Charleston, W.VA. – A couple of Western Virginia convicted of the abuse of their adopted children, including the blockade of some in a shed, is due in court on Wednesday by sentence.
TO jury on January 29 They found Jeanne Kay Whitefeather and her husband, Donald Lantz, guilty of multiple positions of forced labor, human trafficking and child abuse and negligence. Whitefeather was also condemned by racing rights violations.
Whitefeather faces up to 215 years in prison and Lantz up to 160 years when they are sentenced on Wednesday at the Kanawha County Circuit Court.
The couple, who is Blanca, adopted the five black brothers while living in Minnesota, moved to a farm in the state of Washington in 2018, then brought West Virginia to the family in May 2023, when the children were aged between 5 and 16 years.
Five months after his arrival at Sissonville, the couple It was arrested After the neighbors saw Lantz lock the older girl and her teenage brother in a shed and leave the property. A deputy used a lever to get them out.
Within the main residence, a 9 -year -old girl was found crying only in a loft without protection against the fall, according to a criminal complaint. The children were found with dirty clothes and smells of body smell, the agents said, and the older child was found barefoot with what seemed to be sores on their feet.
A fourth boy was with Lantz when he finally returned, and the agents were taken to a 5 -year -old girl. The five were delivered to child protection services after the couple’s arrest.
Last month, the eldest daughter, now adult, sued the couple, alleging severe physical and emotional abuse and negligence that has marked her permanently.
During the trial, the neighbors testified that they never saw the children play and witnessed that Lantz made them queue or perform difficult tasks around the patio, including the lifting of heavy items. After Lantz noticed the curious neighbors, the children stayed mostly inside.
The oldest daughter testified that outdoor work occurred mainly in Washington and that some of them were forced to use their hands to dig. He also said that the children were cursed in “all the time” and that Whitefeather used a racist language.
The daughter said that Whitefeather gave the youngest child preferential, that she was not involved in any of the positions, and that Whitefeather had told the other children that she wanted a life without them.
The daughter also said that the children received a stable diet. of peanut butter sandwiches In scheduled times, some remained of a previous meal. Some children were forced to stand in their rooms for hours and keep their hands on their heads. The older girl and boy shared a room, were forced to sleep on the floor and used the same bucket for the bathroom, while the other lifted a leaf for the privacy of the security cameras of the house, according to the testimony.
The couple and their lawyers retreated the accusations, with Lantz testifying that the tasks were assigned to teach children responsibility.
The defense argued that the couple was simply overwhelmed by trying to obtain help for children’s mental health problems, the abuse and trauma of their biological home. Lantz’s lawyer, John Balenovich, said the state’s child welfare agency, which the family requested help several times, “left the ball more in this case.”
A forensic psychologist from the Prosecutor’s Office testified that the treatment of the couple’s children had worsened their conditions.
The assistant prosecutor Madison Tuck said the couple never sought help for the older child despite the fact that a behavioral health clinic was only minutes from their home. The child, whose physical altercation with Whitefeather in 2022 was summoned by lawyers as the beginning of family’s internal struggles, currently receives full -time attention in a psychiatric center.
Whitefeather’s lawyer, Mark Plants, said during the final argument that the couple was only guilty of making poor parenting decisions.
“These are agricultural people who do agricultural tasks,” said plants. “It was not race.
