West Virginia Couple Convicted of Forced Labor, Child Neglect, and Civil Rights Violations Against Adopted Black Children

A West Virginia couple accused of forcing their five adopted Black children into hard labor and extreme neglect has been convicted by a Kanawha County jury after eight hours of deliberations.

Jeanne Kay Whitefeather and Donald Ray Lantz were found guilty on multiple charges, including forced labor, child neglect, human trafficking, and civil rights violations. Whitefeather was convicted on all 19 counts, while Lantz was found guilty on 12 of 16 counts, with the jury acquitting him of four civil rights violations.

When the couple was first indicted in June 2024, Kanawha County Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers described the case as a severe human rights violation, stating: “These children were targeted because of their race, and they were used basically as slaves from what the indictment alleges.”

The couple, who are white, adopted five Black siblings and subjected them to inhumane conditions, including locking them in a shed, forcing them to sleep on the floor and use buckets as toilets, and making them perform grueling labor such as digging with their hands. The children were also allegedly fed only peanut butter sandwiches at scheduled times and forced to stand for hours with their hands on their heads.

Authorities discovered the abuse in October 2023, when neighbors saw Lantz locking two of the children in a shed and leaving the property. A deputy used a crowbar to free them, while another child was found alone and crying in a loft inside the house. The remaining children were later located, all in dirty clothes and poor condition, with one barefoot and suffering from sores on his feet.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that the couple’s treatment was about control, not discipline, rejecting the defense’s claims that the strict rules were meant to teach responsibility. Assistant Prosecutor Chris Krivonyak told the jury, “The whole point of treating them this way is they become less than human.”

The jury also saw racist text messages allegedly sent by Whitefeather, though she denied writing them. The eldest daughter, now 18, testified that the children were frequently cursed at and subjected to racist slurs. She also recalled that Whitefeather refused to eat off the same plates as the children, calling them “dirty.”

Whitefeather and Lantz’s attorneys claimed the couple was overwhelmed and that West Virginia’s child services system had failed the family. However, prosecutors pointed out that they never sought professional help for the children’s trauma or mental health struggles.

Whitefeather faces a maximum sentence of 215 years, while Lantz could receive up to 75 years. The couple is scheduled to return to Kanawha County Circuit Court for sentencing on March 19.