A white couple from West Virginia, Donald Ray Lantz and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, have been arrested and charged with serious crimes, including human trafficking and forced labor of their adopted Black children. The couple, aged 63 and 62 respectively, were initially detained in October 2023 and faced new charges recently in Kanawha County.
Lantz and Whitefeather pleaded not guilty to multiple charges on Tuesday, including human trafficking of a minor, using minors in forced labor, and child endangerment through neglect. The case has drawn significant attention due to the nature of the allegations and the racial dynamics involved.
The arrests were prompted by concerns raised by a neighbor to Child Protective Services. The neighbor reported seeing the teenagers confined in a shed at the couple’s Sissonville home. Other neighbors corroborated these claims, stating that the children were forced to perform farm work and were not allowed inside the main house.
Deputies responding to the scene described appalling conditions, noting that the children were locked in a barn without access to proper sanitation or running water. The indictment revealed that the children were forced to sleep on the floor and had been confined for approximately 12 hours at a time.
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During a search of the property, deputies discovered a 9-year-old girl locked in the shed. Lantz later returned home with an 11-year-old boy, and further investigation led authorities to find a 6-year-old girl who had been staying with acquaintances of the couple from church.
The court proceedings have highlighted severe human rights concerns, particularly regarding racial targeting. Kanawha County Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers emphasized the racial aspects of the case, noting, “Human rights violations specific to the fact that these children were targeted because of their race and they were used basically as slaves from what the indictment alleges.”
In response to prosecutors’ arguments that the couple’s original bonds were financed through illegal means, Judge Akers increased Lantz and Whitefeather’s bonds to $500,000 each. They were subsequently taken back into custody.
The case continues to unfold, shedding light on disturbing allegations of abuse and racism, and raising critical questions about the protection of vulnerable children in the foster care and adoption systems.
