Honk News (Kanawha County , WV) – A woman from West Virginia has refuted allegations of confining her and her husband’s adopted Black children in a shed during their current trial, according to court proceedings.
Donald Ray Lantz and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, both of Caucasian descent, were first taken into custody in October 2023.
According to earlier reports, they face allegations of confining their children in an outbuilding and compelling them to work, in a situation that authorities claim was driven by racial motivations, as stated in court documents referenced by various media sources.
The trial for the couple commenced on Tuesday, January 14, in Kanawha County Circuit Court, with Whitefeather taking the stand a week later on Tuesday, January 21, as reported by the Associated Press.
The duo is confronted with over a dozen serious felony charges, encompassing violations of civil rights, human trafficking, forced labor, and severe child neglect, according to the report.
Authorities have confirmed that Lantz and Whitefeather are in custody following the discovery of two children reportedly found confined in a shed in Sissonville, according to a release from the Kanawha County Sheriff’s office in October 2023. A witness reported observing a man enter the shed, converse with the minors, and subsequently secure the shed after exiting.
In the trial on Tuesday, Whitefeather maintained that the shed served as a “teenager hangout,” according to the AP, stating, “They weren’t locked in … They possessed a crucial element. They had the freedom to arrive and depart at their convenience.
A report indicated that the eldest daughter, currently 18, who was discovered with a 14-year-old boy in the shed at that time, mentioned in an earlier court session that she was unaware they had a key to enter.
The daughter reported that the children were restricted from eating anything other than being provided with “a steady diet” of peanut butter sandwiches at designated times, according to the AP. Nonetheless, Whitefeather maintained that they could use the refrigerator and claimed she prepared dinner each evening.
Lantz and Whitefeather took in five siblings, four of whom are alleged to have faced mistreatment, during their time in Minnesota, as reported by the AP. In 2018, they relocated to a farm in Washington state, and then in 2023, they made their way to West Virginia. The ages of the children span from 5 to 16, according to the report, which noted that the eldest boy is currently “receiving full-time care in a psychiatric facility.”
In the trial on January 14, Whitefeather’s lawyer, Mark Plants, emphasized that the case revolves around adoptive parents facing challenges related to their children’s traumatic histories and significant mental health issues. He noted that the children endured “physical, sexual and emotional” abuse at the hands of their biological mother, according to the news agency.
“This is a normal family,” Plants insisted. “They have Christmases. All of them. They have Christmas presents. They have family vacations. They sit around dinner tables and eat.”
In June 2024, the couple’s indictment made headlines, prompting Kanawha County Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers to state, “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,” according to West Virginia Metro News.