Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Adoptive Parents Sentenced on Horrific "Slave Labor" Abuse | Crime Alert Recap Saturday 03.22.25

Episode Date: March 22, 2025

Breaking crime news as it happens throughout the day! Follow "Crime Alert Hourly Update" now on your favorite podcast app: https://link.chtbl.com/Crime_Alert Our lead story this weekend:  White parents, who adopted five black children, sentenced to years in prison for horrific  "slave labor" abuse. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crime Alert, hourly update, breaking crime news now. Crime Alert, I'm Jackie Howard. What these children were going through is frankly horrifying and despicable. There's no other way to describe it. Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Deborah Rusnick describes to KGNS-TV the treatment of three of five adopted black children aged 5 to 16 by their adoptive white parents, forced to work during hard labor. The oldest girl and her teenage brother were locked in a shed when they were rescued.

Now, those parents, Jean Kay Whitefeather, 63, and Donald Lance, 65, will spend years locked up themselves in prison. Whitefeather was sentenced to 215 years. Her husband received 160 years. This case began when law enforcement followed up on a call for a welfare check. Kanawha County Sheriff's deputies went to the Sissomville home after a neighbor reported seeing Lance lock a girl and her teenage brother in a shed and leave. Deputy H.K. Burdette called out to those in the shed. And one of them replied, ma'am, I'm unable to open the

door from the inside. A crowbar had to be used to get them out. Later, the deputy testified in court about opening the door. I was repulsed, for the lack of a better term. As soon as the door was opened, the heat from inside hit us. The smell was, it made my eyes water. Conditions inside the shed were unimaginable. There was a table and one chair, no running water, no circulating air, no beds. The toilet for the children looked like a hospital pan or like a camping toilet. The children said they slept on the concrete floor and had been locked in for at least 12 hours before they were found. An indictment alleged the children were forced labor because of their race. The parents were

charged with human trafficking, child neglect, forced labor and other crimes. Coming up after this, some of our top stories this week. I'm Jennifer Gould. Milwaukee's historic Concordia neighborhood is buzzing over the arrest of a real estate broker accused of turning his home into a center of human trafficking, enslavement and sexual assault. Here's the court commissioner addressing the defendant. Given that there are potential penalties in excess of 100 years coupled with what is alleged in this complaint, I do find that more significant cash bail is appropriate. The criminal complaint details harrowing accounts from two women who claim

they were held captive by Austin Chronister and subjected to physical and sexual violence over several years at the so-called House St. Pierre. Documents state Chronister enforced a rigid system of control, compelling the victims to sign contracts outlining strict rules of obedience and sex upon demand. The victims were allegedly required to wear collars as a symbol of their subjugation and assigned slave numbers. Both women reported being branded also with identical tattoos. One victim described a pattern of physical abuse, indicating beatings, including choking and kicking whenever she failed to comply with Chronister's demands or household tasks.

She also alleged that her finances and personal documents, including her birth certificate and Social Security card, were controlled by a third party. A particularly disturbing allegation detailed an incident where Chronister allegedly rendered her unconscious during a non-consensual sexual encounter. She escaped in 2020 after more than three years. The second victim reported a similar experience, including a violent assault in 2023 when she tried to leave the residence. She told police that the 38-year-old beat her unconscious and then sexually assaulted her. The complaint also alleges that Chronister hosted BDSM parties at the house with one victim describing a sex dungeon in the basement.

Kristen St. Pierre, a Milwaukee defense attorney and co-owner of the property, is named in the complaint as well, but has not been charged. Victims allege she played a role in their captivity by monitoring their activities, controlling their mail, and storing their personal documents. They also claim she required residents to adopt St. Pierre as their surname and that she herself wore a collar. Milwaukee Police Department officers executed a search warrant at the residents, seizing evidence including contracts and items related to the alleged BDSM activities. Chronister was arrested and remains in custody at the Milwaukee County Jail. He faces charges of human trafficking, false imprisonment, and two counts of second-degree

sexual assault with domestic abuse assessments. If convicted on all charges, he would face a maximum sentence of 111 years in prison. I'm Drew Nelson. An 11-year-old boy is found stabbed to death at a California motel, and his mother is arrested after admitting to the crime. We're not quite sure what mom's reason was to, you know, stab and kill her son. You know, fortunately, you know, she's getting the medical treatment that she needs. Santa Ana Police Spokesperson Natalie Garcia says on Wednesday morning, police responded to a 911 call at a La Quinta Inn. The caller, who is the mother in this case, told police that she had killed her son. Officers arrived around 9.30 a.m. and immediately took her

into custody. Inside the room, police found the boy lying dead on a bed. He had several stab wounds. Investigators located a knife at the scene that they believe was the murder weapon. The mother, identified as 48-year-old Saritha Ramaraju, was calm and cooperative when police arrived. Ramaraju was taken to a hospital where she was reported to be in stable condition in custody. According to Officer Garcia, Ramaraju is facing charges including murder, child endangerment, torture, and aggravated mayhem. The motive remains unclear. Guests at the hotel reported hearing banging noises and a brief yell earlier that morning. Alyssa Witherell is a witness. After the scream, it kind of got a little quieter. There were still some rustling around, but it did get quieter, so we just thought they went to bed or the kids calmed down.

KABC reports the name of the 11-year-old victim has not been released by authorities. He lived in Irvine with his mother, and the two had been staying on and off at that La Quinta Inn in Santa Ana during the weeks before his death. An impromptu memorial has appeared outside the hotel, including candles, flowers, a little red balloon and a teddy bear placed near a small cross. The investigation is ongoing. Police are seeking additional information and witnesses. I'm Nicole Parton. A grandmother in Georgia was reportedly murdered by an unknown assailant who followed her from a local dollar general to her home, ultimately choking her to death

by applying his full weight on her neck while she lay on the ground. Family members and police have described the crime as, quote, horrific and mind-blowing. The suspect, 21-year-old Hector Rivas, is accused of killing 52-year-old Camelia Williams sometime between 11 p.m. on March 12 and 1 a.m. on March 13 as detailed in an arrest warrant obtained by an Atlanta affiliate of ABC WSB. Authorities in Cobb County allege that Rivas strangled Williams before abandoning her body in a yard near her residence in Marietta where it was discovered the following Thursday morning, leaving her family in disbelief. Camelia's brother, in an interview with WSB, spoke about the devastation of losing his sister.

To accept, it's hard to believe that this is really, truly happening. And I just really don't know how to absorb it right now. According to the victim's brother and other family members, Camelia, a native of Louisiana, contacted a relative the night before her death, expressing concern that a man, believed to be Rivas, was following her. She didn't know him, stated Tony Williams, her brother. The night prior, while at the dollar store,

she informed one of my nieces, a man was telling me, followed me home, she believed. Law enforcement has indicated that the suspect has yet to provide a motive, but has confessed to the crime. He reportedly detailed the incident to investigators, stating he used his knees during the attack after struggling to apply a chokehold. I can't fathom what would drive someone to commit such an act of violence, said Danielle Williams, Camilla's niece, when speaking to local NBC affiliate WXIA. What he did was truly horrific. It's mind-blowing, she said.

Rivas is currently in custody facing charges of felony murder. He has been denied bail and is awaiting the next court appearance. For the latest crime and justice news, follow Crime Alert hourly update on your favorite podcasting app. With this Crime Alert, I'm Nicole Parton. This is an iHeart Podcast.