girl allegedly endured during the five years before her rescue. She was not allowed to leave her bedroom without supervision, and a blanket had been nailed over her window, according to the Post-Crescent.
The girl was also allegedly denied food and water while adults in the home monitored her through the bedroom camera.
Biskupic told Stemler that she had "thousands of opportunities" to seek help for the girl. Stemler acknowledged during the hearing that there were periods when she left the home to live with family.
"You chose, whether for selfish reasons or acting in a blind fashion, to continue the status quo for this child," Biskupic said, according to the Post-Crescent.
The judge also addressed the girl's physical condition when she was found.
"Using the phrase 'skin and bones' is almost too generic," Biskupic said. "It's the look of anguish on that child's face."
The court heard from the victim as well. In an recorded audio statement, the girl described the lasting impact of the years of neglect and told the court she deserved better.
"Today I want the court to know this: I was never worthless; I was never a burden," she said. "I was a child who deserved to be loved."
Stemler received credit for 287 days already spent in custody. Biskupic also ordered her to have no contact with the victim, her family, or her co-defendants; undergo a mental health assessment; comply with treatment and medication requirements; and refrain from working in a caregiving capacity.
Stemler is the second adult to be sentenced in connection with the abuse.
Melissa Goodman was sentenced July 1 to 15 years in prison followed by 10 years of extended supervision after pleading no contest to the same three offenses.
LeFever is scheduled to appear for a plea hearing Aug. 28. Walter Goodman is scheduled to return to court Oct. 30.
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