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KANAWHA COUNTY, W. Va—A White couple originally from Washington State, Donald Ray Lantz, 63, and his partner Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 62, were found guilty of abusing their five adopted Black children and using them for forced labor on their farm in Sissonville, West Virginia on Wednesday, March 26.

Whitefeather was sentenced to a maximum 215 years in prison for forced labor, human trafficking, child abuse and neglect, and violating the children’s civil rights. Her partner Lantz was sentenced to 160 years in prison for human trafficking, child abuse, forced labor, and neglect.

Lantz received a shorter sentence because he was found not guilty of civil rights violations and had fewer child abuse charges than his wife.

In addition to their sentence, Whitefeather and Lantz were ordered to pay $250,000 each in restitution to the children.

The decision came during a Kanawha County Eight Judicial Circuit Court trial in which Judge Maryclaire Akers said the couple put on “one of the most reprehensible, narcissistic, defenses” in her years of trial work.

“May God have mercy on your soul because this court will not,” said Judge Akers. “You brought these children to West Virginia, a place I know to be almost heaven, and you put them in hell. Now this court will put you in yours.”

Judge Akers continued that the children involved in this case will bear the scars the couple brought them for the rest of their lives.

This was the first time in West Virginia history that human trafficking charges were ever brought to the state level, according to WCHS Eyewitness News, who first reported the court’s decision.

During proceedings, Prosecutors were able to prove that Whitefeather and Lantz brought five adopted Black children to their farm, forced them to do manual labor, neglected and abused them both physically and mentally, and locked them in a shed while restricting their access to basic necessities. They did this all while receiving adoption payments from the State of Minnesota.

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, an indictment filed with the court alleged.

Each of the five children testified during court proceedings, both in person and in written statement. They even requested that Lantz and Whitefeather stand with their hands on their head through the duration of the trial, similar to how they were forced to stand being kept in their shed, but the Judge denied that request noting that it would be “cruel and unusual.”

Instead, Judge Maryclair Akers brought up photos of the children’s abuse which were exhibited throughout the proceedings.

One of the children called the couple the “literal definition of a monster,” adding that they were not just physically abused but “outright tortured.”

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with the children in this case. They are so wonderful, so smart, so funny. They are going to do amazing things in this world and I am so grateful for being able to get some semblance of justice for them,” said Maddison Tuck, Assistant Prosecutor in the case during a Press Conference Wednesday.

Whitefeather and Lantz never apologized for their actions with Lantz stating that he “loved the children,” and Whitefeather saying she never did anything to “intentionally hurt them.”

Whitefeather’s attorney, Mark Plants, still maintains that his client is not responsible for any criminal actions, that she “did the best that she could,” and never “intentionally harmed anyone.”

Whitefeather and Lantz brought forth motions for new trials, but those requests were denied. Both defendants announced plans to appeal their convictions.

The couple were originally arrested October, 2023, 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, court documents state.

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 still 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 in February, 2024, to release the couple from South Central Regional Jail in Charleston, West Virginia, but the couple were brought back behind bars after concerns 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 at that time. They sold their West Virginia ranch in March, 2023, for $295,000.

Author: Kienan Briscoe