A couple accused of locking up their adopted black children and forcing them to work as slaves has been put back behind bars.
Donald Ray Lantz, 63, and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 62, of Charleston, West Virginia, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to more than a dozen new charges after their children were found locked in a dilapidated barn after working on the surrounding farmland.
The judge before the case said the couple targeted their five children – aged 16, 14, 11, 9 and six – because of their race and that they were “essentially used as slaves”.
The new charges include human trafficking of a minor child, use of a minor child in forced labor and child neglect creating a substantial risk of serious bodily harm or death.
Their bonds are now set at $500,000 each, which is $300,000 more than each of their original bonds.
The couple’s first arrest came in October after it was discovered that the couple’s five adopted children, all of whom were black, were forced to live in a locked barn in squalid conditions.
A couple accused of locking their adopted black children in their backyard shed (pictured) and forcing them into child slavery have been put behind bars again
Donald Ray Lantz, 63, and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 62, of Charleston, West Virginia, pleaded not guilty Tuesday
The latest indictment alleges that the couple committed human rights abuses, with speculation that the couple forced their children into forced labor because of their race.
Kanawha County Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers told MetroNews that this case is the first of its kind she has seen in her career and that the couple’s original bond of $200,000 was insufficient compared to the severity of their crimes.
“In addition to human trafficking and neglect, there was a serious risk of bodily harm or death, I do not think the bail amount is sufficient,” Akers said. “There are allegations of human trafficking, human rights violations and the use of forced labor.”
“Human rights violations specifically related to the fact that these children were targeted because of their race and were effectively used as slaves, as alleged in the indictment.”
Prosecutors previously raised concerns that the couple’s $400,000 bond money in February could have come from their alleged human trafficking activities.
Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Krivonyak reported that the couple, who previously claimed to have no assets or income, sold an 80-acre farm in Tonasket, Washington, on Feb. 2 for $725,000.
Three days later, Whitefeather’s brother posted two $200,000 bonds to get the couple out of the jail cells where they were being held.
On March 28, Krivonyak noted that they had also sold their home in Sissonville, where they were arrested, for $295,000.
Prosecutors concluded that the money, whether legally obtained or not, was originally intended for human trafficking.
The couple’s money is still in the court’s custody, and Krivonyak said it should be turned over to the children in the form of a trust fund.
The minors involved were 16, 14, 11, 9 and six years old.
Whitefeather previously stated that the shed where the 16-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy were found was a “teenage clubhouse” and that they were not being held against their will.
Pictured: Photos from inside a barn in Sissonville where two teenagers were allegedly found locked up on Oct. 2 were shown during a hearing for Jeanne Whitefeather in October 2023. The photos were taken by Whitefeather’s brother about a week after the arrests.
The children were found by authorities with a range of health problems
However, the teenage girl told officers that they had been locked in the building for about 12 hours and were last fed in the morning.
The building had only a small porta-potty and no running water, according to images from inside and the initial police report.
The children were also forced to sleep on the hard concrete floor, they said.
Court documents said neighbors reported the children were forced to work on the farm and not allowed in the main house.
Documents also show the teen produced body odor and had “open sores on his bare feet.”
Officers found the nine-year-old girl in the main building three hours after police arrived on scene.
Lantz arrived home with the 11-year-old boy, while Whitefeather surrendered their 6-year-old girl to authorities, who were with friends from the couple’s church.
Their trial is scheduled for September 9.