CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia couple convicted in the mistreatment of their adopted children, including locking some in a shed, is due in court Wednesday for sentencing.
A jury on Jan. 29 found Jeanne Kay Whitefeather and her husband, Donald Lantz, guilty on multiple counts of forced labor, human trafficking, and child abuse and neglect. Whitefeather also was convicted of civil rights violations based on race.
Whitefeather faces up to 215 years in prison and Lantz up to 160 years when they are sentenced Wednesday in Kanawha County Circuit Court.
The couple, who are white, adopted the five Black siblings while living in Minnesota, moved to a farm in Washington state in 2018, then brought the family to West Virginia in May 2023, when the children ranged in age from 5 to 16.
Five months after their arrival in Sissonville, the couple was arrested after neighbors saw Lantz lock the oldest girl and her teenage brother in a shed and leave the property. A deputy used a crowbar to get them out.
Inside the main residence, a 9-year-old girl was found crying in a loft alone with no protection from falling, according to a criminal complaint. The children were found in dirty clothes and smelling of body odor, deputies said, and the oldest boy was found barefoot with what appeared to be sores on his feet.
A fourth child was with Lantz when he eventually returned, and deputies were later led to a 5-year-old girl. All five were turned over to Child Protective Services after the couple’s arrest.
Last month the oldest daughter, now an adult, sued the couple, alleging severe physical and emotional abuse and neglect that has scarred her permanently.
During trial, neighbors testified they never saw the children play and witnessed Lantz make them stand in line or perform difficult chores around the yard, including lifting heavy items. After Lantz noticed the curious neighbors, the children mostly stayed indoors.
The eldest daughter testified the outdoor work occurred mostly in Washington and that some of them were forced to use their hands for digging. She also said the children were cursed at “all the time” and that Whitefeather used racist language.
The daughter said Whitefeather gave preferential treatment to the youngest child, who wasn’t involved in any of the charges, and that Whitefeather had told the other children that she wished for a life without them.
The daughter also said the children were fed a steady diet of peanut butter sandwiches at scheduled times, some left over from a previous meal. Some kids were forced to stand in their rooms for hours and keep their hands on their heads. The oldest girl and boy shared a room, were forced to sleep on the floor and used the same bucket for the bathroom while the other held up a sheet for privacy from the home’s security cameras, according to testimony.
The couple and their attorneys pushed back on the accusations, with Lantz testifying that the chores were assigned to teach the children responsibility.
The defense argued the couple was simply overwhelmed with trying to get help for the children’s mental health issues, abuse and trauma from their biological home. Lantz’s attorney, John Balenovich, said the state’s child welfare agency, which the family requested help from several times, “dropped the ball the most in this case.”
A forensic psychologist for the prosecution testified that the couple’s treatment of the children had worsened their conditions.
Assistant Prosecutor Madison Tuck said the couple never sought help for the oldest boy despite a behavioral health clinic being just minutes from their home. The boy, whose physical altercation with Whitefeather in 2022 was cited by attorneys as the start of the family’s internal struggles, currently is receiving full-time care in a psychiatric facility.
Whitefeather’s attorney, Mark Plants, said during closing argument that the couple was only guilty of making poor parenting decisions.
“These are farm people that do farm chores,” Plants said. “It wasn’t about race. It wasn’t about forced labor.”
