* This couple is from Minnesota, not West Virginia
West Virginia couple convicted of forced labor, human trafficking of adopted kids
JOHN RABY | Updated 7:19 PM EST, January 29, 2025CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia couple accused of neglect and forced labor involving their adopted children was convicted by a jury on Wednesday after eight hours of deliberations.
Jeanne Kay Whitefeather and Donald Ray Lantz went on trial in mid-January and each faced over a dozen counts, including forced labor, civil rights violations, human trafficking and child neglect.
The couple, who are white, were accused of mistreating their children — all of whom are Black — by locking them in a shed, forcing them to sleep on the floor and use buckets as toilets, and more.
The Kanawha County Circuit Court jury convicted Whitefeather on all 19 counts against her, including the civil rights violations. Lantz was found guilty on 12 counts out of 16. He was acquitted of four counts of civil rights violations. Both showed little emotion as the verdict was read.
Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney Debra Rusnak said she cried as she heard the word “guilty” repeated again and again.
“These cases mean a lot to us — we take a lot of this personally,” she said at a news conference afterward. “This is our community, and these are the children of our community. If we’re not going to fight for them, then who will?”
Whitefeather and Lantz adopted the five siblings while living in Minnesota, moved to a farm in Washington state in 2018, and then brought the family to West Virginia in May 2023, when the children ranged in age from 5 to 16.
The couple was arrested in October 2023 after neighbors saw Lantz lock the oldest girl and her teenage brother in a shed and leave the property. . . .
https://apnews.com/article/west-virginia-couple-adopted-children-neglect-trial-6a889bf21cb138bdad4b65839a2dc194
The title does a disservice to the people of West Virginia. This couple got away with abusing these kids for five years in Washington State. It was only after relocating to West Virginia was their abuse reported and prosecuted.
