White couple accused of adopting Black children and forcing them to work as ‘slaves’

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Gray News) - A West Virginia couple has been charged for allegedly using their adopted African American kids as “slaves.”

Jeanne Whitefeather, 62, and Donald Lantz, 63, are accused of using five Black children for “forced labor” on their farm.

The discovery of the reported abuse came to light last October and the couple was taken into custody.

Whitefeather appeared in court for a preliminary hearing late last year regarding the child neglect case.

Deputies said they found two children locked in a shed after using forced entry into the couple’s barn following up on a welfare check that was called into them.

Deputy H.K. Burdette responded to the October 2023 call and described the awful conditions where the children were found.

“One of them responded and said ‘Ma’am, we are not able to open the door from the inside,’ " she said. “I was repulsed, for the lack of a better term. As soon as the door was open, the heat from inside hit us. The smell made my eyes water. It was terrible without running water, circulating air, or beds.”

According to NBC News, the couple is facing dozens of charges including human trafficking, child neglect, and forced labor after their adopted five Black children were forced to do labor and live in deplorable conditions.

“What these children were going through ... it is frankly horrifying and despicable; there is no other way to describe it,” Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Debra Rusnak said.

Whitefeather admitted to deputies that the children were left in the shed but stated that “they like it.”

Deputies said at the couple’s main residence, they located another small child who was locked inside and alone. That child was in an unprotected loft, approximately 15 feet high.

According to the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the family had moved to West Virginia last year from Washington state with all five adopted children being home-schooled.

Officials said the children are currently all safe while Whitefeather and Lantz have pleaded not guilty to the charges they are facing.

The couple is being held on $500,000 bonds as they await their trial that is scheduled for Sept. 9.

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