CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state of West Virginia has reached a $4.4 million settlement with five children who were subjected to deplorable living conditions in Kanawha County.
The children had been adopted by Sissonville couple Jeanne Kay Whitefeather and Donald Ray Lantz. A Kanawha County jury convicted Whitefeather and Lantz on 31 of 35 criminal charges in a January 2025 for abusing the children. The investigation began in October 2023 after neighbors suspected two of the teenage children were being locked in a shed on the property and were being forced to work.
The investigation revealed evidence to support that Whitefeather and Lantz were treating the kids like slaves, calling them racial slurs, particularly upon four of the five adopted children.
Whitefeather, found to be the primary abuser, is serving a 215-year prison sentence. Lantz is serving a 160-year sentence. The abuse reportedly began when they lived in the state of Washington.
Kanawha County Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers determined the $4.4 million settlement on Tuesday in a closed hearing. Each child will receive around $900,000. The children are now living in different homes.