Case overview
On March 26, 2018, Jennifer and Sarah Hart drove their six adopted children off a cliff on California’s Highway 1 in what authorities later ruled a murder-suicide. All eight family members died, though three of the children’s bodies were not immediately recovered from the ocean below. The crash came days after child protective services opened an investigation into abuse allegations at the family’s Washington home.
The family and the allegations
Jennifer and Sarah Hart adopted six children from Texas foster care between 2006 and 2008: Markis, Hannah, Abigail, Jeremiah, Devonte, and Ciera. The family moved frequently across Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington. By 2018, they were living in Woodland, Washington, in a rural area where neighbors had limited contact with the children.
In March 2018, Devonte Hart began appearing at the neighbors’ door multiple times per week, asking for food. He told them his mothers were withholding food as punishment and that he was being abused. The neighbors contacted Child Protective Services in Washington on March 23, three days before the crash. CPS attempted to visit the Hart home on March 23 and again on March 26, but no one answered the door.
Authorities had been alerted to concerns about the Hart family before. In 2010, while living in Minnesota, Sarah Hart pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic assault after one of the children reported being hit. In 2013, Oregon authorities investigated a report that one of the children had arrived at school with bruises, but the case was closed without removal. Teachers and medical professionals in multiple states documented that the children appeared unusually small for their ages, raising questions about nutritional neglect.
The crash
On March 26, 2018, at approximately 8:00 p.m., Jennifer Hart drove the family’s 2003 GMC Yukon XL off a pullout on Highway 1 near Mendocino County, California. The vehicle went over a cliff and plunged approximately 100 feet before landing on the rocky shore below. The crash site was remote, with no guardrail at the turnout.
Investigators from the California Highway Patrol determined that the vehicle had been traveling south, away from the family’s home in Washington. Data from the vehicle’s software module showed that the car had stopped at the pullout, then accelerated straight off the cliff. There was no evidence of braking or steering before the vehicle left the roadway. Authorities concluded that Jennifer Hart, who was driving, had deliberately driven off the cliff.
The bodies of Jennifer Hart, Sarah Hart, and four of the children—Markis, Jeremiah, Abigail, and Ciera—were recovered at the scene or shortly after. Devonte and Hannah were missing. Searches of the ocean and coastline continued over the following weeks and months. Hannah’s remains were found in the ocean near the crash site in April 2018. Devonte’s body was never recovered, though he was legally declared deceased.
Toxicology and physical evidence
Toxicology results showed that Jennifer Hart had a blood alcohol content of 0.102 percent at the time of the crash, over the legal limit in California. Sarah Hart’s blood alcohol content was 0.08 percent, at the legal limit. Diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl, was found in the systems of both women and all of the children. The levels in the children were high enough to suggest they had been intentionally sedated before the crash.
The children’s bodies showed signs of chronic physical trauma and neglect. Several of the children had fractures in various stages of healing. Medical examiners noted that the children were significantly underweight and underdeveloped for their ages. Markis, the oldest at 19, weighed 84 pounds. Hannah, who was 16, weighed 52 pounds. Investigators concluded that the children had been systematically deprived of food.
The investigation and findings
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, and multiple other agencies investigated the crash. Investigators reviewed cell phone records, financial transactions, and witness statements. They found that Jennifer Hart had searched online for information about child abuse investigations, Washington state’s CPS procedures, and whether states share CPS records. These searches were conducted in the days immediately before the family left Washington.
Authorities determined that the Hart family had left their home in Washington on March 23 or 24, shortly after the first CPS visit. Credit card records showed purchases in Oregon and California as the family traveled south. The family’s final known purchase was at a Safeway in Fort Bragg, California, on March 25, one day before the crash.
Friends and social media followers described the Harts as politically progressive and deeply involved in social justice activism. Devonte Hart had become widely known after a photograph of him hugging a police officer at a 2014 protest in Portland went viral. The family attended rallies, posted frequently about activism, and portrayed themselves as a close and loving unit. Former friends and acquaintances later reported that the public image appeared curated and that the children seemed scripted in their interactions.
In April 2019, a California jury inquest ruled that Jennifer Hart had murdered her wife and six children before killing herself. The inquest found that the crash was intentional and that Jennifer Hart was responsible for the deaths. The investigation concluded that Jennifer Hart acted to avoid a child welfare investigation that would have likely resulted in the removal of the children from the home.
Missed interventions
The case prompted questions about how child welfare systems in multiple states failed to protect the Hart children despite repeated reports of abuse and neglect. Authorities in Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington had all received complaints or conducted investigations, but the children remained in the home. Critics pointed to the family’s frequent relocations across state lines as a factor that may have allowed patterns of abuse to go unaddressed.
In Minnesota, Sarah Hart was convicted of domestic assault in 2010 after a child reported being struck, but the family was allowed to leave the state with all six children. In Oregon, an investigation was opened after a teacher reported that Hannah had shown up at school with bruises and missing teeth, stating that her mothers had denied her food. That investigation was closed without removing the children. Washington CPS began an investigation days before the crash but did not have time to intervene.
Advocates for child welfare reform used the Hart case to highlight gaps in information sharing between states and the difficulty of tracking families who move frequently. The case also raised concerns about implicit bias in child welfare investigations, as some observers noted that the Harts, as white, educated women who presented as socially conscious, may have been given more benefit of the doubt than other families under similar scrutiny.
Where to look next
- Documentary: “Broken Harts” (Investigation Discovery)
- Book: “We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America” by Roxanna Asgarian
- Podcast: “Broken Harts” (“Broken Harts”, Audiochuck)
