Wisconsin Woman Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison in Neglect of 35-Pound Autistic Teen

“IT WAS NOT MY BUSINESS TO STOP IT”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, PROSECUTORS SAY FOUR ADULTS KEPT A 14-YEAR-OLD AUTISTIC GIRL CONFINED TO A BEDROOM WITHOUT A MATTRESS FOR YEARS UNTIL SHE WEIGHED JUST 35 POUNDS… AND DEFENDANT KAYLA STEMLER HAS NOW BEEN SENTENCED TO EIGHT YEARS IN PRISON.

On Monday, Kayla Stemler was sentenced to eight years in prison.

The 28-year-old was sentenced for her role in the neglect of a 14-year-old girl.

The victim was hospitalized weighing just 35 pounds.

Stemler was convicted of two counts of neglect of a child.

She was also convicted of false imprisonment.

In addition to the eight years behind bars, she was placed on extended supervision for three years.

The court also placed Stemler on probation for two years.

Outagamie County Judge Vincent Biskupic spoke directly to Stemler during the sentencing hearing.

“Stray animals are treated better,” Biskupic told her.

The judge addressed the conditions inside what he termed a Wisconsin “house of horrors.”

He noted that the girl had been kept there for years.

Biskupic acknowledged that Stemler was the least culpable of the four adults charged.

But he said she still did nothing to stop the “complete madness,” Fox 11 reported.

“In many ways, it’s a miracle she’s even alive,” the judge said.

Biskupic told the defendant that the victim would be haunted for the rest of her life.

The abused teen “is going to, to some degree, [be haunted] for the rest of her life – and you contributed to that,” Biskupic said.

Assistant District Attorney Julie Duquaine addressed Stemler’s failure to notify authorities.

Duquaine noted that Stemler had “had thousands of opportunities” to report it.

Stemler is the girlfriend of the victim’s stepsister.

She was one of four adults charged in the case.

The victim is an autistic teenage girl.

She was 14 years old.

When she was found, she weighed just 35 pounds.

She was clinging to life.

The emaciated girl was found living in a trailer in Wisconsin in August 2025.

Prosecutors said the family locked the teenager alone in a bedroom in Oneida.

The room had no mattress.

According to prosecutors, the family restricted her to only her room from 2020 to August 2025.

Prosecutors said the adults deprived the girl of food.

Prosecutors said they also deprived her of water.

Walter Goodman, the victim’s father, was among the adults charged.

Prosecutors identified Goodman as the victim’s obese father.

Melissa Goodman, Walter Goodman’s wife and the victim’s stepmother, was also charged.

Savanna LeFever, Melissa Goodman’s daughter, was charged as well.

Stemler was charged as LeFever’s girlfriend.

In August 2025, Walter Goodman called 911.

Goodman called to report that his daughter was lethargic.

He reported that the teenager was nearly comatose.

The daughter has not been publicly identified.

First responders arrived at the residence following the emergency call.

When first responders arrived, they thought the severely emaciated girl was a 6-year-old.

Prosecutors later described the 14-year-old as a “skeleton.”

Prosecutors said she was “literally skin and bones.”

The teenager was rushed to a hospital.

She was suffering from organ failure.

Details from the hospital were documented in a criminal complaint obtained by Fox 11.

According to the criminal complaint, the girl’s eyes “lit up” when she learned she would receive three meals a day.

The victim said her father would be “so mad” because he does not like when she eats so much.

Then investigators examined messages sent between the defendants.

The criminal complaint includes a litany of twisted text messages from the defendants.

In those messages, the defendants called the victim a “dummy.”

They also called the teenager “stupid.”

Extended family members had noticed the girl’s absence over the years.

To explain her absence, extended family members were told she was away on vacation.

They were also told she was with other relatives.

And the family kept her confined inside the room.

Court proceedings against the four defendants have since moved forward separately.

In July, Melissa Goodman was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Stemler was sentenced on Monday in Outagamie County.

Stemler received eight years in prison.

She was placed on extended supervision for three years.

She was also placed on probation for two years.

Savanna LeFever is scheduled to resolve her case at the end of the week.

LeFever is expected to take a plea deal on Friday, Fox 11 reported.

Walter Goodman was evaluated by the court and found competent to stand trial.

Yet Goodman is contesting the court’s findings.

Goodman is due back in court on October 30.

The stepmother has been sentenced to prison.

The girlfriend has been sentenced to prison.

The stepsister awaits her plea deal.

The father awaits his October 30 court date.

The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court.