CHARLESTON, W.Va. — One of the parents involved in the disturbing case of child neglect in Sissonville where two children were found to be locked in a shed appeared for their preliminary hearing in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.
Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 61, appeared Thursday before Magistrate Leslie Grace. The other parent, Donald Ray Lantz, 63, waived his preliminary hearing. The two are facing felony charges of gross child neglect creating a substantial risk of injury.
Magistrate Grace kept bond at $200,000 for Whitefeather with a condition of being on home confinement if she posts. The defense proposed that bond be reduced to $50,000 at 10% bail, but that was denied.
Kanawha County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Debra Rusnak said after hearing Thursday’s testimony, there was no way the bond should be reduced for Whitefeather.
“The facts of this case are heartbreaking and despicable,” Rusnak said. “To say she’s not a danger is laughable. It’s important that we are protecting the public from these type of individuals. ”
Rusnak said she was mortified by this case.
“You heard in the testimony about what these children were going through and it’s horrifying and despicable,” Rusnak said. “There’s no other way to describe it.”
On Monday, October 2, Kanawha County deputies were called to a residence on Cheynne Lane in Sissonville. Deputy H.K. Burdette testified to the incident. Burdette said a neighbor approached them when they arrived on scene and told them to check the shed near the home. There, they found two juvenile children, a 14-year old boy and a 16-year-old girl, locked inside a 20 x 14 foot room in a shed.
According to Burdette, the children locked inside could not exit the shed and deputies had to force themselves into the shed. Deputy Burdette said once they gained entry, they immediately noticed a disturbing smell and a wave of heat that hit them due to no circulating air in the shed.
Burdette said the children had no running water, no bathroom, no food other than a loaf of bread and one sleeping bag rolled up on the concrete floor. They also discovered a table and one chair and camera that was set up inside the shed.
The oldest of the two told Deputy Burdette that they “were being punished,” and that being locked in the shed was, “an everyday thing.”
Deputies then moved to the main residence where they found a third child who was younger than the other two. She was found locked inside the home in an unprotected loft about 15 feet high. Deputy Burdette said the conditions in the loft were also undesirable. She said the loft area was hot and dangerous for the smaller and younger girl.
The two parents also have two other adopted children in their care who were not at the residence at the time of the incident. All five children are now in the care of Child Protective Services.
Lantz and Whitefeather had just moved to West Virginia this year after previously living in Washington. According to a neighbor, they had only lived at the residence on Cheyenne Lane for around five months.
Deputies had received calls and visited the residence on two separate occasions prior to the arrests made earlier this month. Over 30 animals have also been seized from the residence since then.
Rusnak said the case is heading to circuit court and will be presented to a grand jury for indictment. A date for that has not yet been set.
“As of right now they will be indicted together,” she said.