CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Kanawha County woman and her husband face 20 charges in a new indictment for the alleged mistreatment of their adopted children.
A Kanawha County grand jury returned the superseding indictment Friday against Jeanne Whitefeather and Donald Lantz.
The couple was arrested when their adopted teenagers were found locked in a shed on their property in the Sissonville area in October 2023.
The two are accused of human trafficking and an array of other charges. One of the new counts claims the children were sprayed with bear repellent by Whitefeather.
Those children are now in state custody. Whitefeather and Lantz remain jailed.
The two will be arraigned soon on the new charges. The former charges are currently scheduled for a pretrial hearing for Jan. 7.
Their trial was originally scheduled for this month but Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Chris Krivonyak asked for a new trial date in a hearing that happened last month. He also filed a motion to allow the state’s expert to meet with the minor children ahead of the trial to determine whether they are psychologically competent to stand as witnesses.