A West Virginia mom denied forcing two of their adopted youngsters to remain in a shed regardless of police discovering them there behind a locked door.
Jeanne Kay Whitefeather testified Tuesday within the second week of the trial towards her and her husband, Donald Ray Lantz. The pair allegedly mistreated 4 of the 5 youngsters, all of whom are black. Whitefeather and Lantz, who’re white, every face a number of felony counts, together with compelled labor, civil rights violations, human trafficking and gross little one neglect.
Whitefeather and Lantz had been arrested in October 2023 when neighbors reported that they noticed Lantz locking two youngsters — a woman and a boy — within 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 docket Decide Maryclaire Akers’ courtroom for the primary day of their trial, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Charleston, West Virginia, following jury choice. (AP)
“They weren’t locked in,” Whitefeather testified. “They had a key. They could come and go as they pleased.”
However the oldest daughter, now 18, testified final week that she was unaware of entry to a key. A detective had testified earlier {that a} key was discovered of sight on prime of a cupboard within the shed.
The woman additionally stated the kids got peanut butter sandwiches at scheduled instances and weren’t allowed to eat exterior these instances, no matter whether or not they had been hungry.
Donald Ray Lantz, left, and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather are proven throughout a break within the Kanawha County Circuit Court docket on the primary day of their trial in Charleston, West Virginia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)
Whitefeather claims the kids had been allowed to make use of the fridge and that she cooked each evening.
After the couple was arrested, the 5 youngsters had been positioned below the care of Little one Protecting Companies.
WV LAWMAKER ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY THREATENING TO KILL ENTIRE REGION’S DELEGATION OVER CAUCUS BEEF
Donald Lantz and Jeanne Whitefeather are on trial for little one neglect after youngsters had been discovered locked in a shed. (West Virginia Regional Jail & Correctional Facility Authority)
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The pair adopted the 5 siblings whereas residing in Minnesota. They then moved to a farm in Washington state in 2018 earlier than transferring to West Virginia in 2023, at which era the kids ranged in age from 5 to 16.
The oldest boy is receiving full-time care in a psychiatric facility.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
