A West Virginia mother denied forcing two of their adopted children to stay in a shed despite police finding them there behind a locked door.
Jeanne Kay Whitefeather testified Tuesday in the second week of the trial against her and her husband, Donald Ray Lantz. The pair allegedly mistreated four of the five children, all of whom are black. Whitefeather and Lantz, who are white, each face several felony counts, including forced labor, civil rights violations, human trafficking and gross child neglect.
Whitefeather and Lantz were arrested in October 2023 when neighbors reported that they observed Lantz locking two teenagers — a girl and a boy — in the shed and leaving the property in Sissonville, West Virginia.
Whitefeather claimed the shed was a “teenager hangout.”
WEST VIRGINIA MAN, WOMAN ARRESTED AFTER TEENS FOUND LOCKED IN SHED
Defendants Donald Lantz and Jeanne Whitefeather enter Kanawha Circuit Court Judge Maryclaire Akers’ courtroom for the first day of their trial, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Charleston, West Virginia, following jury selection. (AP)
“They weren’t locked in,” Whitefeather testified. “They had a key. They could come and go as they pleased.”
But the oldest daughter, now 18, testified last week that she was unaware of access to a key. A detective had testified earlier that a key was found out of sight on top of a cabinet in the shed.
The girl also said the children were given peanut butter sandwiches at scheduled times and were not allowed to eat outside those times, regardless of whether they were hungry.
Donald Ray Lantz, left, and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather are shown during a break in the Kanawha County Circuit Court on the first day of their trial in Charleston, West Virginia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)
Whitefeather claims the children were allowed to use the refrigerator and that she cooked every night.
After the couple was arrested, the five children were placed under the care of Child Protective Services.
WV LAWMAKER ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY THREATENING TO KILL ENTIRE REGION’S DELEGATION OVER CAUCUS BEEF
Donald Lantz and Jeanne Whitefeather are on trial for child neglect after children were found locked in a shed. (West Virginia Regional Jail & Correctional Facility Authority)
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The pair adopted the five siblings while living in Minnesota. They then moved to a farm in Washington state in 2018 before moving to West Virginia in 2023, at which time the children ranged in age from five to 16.
The oldest boy is receiving full-time care in a psychiatric facility.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.