CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) 鈥� A West Virginia jury has convicted of neglect and forced labor involving their adopted children, including locking some of them in a shed, forcing them to sleep on the floor and use buckets as toilets.
The jury deliberated for eight hours before reaching a verdict on Wednesday in the trial of Jeanne Kay Whitefeather and Donald Ray Lantz.
The couple, who are white, were accused of mistreating their children 鈥� all of whom are Black. They went on trial on more than a dozen felony counts each that included forced labor, civil rights violations, human trafficking and child neglect.
Whitefeather and Lantz adopted the five siblings while living in Minnesota, moved to a farm in Washington state in 2018, and then brought the family to West Virginia in May 2023, when the children ranged in age from 5 to 16.
The couple was arrested in October 2023 after neighbors saw Lantz lock the oldest girl and her teenage brother in a shed and leave the property. A deputy used a crowbar to get them out.
Inside the main residence, a 9-year-old girl was found alone crying in a loft with no protection from falling, according to a criminal complaint. A fourth child was with Lantz when he eventually returned. Deputies were later led to the couple鈥檚 youngest daughter.
The children were found in dirty clothes and smelling of body odor, deputies said, and the eldest boy was found barefoot with what appeared to be sores on his feet.
All five were turned over to Child Protective Services after the couple's arrest.
During the trial, neighbors in Sissonville testified they never saw the children play and witnessed Lantz make them stand in line or perform difficult chores around the yard, including lifting heavy items. After Lantz noticed the curious neighbors, the children mostly stayed indoors.
The couple鈥檚 eldest daughter, now 18, testified that the outdoor work occurred mostly in Washington and that some of them were forced to use their hands for digging.
She also said the children were fed a steady diet at scheduled times, some left over from a previous meal. Some kids were forced to stand in their rooms for hours and keep their hands on their heads. The oldest girl and boy shared a room, including the same bucket for using the bathroom while the other held up a sheet for privacy.
She also said the children slept on the floor and barely bathed.
The couple and their attorneys pushed back on the allegations, with Lantz testifying that the chores were assigned to teach the children responsibility.
Whitefeather鈥檚 attorney said the oldest boy had attempted to run away from home and the lock on the shed was meant to keep him from trying again.
Whitefeather called the shed a 鈥渢eenager hangout鈥� and said the older children had access to a key and were free to leave as they pleased. But testimony showed the children didn鈥檛 know where a key was 鈥� detectives found one out of sight on top of a cabinet in the shed.
Prosecutors said the couple鈥檚 tactics were less about teaching responsibility and instead about control.
鈥淭hese kids weren鈥檛 there to be raised as children, but served another purpose entirely,鈥� Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Chris Krivonyak said in his closing arguments.
鈥淭he whole point of treating them this way is they become less than human,鈥� Krivonyak added. 鈥淭hey become more like machines. That way they鈥檙e more useful.
鈥淗ow do you do that to someone you love?鈥�
Prosecutors also entered racist text messages into evidence that they said were from Whitefeather, who denied writing them. The oldest daughter testified the children were cursed at 鈥渁ll the time鈥� and that Whitefeather used racist language.
Whitefeather also didn鈥檛 want to eat off the same plates used by the children, whom she referred to as 鈥渄irty,鈥� the girl testified.
鈥淵ou want to know what racists look like?鈥� Assistant Prosecutor Madison Tuck asked the jury, then pointed to the defendants. 鈥淟ook at them.鈥�
The defense argued the couple was simply overwhelmed by trying to get help for the children鈥檚 ongoing mental health issues, abuse and trauma from their biological home.
Lantz鈥檚 attorney, John Balenovich, said the state鈥檚 child welfare agency, which the family requested help from several times, 鈥渄ropped the ball the most in this case.鈥�
Tuck said the couple never drove the oldest boy for help for his mental health issues in West Virginia, where there was a behavioral health clinic four minutes from their home.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e not going to have any medical records if you don鈥檛 have a doctor,鈥� Tuck said.
A forensic psychologist for the prosecution testified that the couple鈥檚 treatment of the children had worsened their conditions.
The eldest boy, whose physical altercation with Whitefeather in 2022 was cited by attorneys as the start of the family鈥檚 serious internal struggles, currently is receiving full-time care in a psychiatric facility.
Whitefeather鈥檚 attorney, Mark Plants, said during his closing argument that the couple was only guilty of making poor parenting decisions.
鈥淭hese are farm people that do farm chores,鈥� Plants said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 about race. It wasn鈥檛 about forced labor.鈥�
John Raby, The Associated Press