A wealthy White couple out of Charleston, West Virginia was sent back to jail on charges related to their alleged forced labor of their Black adopted children.
Donald Ray Lantz, 63, and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 62, returned to jail after their bond more than doubled to $500,000 each on claims they locked Black children up in a barn and forced them to work their farmland, WV Metro News reported. The couple appeared in Kanawha County court on Tuesday, June 25, where they pleaded not guilty to over a dozen new charges, including human trafficking of a minor child, use of a minor child in forced labor, and child neglect creating a substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death.
Details of the disturbing case came to light after authorities conducted a wellness check in October 2023 and discovered the couple’s five adopted children, aged 16, 14, 11, 9, and 6, were living in deplorable conditions. The two eldest, who happen to be Black, were found locked in a filthy shed with no basic amenities, no running water, and only a bucket to use as a bathroom.
Another Black child was located in a loft within the main house. Eyewitness reports claim the children were used as laborers on the couple’s farmland and were prohibited from entering the main house.
Kanawha County Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers expressed her belief that the couple’s previous bond of $200,000 was not enough.
“Along with human trafficking and neglect was serious risk of bodily injuries or death, I don’t find the bond to be sufficient,” Akers said.
Lanz and Whitefeather claim the shed was a “teenage clubhouse” and that the children enjoyed staying there. However, evidence and witness accounts don’t coincide with the assertions.
Authorities believe the couple came up with the money for the initial bond by selling the shed where the children were located and another 80-acre property in Tonasket, Washington. Prosecutors say the sales and bond payment may be linked to human trafficking.
The couple’s next court appearance is scheduled for September 9. Akers has since expressed her shock at the nature of the case.
“It alleges human trafficking,
human rights violations, the use of forced labor,” she said. “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.”RELATED CONTENT: Woman Left Newborn Child In Kentucky IHOP Bathroom Toilet, Police Say