A West Virginia couple accused of neglect and forced labor involving their adopted children was convicted by a jury on Wednesday after eight hours of deliberations. Jeanne Kay Whitefeather and Donald Ray Lantz went on trial in mid-January and each faced over a dozen counts, including forced labor, civil rights violations, human trafficking and child neglect. The couple, who are white, were accused of mistreating their children — all of whom are Black — by locking them in a shed, forcing them to sleep on the floor and use buckets as toilets, and more.
The Kanawha County Circuit Court jury convicted Whitefeather on all 19 counts against her, including the civil rights violations. Lantz was found guilty on 12 counts out of He was acquitted of four counts of civil rights violations.
Both showed little emotion as the verdict was read. Whitefeather and Lantz adopted the five siblings while living in Minnesota, moved to a farm in Washington state in , and then brought the family to West Virginia in May , when the children ranged in age from 5 to The couple was arrested in October 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 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. The children were found in dirty clothes and smelling of body odor, deputies said, and the eldest boy was found barefoot with what appeared to be sores on his feet. During the trial, neighbors in Sissonville 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. She also said the children were fed a steady diet of peanut butter sandwiches at scheduled times, some left over from a previous meal.
