White West Virginia Couple Convicted of Using Adopted Black Children as Slaves

Donald Lantz and Jeanne Whitefeather
Jeanne Whitefeather (left) and Donald Lantz. Twitter

A West Virginia jury has convicted a couple who were accused of neglect, human trafficking and forced labour involving their adopted children, including locking some of them in a shed, and forcing them to sleep on the floor and use buckets as toilets.

Jeanne Kay Whitefeather was convicted of all 19 counts against her, including forced labour, civil rights violations, human trafficking and child neglect. Her husband, Donald Ray Lantz, was found guilty on 12 counts out of 16. He was acquitted of four counts of civil rights violations.

The jury deliberated for eight hours before reaching a verdict on Wednesday in the couple's trial that began mid-January. Whitefeather and Lantz, who are white, were accused of mistreating their children — all of whom are Black.

Couple was Arrested After Neighbors Saw Them Locking the Children in a Shed and Leaving the Property

They adopted the five siblings while living in Minnesota, moved to a farm in Washington state in 2018, and then brought the family to West Virginia in May 2023, when the children ranged in age from 5 to 16.

The couple was arrested in October 2023 after neighbours 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 home, a 9-year-old girl was found alone crying in a loft with no protection from falling, according to a criminal complaint. A fourth child was with Lantz when he eventually returned. Deputies were later led to the couple's youngest daughter.

Neighbors Testified Seeing Lantz Making Them Perform Difficult Chores, Do Heavy Lifting

The children were found in dirty clothes and smelling of body odour, deputies said, and the eldest boy was found barefoot with what appeared to be sores on his feet. All five were turned over to Child Protective Services after the couple's arrest.

During the trial, neighbours 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 neighbours, the children mostly stayed indoors.

Eldest Daughter Said They were Forced to Stand for Hours, Sleep on the Floor, Made to Use Buckets for Using the Bathroom

The couple's eldest daughter, now 18, testified that 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 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, including the same bucket for using the bathroom while the other held up a sheet for privacy.

She also said the children slept on the floor and barely bathed.

Couple's Attorneys Claimed Chores were Given to Children to Teach Them Responsibility, They were Locked After One of Them Tried to Run Away

The couple and their attorneys pushed back on the allegations, with Lantz testifying that the chores were assigned to teach the children responsibility. Whitefeather's attorney said the oldest boy had attempted to run away from home and the lock on the shed was meant to keep him from trying again.

Whitefeather called the shed a "teenager hangout" and said the older children had access to a key and were free to leave as they pleased. But testimony showed the children didn't know where a key was — detectives found one out of sight on top of a cabinet in the shed.

Prosecutors said the couple's tactics were less about teaching responsibility and instead about control. Prosecutors also presented racist text messages into evidence that they said were from Whitefeather, who denied writing them. The oldest daughter testified the children were cursed at "all the time" and that Whitefeather used racist language.

Whitefeather also didn't want to eat off the same plates used by the children, whom she referred to as "dirty," the girl testified.

Defense Also Argued Couple was Overwhelmed by Children's Ongoing Mental Health Issues, Trauma from Their Biological Home

The defence argued the couple was simply overwhelmed by trying to get help for the children's ongoing 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."

However, Assistant Prosecutor Madison Tuck said the couple never drove the oldest boy for help for his mental health issues in West Virginia, where there was a behavioral health clinic four minutes from their home.

Couple's Abuse Led to Eldest Son Being Admitted to a Psychiatric Facility

A forensic psychologist for the prosecution testified that the couple's treatment of the children had worsened their conditions. The eldest boy, whose physical altercation with Whitefeather in 2022 was cited by attorneys as the start of the family's serious internal struggles, currently is receiving full-time care in a psychiatric facility.

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