White Couple Indicted of Enslaving Adopted Black Children, Faces Multiple Counts of Civil Right Violations

By Moon Harper

Jun 27, 2024 06:23 AM EDT

Locked Barn — (Photo : Cristina Gottardi)

A West Virginia couple who were accused of enslaving five adopted Black children is set to face trial later this year after a judge revoked their bond on multiple civil rights violations, MetroNews initially reported.

The Initial Discovery of The Five Adopted Black Children

Donald Ray Lantz, 63, and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 62, were first arrested by local law enforcement in October following a call to a Sissonville residence, expressing concerns about the welfare of the children, the indictmenthighlighted.

Deputies from the sheriff's office entered a shed adjacent to the house, where they found a teenage boy and girl who had not been given enough food or proper hygiene care, locked inside a room without running water or bathroom amenities.

According to a criminal complaint, deputies also discovered a 9-year-old girl crying in a loft in the main house alone, approximately 15 feet above the ground, without any safety measures against falling. The fourth child, an 11-year-old Black boy, was with Lantz when he returned from their wellness check, while the last child, a 6-year-old Black girl, was with Whitefeather, whom deputies located to be staying with acquaintances from their church.

The children were placed in the care of Child Protective Services after the couple was arrested.

Not Guilty Plea Despite Having Eyewitnesses

Mark Hughes, Whitefeather's brother, claimed that the Sissonville residence was in the middle of relocation to a larger home in Beckley during a bond hearing reported by WCHS-TV in October. While Mark Plants, Whitefeather's attorney, described the shed as a teenage clubhouse with a key inside.

However, Deputy H.K. Burdette portrayed a different story, saying he had to forcibly enter the barn as the teenage girl inside said she could not open it. Deputies found the girl and her brother in dirty clothes, exhibiting body odor, who claimed they were routinely locked in the shed for extended periods and were not allowed inside the house. The boy was also barefoot with apparent sores on his feet, as Burdette described.

Judge Revoking Bond on Charges

Despite facing multiple charges of human trafficking, forced labor, and child neglect posing a risk of bodily injury or death, the West Virginia couple pleaded not guilty to these allegations.

Judge Maryclaire Akers, who characterized the case as one of the most egregious indictments she has encountered during her tenure, consequently raised the current bond to $500,000 for each defendant, believing it was inadequate.

Kanawha County prosecutors argued that the money used for Lantz and Whitefeather's cash bonds was considered contraband, which is directly or indirectly associated with violating human trafficking laws.

The Kanawha County Circuit Court Clerk's office is retaining the money that the West Virginia couple posted in February. Judge Akers believes it should be placed in a trust to benefit the minor victims involved in the case.

The couple will face trial on September 9 after being charged with 16 counts each, which include felonies such as civil rights violations, human trafficking, forced labor, gross child neglect, and falsifying a public defender's application.