A West Virginia mother denied forcing two of their adopted children to stay in a shed despite police finding them there behind a locked door.

Jeanne Kay Whitefeather testified Tuesday in the second week of the trial against her and her husband, Donald Ray Lantz. The pair allegedly mistreated four of the five children, all of whom are black. Whitefeather and Lantz, who are white, each face several felony counts, including forced labor, civil rights violations, human trafficking and gross child neglect.

Whitefeather and Lantz were arrested in October 2023 when neighbors reported that they observed Lantz locking two teenagers — a girl and a boy — in the shed and leaving the property in Sissonville, West Virginia.

Whitefeather claimed the shed was a “teenager hangout.”

Donald Lantz and Jeanne Whitefeather are on trial for child neglect after children were found locked in a shed. (West Virginia Regional Jail & Correctional Facility Authority)

The pair adopted the five siblings while living in Minnesota. They then moved to a farm in Washington state in 2018 before moving to West Virginia in 2023, at which time the children ranged in age from five to 16.

The oldest boy is receiving full-time care in a psychiatric facility.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.