A judge handed down harsh sentences to two West Virginia parents convicted of treating their five adopted Black children like "slaves." Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 62, and Donald Lantz, 63, faced justice Wednesday in a circuit court after their arrest on October 2, 2023, for child abuse and neglect. Judge Maryclaire Akers delivered the maximum penalties, slamming the couple for their actions.
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"You brought these children to West Virginia, a place I know as almost heaven, and you put them in hell," Akers declared. "This court will now put you in yours, and may God have mercy on your souls." Whitefeather received 215 years in prison, with a minimum of 40 years before parole eligibility. Lantz got 160 years, with at least 30 years before parole. Each must pay $280,000 in restitution to their children.
The couple faced 31 charges, including human trafficking, forced labor, gross neglect, and child abuse. Whitefeather also picked up four civil rights violations as the primary abuser. Akers, with 25 years in the legal system, called the case one of the worst she'd seen. "I've seen babies starved to death, burned with hair dryers, drowned and stuffed in freezers," she said, per Metro News. "What they did is just as horrific."
Authorities first found three children locked in a shed with no lights, food, or water—just a camera watching them. Whitefeather claimed it was a "teenage clubhouse," but detectives confirmed the kids were bolted in from outside. Inside the main house, a nine-year-old girl was also locked up. The children wore filthy clothes, reeked of body odor, and had sores on their feet.
Couple Accused of Racism
The family had bounced around -- adopting the kids in Minnesota, moving to Washington in 2018, then settling in West Virginia by May 2023. Neighbors soon flagged the abuse. Joyce Bailey testified January 14 that Lantz forced the kids to haul fencing, water buckets, and propane tanks. She said the oldest boy could barely walk from exhaustion. Racist texts surfaced during the trial, and the 18-year-old daughter testified her parents fed her only peanut butter sandwiches, made her dig with her hands, and called her "dirty."
Assistant Prosecutor Madison Tuck pointed at the couple in court. "You want to know what racists look like? Look at them," she said. The children shared their pain at sentencing. The 18-year-old called Whitefeather a "monster," saying the abuse left her "hopeless" and angry. A younger sibling wrote, "Kids should be loved, not picked on." Another vowed to rise above, saying, "You will always be horrible."
Whitefeather and Lantz offered apologies. "I love my children," Whitefeather said, via multiple news outlets. "I never meant to harm them." Akers praised those who rescued the kids. "Now these children are West Virginia's children, not yours," she said, closing a chilling chapter.
