A West Virginia mother, Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, has denied accusations of mistreating two of her adopted children despite police finding them in a shed behind a locked door. Whitefeather and her husband, Donald Ray Lantz, are currently on trial facing multiple felony counts, including forced labor, civil rights violations, human trafficking, and gross child neglect.
The incident came to light when neighbors reported seeing Lantz locking two teenagers, a girl, and a boy, in the shed on their property in Sissonville, West Virginia. Whitefeather defended the situation, claiming that the shed was a 'teenager hangout' and that the children were not locked in as they had a key to come and go as they pleased.
However, conflicting testimonies emerged during the trial. The oldest daughter, now 18, stated that she was unaware of the key's existence, while a detective confirmed finding a key hidden on top of a cabinet in the shed. The children also reported being restricted to eating peanut butter sandwiches at scheduled times and not allowed to eat outside those times.
Whitefeather countered these claims by stating that the children had access to the refrigerator and that she cooked for them every night. Following the arrest of Whitefeather and Lantz, the five children were placed under the care of Child Protective Services.
The couple had adopted the five siblings while residing in Minnesota before moving to a farm in Washington state in 2018 and later relocating to West Virginia in 2023. At the time of the incident, the children's ages ranged from five to 16, with the oldest boy currently receiving full-time care in a psychiatric facility.
