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The West Virginia couple who allegedly used their Black adopted children as "slaves," locked them in a barn, and forced them to perform farm labor is facing new abuse charges for hosing them with bear spray and repellant.
Donald Ray Lantz, 63, and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 62, were initially arrested last year following a wellness check during which authorities found two of the couple's five adopted children, who are Black, locked in a shed on their Sissonville property.
Authorities said the shed only had a small porta-potty and no running water. A 16-year-old child told authorities that she had been locked in the building for roughly 12 hours and was last given food at around 6 a.m.
A 14-year-old boy was found with "open sores on his bare feet." Both children were dirty and smelled of body order, according to authorities.
The teenagers also stated that they were forced to sleep on the concrete floor without a mattress or padding.
“Neighbors also reported that the children were forced to perform farm labor and were not permitted inside the residence,” court documents state.
The couple is accused of specifically targeting the Black children and forcing them to work because of their race. They previously pleaded not guilty to several charges including human trafficking of a minor child, use of a minor child in forced labor, and child neglect creating substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death.
Whitefeather is now facing more charges, including child abuse resulting in bodily injury, after being accused of spraying and exposing four of their adopted children to bear spray and repellant. Lantz is also facing an additional count of child abuse for striking one of the children.
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