SISSONVILLE, WEST VIRGINIA—A White couple from Washington state, Donald Ray Lantz, 63, and his partner Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 62, are being accused of keeping their five adopted children in slave-like conditions and forcing them to perform manual labor on their Sissonville, West Virginia property. The children, who are all Black and range in age from 6 to 16, were specifically targeted and forced to work by the couple because of their race, the indictment alleges.

The couple were originally arrested last October when Kanawha County police officers—in West Virginia—performed a wellness check based on a call from a neighbor who suspected child abuse. Police found two of the children, aged 14, and 16, locked in a dilapidated shed wearing ragged clothing. One of the children did not have shoes and had “open sores” on his feet, court documents state. The children also had not bathed and smelled of body odor.

Neighbors reported that the children were forced to perform manual labor and were not permitted to enter the main residence, the filing states.

A nine-year-old girl was found in the main residence and soon after Deputies arrived, Lantz returned home with the 11-year-old boy. A six-year-old girl was found staying with acquaintances from the couple’s church nearby.

One of the teens told police officers they had been locked in the shed for at least 12 hours since they had last been fed. Deputies reported that the shed had only a small RV porta-potty and no running water. The children said they were forced to sleep on the concrete floor with no pillows, blankets, or mattresses.

Lantz and Whitefeather told Deputies that the children liked living in the shed and that they considered it their “clubhouse.” 

The couple adopted the children in Washington state, first keeping them on an 80-acre ranch in Tonasket, in Okanogan County. The city is located 27 miles from the Canadian border and according to the 2022 U.S. Census, has an estimated population of 1,103. Tonasket is named in honor of Chief Tonasket of the Okanogan Indians who used the city as an encampment, according to the city’s website.

Which adoption agency the couple went through, or how they obtained custody of the children is currently under investigation.

Kanawha County Prosecutor Christopher Krivonyak stated that the couple sold their Tonasket ranch for $725,000 in February and moved to West Virginia amidst investigations of human trafficking and child abuse in Washington state.

Whitefeather’s brother, Marcus Hughes, posted the two $200,000 bonds back in February to release the couple from South Central Regional Jail in Charleston, West Virginia. Now both Lantz and Whitefeather are back behind bars facing more than a dozen new charges including human trafficking of a minor child, use of a minor child in forced labor, and child neglect, not to mention human rights violations considering the children were allegedly targeted due to their race.

Concerns originally arose that the bond money had been raised through human trafficking profits. Both Whitefeather and Lantz indicated in court that they had no income or assets. They sold their West Virginia ranch back in March for $295,000.

Kanawha County Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers said she has never seen an indictment quite like this throughout her entire tenure as a judge.

The couple’s new bond has been set at $500,000 each and their trial date scheduled for September 9, 2024

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates as more information becomes available.