Trial set for Sissonville couple accused of locking children in barn

KANAWHA COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – The pretrial and trial date for a couple accused of locking children in a Sissonville barn has been set.

Donald Lantz and Jeanne Whitefeather appeared in Kanawha County Circuit Court for a status hearing in their case. They

During Thursday’s hearing, Lantz and Whitefeather’s pretrial date was set for 9 a.m. on Jan. 7, 2025, and their trial is set for 9 a.m. on Jan. 13, 2025.

Donald Lantz and Jeanne Whitefeather were indicted in May on charges of human trafficking of a minor child; civil rights violations based on color, race and/or ancestry; use of minor child in forced labor; child neglect creating a substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death; and false swearing.

Both were arrested in October 2023 after two of their adoptive children were found in a locked barn with no running water, a working bathroom or a way to leave, and a third child was found in an unprotected loft in the home.

According to circuit court records, Lantz and Whitefeather sold a ranch they owned in Washington State for $725,000. The sale closed on February 2. Three days later, the two posted bond.

On March 28, they sold their home in Sissonville, the same home where children were found locked in a barn, for $295,000.

A filing by Attorney Chris Krivonyak said all of these funds were subject to possibly being seized by the state because Lantz and Whitefeather’s five adopted kids were at both properties during periods of alleged human trafficking. Then in June, a Kanawha County judge ordered the money used to pay their bonds be held in the court’s custody.

Lantz and Whitefeather were booked back into South Central Regional Jail on June 11 with a $500,000 cash-only bond . Both are still in the jail, according to the WV Regional Jail & Correctional Facility Authority website.

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