Race Day Live A West Virginia couple has been found guilty of human trafficking, forced labor, and child neglect after a disturbing trial that revealed shocking abuse of their adopted children.
The jury reached the verdict after eight hours of deliberation, convicting Jeanne Kay Whitefeather on all 19 charges and Donald Ray Lantz on 12 out of 16 counts.
The couple, who are white, adopted five Black siblings and subjected them to cruel treatment, including forcing them to sleep on the floor, locking them in a shed, and making them use buckets as toilets.
The abuse came to light in October 2023 when neighbors saw Lantz locking two of the children in a shed and leaving the property. A deputy later used a crowbar to rescue them.
Inside the home, authorities found a 9-year-old girl crying in a loft with no protection from falling, while another child was with Lantz when he returned.
The children were discovered in dirty clothes, smelling of body odor, and showing signs of neglect, with one boy found barefoot with sores on his feet.
Neighbors testified that they rarely saw the children outside and that when they did, they were forced to do hard labor like lifting heavy objects.
After the couple noticed the neighbors watching, they kept the children indoors. The eldest daughter, now 18, testified that they were made to dig with their hands and were only given peanut butter sandwiches at scheduled times, sometimes leftovers from previous meals.
The children were also forced to stand in their rooms for hours with their hands on their heads. The eldest son and daughter had to share a room and use the same bucket as a toilet while the other held up a sheet for privacy.
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During the trial, the couple denied wrongdoing. Whitefeather claimed the shed was a “teen hangout” and that the children had access to a key, while Lantz said the chores were meant to teach responsibility. However, detectives found that the key was hidden and unreachable.
Prosecutors presented racist text messages allegedly from Whitefeather, who denied sending them. The eldest daughter testified that they were cursed at regularly, and Whitefeather refused to eat from the same plates as the children, calling them “dirty.”
Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Chris Krivonyak said the couple’s actions were meant to break the children’s spirits. “The whole point of treating them this way is they become less than human,” he told the jury.
Whitefeather faces up to 215 years in prison, while Lantz could receive up to 75 years. Their sentencing is set for March 19. The children have since been placed in protective care.
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