West Virginia pays $4.4m to five black children forced to work as 'slaves' by adoptive parents who are now serving centuries in prison

From the Newshound archive · first published 5 October 2026 · last updated 6 October 2026.

Five black children found locked in a shed with no food, light or running water have won a $4.4 million settlement from West Virginia over Child Protective Services' repeated failures to act on welfare reports. The money will be split between the victims and held in trust to fund their recovery, with their attorney Dante' diTrapano saying they were robbed of their innocence by the "monsters that were their former parents." Adoptive parents Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 63, and Donald Lantz, 64, were convicted and sentenced after authorities discovered the children in October 2023 at the couple's Sissonville home, where a camera had been recording them.

Whitefeather is serving 215 years in prison with at least 40 before parole; Lantz received 160 years with a 30-year minimum.

Both were also ordered to pay $280,000 in restitution to the five children on top of their prison terms.

The $4.4m payout is the maximum permitted under West Virginia's Board of Risk Management settlement limits.