Adoptive Parents Arrested in West Virginia Child Neglect Case

 

In West Virginia, adoptive parents are facing serious legal trouble as deputies discovered a troubling situation involving three children. Donald Lantz, aged 63, and Jeanne Whitefeather, aged 61, have been arrested on felony charges of severe child neglect after a distressing discovery was made by the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office.


An investigation was launched when someone dialed 911 to report that the children were confined in a barn for several days and were not allowed inside the house. Deputies arrived at the residence on Cheyenne Lane in Sissonville and found no parents present.

They took the initiative to enter the barn where they found a boy and a girl locked in a small room with concrete floors and no beds, enduring terrible conditions. Additionally, another child was found locked in a separate room within the main home.

Sgt. Josh Lester from the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office described the situation as "pretty bad," emphasizing that such conditions are far from what one would expect for the care and upbringing of children.

The children had no way to leave the barn on their own, as there was no running water or bathroom facilities. They were clearly deprived of basic hygiene and proper nourishment. In the main home, deputies discovered a third small child locked alone in a loft.


Although no caregivers or parents were present at the home during the initial investigation, the adoptive parents eventually returned and were taken into custody. Child Protective Services stepped in to provide care for the children.

The arrested parents are being held in jail on a $200,000 cash bond, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for October 12th. It remains uncertain whether they have legal representation.

In another news, a 37-year-old woman from Texas is looking at a long prison term for deceiving a 24-year-old woman into living with her and her family, only to imprison her and subject her to horrific abuse.

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