In a shocking legal case, Jeanne Kay Whitefeather and Donald Ray Lantz, a couple from Charleston, West Virginia, have been charged with forcing their adopted black children to work as slaves and sleep in a barn. Disturbing charges reveal that the couple was arrested in October 2023 after a wellness check uncovered five adopted children living in deplorable conditions on their five-acre property.
The children, aged 16, 14, 11, nine, and six, were found in conditions described as among the worst ever seen by the presiding judge. The judge highlighted that the couple targeted the children based on their race, adding a grave dimension to the already horrifying charges.
Whitefeather and Lantz now face severe legal repercussions, including charges of human trafficking of a minor child, use of a minor child in forced labor. and child neglect creating substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death. 
The bond for each has been increased by $300,000, now totaling $500,000 each.
This case underscores the severe consequences of such egregious misconduct and the judicial system’s commitment to protecting vulnerable children from such abuses.
