A car was involved in an accident. Author; Dominika.

10 Horrifying Things To Know About The Hart Family Murders


 

On 26th March 2018, citizens of Mendocino County, California, the United States were shocked by the Hart Family Murders. The Hart family murders was an incident of murder-suicide which involved Jennifer Hart and her wife, Sarah Hart. Jennifer Hart and Sarah Hart murdered their six adopted children.

The six children included 12-year-old Ciera, 14-year-old Abigail, 14-year-old Jeremiah, 15-year-old Devonte, 16-year-old Hannah, and 19-year-old Markis. Jennifer Hart drove their family鈥檚 sport utility vehicle off a cliff killing everyone on board. Jennifer and Sarah had distanced themselves from their families due to their sexual orientation even though they were accepted.

Before the murders, there were claims that the Harts were mistreating the adopted children with Jennifer being the one disciplining them. The children were pulled out of public school for a year after the information about child abuse became widespread. Sarah Hart had been arrested and served one year of community service after pleading guilty to child abuse.

Since adopting the six children who were African-American, they complained of being abused racially, abused and went through bad things with their family. The accident involving the Hart family was determined to be a murder-suicide with the case being closed in 2019.

Here are the 10 Horrifying Things To Know About The Hart Family Murders:

1. Jennifer and Sarah Hart Abandoned One Child Before Adopting 6 Others

A child peeping from a building. Author; Cottonbro.

Jennifer and Sarah had come out and revealed their sexual orientation which was accepted by their families. They were parents to six adopted children, but before adopting them, they had done the unexpected to another child.

Jennifer Hart and Sarah Hart were initially foster parents to a 15-year-old girl. However, they decided to abandon her before they adopted six other children. The Harts had scheduled an appointment with a therapist a week before their other children arrived.

They dropped the 15-year-old girl off at the therapist who broke the bad news to her. She was informed that her foster parents were not coming back for her. Abigail, Hannah Jean, and Markis Hart arrived a week later and followed by Ciera Maija, Devonte Jordan, and Jeremiah Hart.

2. Devonte Hart Came to the Spotlight for Crying and Embracing a Police Officer

Jennifer Hart was always active on social media where she projected her family as being happy. She also spoke about race, politics, and trips their family went on which masked several problems their family went through. However, this was not what her adopted children went through as one incident put them in the spotlight.

During a 2014 protest in Portland, Oregon, 12-year-old Devonte came to the national spotlight after being caught on camera crying and hugging a police officer. This image became famous and known as the 鈥榟ug felt round the world鈥.

Read 10 Things you didn鈥檛 know about the Atlanta Child Murders.

3. The Adopted were Pulled Out of Public School due to the Discovery of Injuries Hannah had

Girl with an injured hand. Author; Lil Artsy.

The Harts family moved to Minnesota in 2008 where the six adopted children were enrolled in a public school. At this point, a teacher made a horrific observation of one of the children.

The teacher discovered that Hannah had bruises on her left arm and she revealed that she had been hit with a belt by Jennifer. After this incident, the six children were pulled out of the public school system for one full year.

4. Abigail Stated that she Felt Threatened by the Harts due to Harassment

After the first incident involving Hannah, Abigail also came out and aired her concerns about the Harts in 2010. Abigail revealed that she had 鈥榦wies鈥 on her back and stomach.

She also stated that she felt threatened by the Harts something that was not taken lightly. Abigail revealed that Jennifer and Sarah Hart had beaten her, and held her head in cold water because of a penny they had accused her of stealing.

5. The Harts Children Claimed to have been Deprived of Food

Authorities had to get involved in this case involving the Harts which was getting out of hand. The Harts children came out and reported that they were constantly spanked and deprived of food.

After a year, Hannah came out and told a school nurse that she was left starving for a day. Sarah Hart retaliated by revealing that Hannah was playing the 鈥榝ood card鈥 and recommended water only. This incident led to the six adopted children of the Harts getting home-schooled.

6. Sarah Hart Pleaded Guilt for Assaulting the Children

A person sweeping the road. Author; Osman.

The details from the Harts children raised more concerns from the authorities who had to dig deeper into the issues. Sarah Hart was questioned and took the responsibility for the abuse of their children.

She also pleaded guilty to assaulting their children. Sarah Hart was then sentenced to community service for one year.

7. The Children Never Celebrated Birthdays and were given Harsh Punishments

The Oregon authorities were notified of the abuse allegations the Harts children were going through in Minnesota. Separate interviews were conducted by the authorities with family friends revealing several secrets in the family.

The children were usually forced to raise their hands before speaking, and worst of all, they were not allowed to wish each other a happy birthday. They were not allowed to laugh at the dinner table too.

Another major observation was that the children were not fed well and looked small for their ages. One incident that got the children punished harshly was when Jennifer ordered a pizza which they were given small pieces.

The remaining piece went missing which made the children get punished badly. They were not given breakfast and were made to lie on their bed for 5 hours.

Also, read 10 Things to know about the Watts Family Murders.

8. The Harts were Accused of Being Racist

People holding anti-racist placards. Author; Simone.

The Harts relocated from Oregon to Woodland, Washington. At around 1:30 AM in August 2017 after the Harts relocation, Hannah jumped out of her second-story bedroom window.

She approached the house of their neighbor, the DeKalbs who invited her inside. Hannah pleaded with them not to return her to the Harts.

鈥淒on鈥檛 make me go back! They鈥檙e racists and they abuse us!鈥 Hannah pleaded to the DeKalbs. The Harts brought the children back home with Jennifer giving an expiation that Hannah was lying and was the effect of being a 鈥榙rug baby鈥.

9. Jennifer Drove their Family鈥檚 Vehicle Off a Cliff with Sarah by her Side

The broken windscreen of a car that was involved in an accident. Author; Artyom.

On 26th March 2018, Jennifer and Sarah Hart killed their children after Jennifer drove their GMC Yukon XL vehicle off a 100-foot cliff. At the time of the event, Sarah Hart was seated in the passenger seat next to Jennifer Hart.

The bodies of the 5 children were found alongside the Harts’ bodies, with the body of Devonte not being recovered. This case was concluded to be a murder-suicide after expert analysis used the airbag’s inflation in their investigations. This case was closed by the Mendocino County Sheriff鈥檚 Department in 2019.

10. The Harts were Intoxicated with Various Substances before the Murders

The Hart family murders had to be investigated thoroughly to find out the real cause. Toxicology was done on the bodies of the Harts family and there was a major revelation.

Jennifer鈥檚 blood alcohol content was over the limit showing that she was intoxicated before the accident. Sarah and two other children had diphenhydramine in their systems meaning that they were intoxicated with the substances.

 

The Harts family murders could have been avoided if thorough investigations were made into the abuse claims that were made by the children.

Read 10 Things You Need to Know about the Manson Murders.

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