CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A trial date for a couple charged in the Sissonville child neglect case where two teenagers were allegedly found locked in a shed and forced to work has now been pushed back to November.
Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 62, and Donald Ray Lantz, 63, went before Kanawha Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers on Monday for their trial, but sought a delay to continue examining evidence of the case.
Akers agreed to reset their trial date for Nov. 12 but she said she was displeased that after nearly a year of gathering evidence, the attorneys for Whitefeather and Lantz were still asking for more time.
“I’m not going to let this case lay while you guys do whatever it is that you’re doing,” Akers said, continuing to say that counsel has “had discovery ready for a month and hasn’t picked it up, so I’m not quite sure what’s going on here, gentlemen, but I expect to have a trial, and I expect to have a trial before January.”
The defense attorneys for Whitefeather and Lantz had originally requested the trial be pushed back to January, but Akers denied that request.
The couple is accused of child neglect creating a risk of substantial injury after deputies found two of their five adopted children living in deplorable conditions in a shed near their home on Cheyanne Lane last October.
In June, Akers more than doubled the couple’s bond to $500,000 each after they requested their bond be lowered.
They were also charged with over a dozen new charges, which includes human trafficking of a minor child, use of a minor child in forced labor, and human rights violations.
The pair’s attorneys claimed Monday that they need more time to look over multiple additional medical records that have been presented in the case, as well as other items of evidence. Prosecutors, on the other hand, said they have been ready.
“I understand there’s a lot of discovery, how much more is outstanding is there Miss Tuck, that you believe the defense will have?” Akers said addressing the representative for the state.
“To be completely honest, I have had this packet ready for a month,” Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Madison Tuck responded.
The two children found outside Whitefeather and Lantz’s Sissonville home, which they had bought only months prior to their arrests, were ages 16 and 14. Deputies also found a host of animals outside upon their search, including some exotic animals.
Inside the home, deputies discovered an 11-year-old child, a 9-year-old and a 6-year-old.
The couple’s new trial is set for Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 9 a.m.