White Couple Gets 375 Years for Abusing Black Adopted Kids
A white West Virginia couple has been convicted and sentenced to over 300 years in prison for the horrific abuse and racial targeting of five Black children they adopted while living in Minnesota.
On Wednesday (March 19), Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Maryclaire Akers handed down a lengthy sentence to 63-year-old Jeanne Kay Whitefeather and her husband, 64-year-old Donald Lantz, following their convictions earlier this year on multiple counts, including forced labor, human trafficking, and child abuse.
“You brought these children to West Virginia, a place that I know is ‘almost heaven,’ and you put them in hell,” Akers said during sentencing, per WCHS. “This court will now put you in yours. And may God have mercy on your souls, because this court will not.”
Whitefeather was also found guilty of civil rights violations based on race. She received a sentence of up to 215 years with Lantz, getting up to 160 years.
According to a CBS report, The couple’s crimes, which spanned three states, came to a head in Sissonville, West Virginia, just five months after relocating there in 2023. In October, concerned neighbors witnessed Lantz locking the two oldest children—a teenage girl and her brother—inside a shed before leaving the property. A deputy had to use a crowbar to get them out.
Inside the house, conditions were no better. A 9-year-old girl was discovered crying alone in a loft, dangerously exposed to a fall. Other children were found in filthy clothes, reeking of body odor. One boy was barefoot, his feet covered in sores.
According to testimony, the children were often forced to eat only peanut butter sandwiches, sometimes leftovers from a previous meal, and endured harsh punishments. The eldest girl and boy were made to share a room, sleep on the floor, and use the same bucket as a bathroom—while one held up a sheet for privacy from security cameras.
In court, the eldest daughter, now an adult, recounted years of abuse, saying they were cursed at “all the time,” forced to dig with their hands and subjected to racist language from Whitefeather. “She told us she wished we weren’t part of her life,” the daughter testified. She has since filed a civil suit for severe physical and emotional abuse and neglect that she says has permanently scarred her.
Despite the evidence, the couple’s attorneys insisted they were overwhelmed and lacked support. “These are farm people that do farm chores,” said Whitefeather’s lawyer, Mark Plants. “It wasn’t about race. It wasn’t about forced labor.”
However, prosecutors—and the jury—saw it differently. Assistant Prosecutor Madison Tuck noted the couple never sought help for one son’s worsening mental health, even though care was just minutes away. However, Lantz's attorney, John Balenovic, claimed the state's child welfare agency, which the family allegedly requested help from several times, “dropped the ball the most in this case.”
A forensic psychologist testified that the children’s conditions worsened under the couple’s care. They have since been placed in state custody.
