The Hart family murders was a

murder–suicide A murder–suicide is an act where an individual intentionally kills one or more people before killing themselves. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms: * Suicide after or during murder inflicted on others ** Suicide af ...

which took place on March 26, 2018, in

Mendocino County Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza") is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United S ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States. Jennifer Hart (38) and her wife, Sarah Hart (38), killed themselves and their six

adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

children: Ciera (12), Abigail (14), Jeremiah (14), Devonte (15), Hannah (16), and Markis (19). Jennifer intentionally drove their

sports utility vehicle A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...

off a cliff, killing everyone in the family. Jennifer was in the driver's seat, and Sarah was in the front passenger seat.

Background

Jennifer Jean Hart (June 4, 1979 – March 26, 2018) and Sarah Margaret Hart (April 8, 1979 – March 26, 2018, ) were both from

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

; Jennifer originated from

Huron Huron may refer to: Native American ethnography * Huron people, who have been called Wyandotte, Wyandot, Wendat and Quendat * Huron language, an Iroquoian language * Huron-Wendat Nation, or Huron-Wendat First Nation, or Nation Huronne-Wendat * N ...

, Sarah from Big Stone City, although some sources claim Ortonville,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

adjacent to Big Stone City as Sarah's hometown. Both women were the eldest children of their families. Jennifer had two siblings and Sarah had three siblings. �
View at

Yahoo! Finance Yahoo Finance is a media property that is part of the Yahoo network. It provides financial news, data and commentary including stock quotes, press releases, financial reports, and original content. It also offers online tools for personal fin ...

According to her father, Jennifer was not raised as a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

but sought it out in college. Jennifer attended Huron High School. Sarah attended Ortonville High School in Minnesota. The two women attended and began their relationship at

Northern State University Northern State University (NSU) is a public university in Aberdeen, South Dakota, United States. NSU is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents and offers 45 bachelor's degrees, 53 minors, six associate degrees, 16 pre-professional prog ...

(NSU); Sarah had initially attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

for one semester before transferring to NSU, while Jennifer started at

Augustana University Augustana University is a private Lutheran university in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The university identifies 1860 as the year of its founding, the same as its Rock Island, Illinois, Swedish-heritage sister school, Augustana College. It deri ...

before transferring in 1999. Both women majored in elementary education, with Sarah focusing on

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

. After Sarah graduated in 2002, Jennifer left the university without graduating. In 2005, Sarah asked a local court to have her last name altered to match her partner's. The couple went to

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

to be married in 2009; at the time

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

was not legal in every U.S. state. On

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

, Jennifer stated that the women were initially

closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for LGBTQ people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior. This metaphor is associated and sometime ...

when they lived in South Dakota, and that when they decided to

come out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

they lost friends. They moved to

Alexandria, Minnesota Alexandria is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,335 as of the 2020 census. I-94 passes through Alexandria, along with Minnesota State Highways 27 and 29. It is south of Lake ...

, in 2004, where both women worked at a

Herberger's G. R. Herberger Inc. is a digitally native retailer. It was established in 1927 in the Midwestern United States as a department store. History Herberger's began in Osakis, Minnesota, when G.R. "Bob" Herberger opened his first store in 1927 ...

store. In the new location, they made a choice to be open about their relationship. Jennifer worked miscellaneous jobs until she became a

stay-at-home mom A stay-at-home mother (alternatively, stay-at-home mom or SAHM) is a mother who is the primary caregiver of the children. The male equivalent is the stay-at-home dad. The gender-neutral term is stay-at-home parent. Stay-at-home mom is distinct ...

in 2006, while Sarah became a manager at Herberger's. After a period of living in

West Linn West Linn is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A southern suburb within the Portland metropolitan area, West Linn developed on the site of the former Linn City, which was named after U.S. Senator Lewis F. Linn of Ste. Geneviev ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, the Harts moved to an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

near

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

; Sarah became a manager at a

Kohl's Kohl's Corporation (Kohl's is stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain store, chain. currently has 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Hawaii. The company was founded by Polish immigrant Maxwe ...

in Hazel Dell. The couple were living near Woodland at the time of the murders. The Harts received funds from the state of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, covering their six

children, which accounted for almost 50% of the family's income. Members of Jennifer's and Sarah's families stated that the two women distanced themselves from them, although both families were accepting of their sexual orientation. Jennifer estranged herself from her father after 2001. State government reports stated that the couple cut off contact with their relatives because of criticism about their parenting.

Adoption

Prior to adopting their six children, the Harts were

foster parents Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family member ...

to a 15-year-old girl. A week before their first three children were due to arrive, the Harts dropped the girl off at a scheduled therapist appointment. The therapist then informed the girl that the Harts would not be coming back for her. Abigail (born 2003), Hannah Jean (born 2002), and Markis Hart (born 1998) were adopted by the Harts from

Colorado County, Texas Colorado County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 20,557. Its county seat is Columbus. It is named for the Colorado River of Texas. The county was founded in 1836 and organized the nex ...

; the placement came on March 4, 2006, and they were adopted that September. In June 2008, they adopted three additional children: Ciera Maija (born 2005), Devonte Jordan (born 2002), and Jeremiah Hart (born 2004), originating from

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. After their biological mother, Sherry Davis, lost custody due to substance abuse problems in August 2006, the Davis children were given to their paternal aunt, Priscilla Celestine, under the condition that they have no contact with their biological mother. However, after she was required to work another shift, Celestine allowed Davis to babysit the children, which a case worker observed. As a result, the children were removed from Celestine's care and a court prevented Celestine from obtaining permanent custody. The Davis children were put into foster care; their older brother, Dontay, was not adopted by the Harts due to behavioral issues. Ciera was sometimes referred to as "Sierra". Prior to the murders, 12-year-old Devonte came into the national spotlight when he was photographed crying while embracing a police officer during a 2014 protest in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

resulting from the

Ferguson unrest The Ferguson unrest (sometimes called the Ferguson uprising, Ferguson protests, or the Ferguson riots) was a series of protests and riots which began in Ferguson, Missouri on August 10, 2014, the day after the fatal Killing of Michael Brown, ...

. The image became known as the "hug felt 'round the world." Jennifer was very active on

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

and used Facebook to project an image of a loving, happy family while also sharing her thoughts on race, politics, and trips the family went on. This helped mask some of the problems within the family. One allegation of

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

from 2013 touched upon Jennifer's use of Facebook, saying that "the kids pose and are made to look like one big happy family, but after the photo event, they go back to looking lifeless."

Abuse

Minnesota

In 2008, while the family was living in Minnesota, a teacher observed bruises on Hannah's left arm and was told she had been hit by Jennifer with a belt. Within months, all six children had been pulled out of the public school system for a year. In 2010, Abigail said that she had "owies" on her back and stomach and stated that she felt threatened by the Harts, who had beaten her and held her head in cold water over a penny they assumed had been stolen. When authorities became involved, all children claimed that they had been spanked constantly and deprived of food. Sarah took responsibility for the abuse, pled guilty to

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

and was sentenced to

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community contributing to a noble cause. In many cases, people doing community service are compensated in other ways, such as gettin ...

for a year. One year later, Hannah reportedly told a school nurse that she had not eaten all day; Sarah claimed that Hannah was merely "playing the food card" and recommended that she just be given water. Soon afterward, all six children were taken out of public schools and were

homeschool Homeschooling or home schooling (American English), also known as home education or elective home education (EHE) (British English), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted ...

ed from then on.

Oregon

In 2013, Oregon authorities were notified of the abuse allegations in Minnesota. Their investigation included separate interviews of everyone in the family, as well as interviews of people who knew the family. Two family friends stated that the children were forced to raise their hands before speaking, could not wish each other a happy birthday, and could not laugh at the dinner table. There were other reports that the children were poorly fed and looked small for their ages. One family friend reported that Jennifer had ordered a pizza for the children, but each was only allowed to have a small slice. When Jennifer discovered that the pizza was gone, she punished the children by not feeding them breakfast and forcing them to lie on their bed for five hours. Friends also stated that the children acted "scared to death of Jen" and likened them to "trained robots". However, the interviews of the children themselves revealed no new incidents of abuse, nor did they mention anything that had happened in Minnesota. When Jennifer herself was interviewed, she claimed that any family problems were the results of others not being tolerant to two lesbian mothers with six African-American children. In the end, the investigation could not conclude whether the Harts were guilty of anything or whether there was a "safety threat".

Washington

In August 2017, after the Harts had since moved to the Woodland, Washington area, Hannah jumped out of her second-story bedroom window at around 1:30 a.m. and approached the residence of her next-door neighbors, the DeKalbs. Hannah reportedly pleaded, "Don't make me go back! They're racists and they abuse us!" Soon afterwards, the Harts found Hannah and took her back home. The following day, Jennifer attempted to explain the incident by claiming that Hannah was lying, that the children occasionally acted out because they were "drug babies", and that Hannah's biological mother was bipolar. After this incident, the DeKalb family came into contact with Devonte, who constantly begged for food and asked the DeKalbs not to tell Jennifer about these requests. In later conversations with Devonte, he told them that his adoptive mothers withheld food as punishment and that the children were sometimes abused. This, combined with the earlier incident with Hannah, made the DeKalbs report the Harts to both the police and to the

Washington State Department of Social and Health Services The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) is Washington (state), Washington's social services department. The agency has its headquarters in Office Building Two (OB-2) in Olympia, Washington, Olympia, the state capital. Annually, 2.2 m ...

(DSHS). Case workers from DSHS tried to reach the Harts twice: once on March 23, 2018—three days before the murders—and once on the day of the murders.

Murders

On March 26, 2018, Jennifer and Sarah Hart murdered all six of the children when Jennifer drove their vehicle, a

GMC Yukon XL GMC may refer to: Government India * Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, in Gujarat * Gobichettipalayam Municipal Corporation, in Tamil Nadu * Guntur Municipal Corporation, in Andhra Pradesh * Guwahati Municipal Corporation, in Assam * Gwalior Mu ...

, over a cliff on

California State Route 1 State Route 1 (SR 1) is a major north–south state highway that runs along most of the West Coast of the United States, Pacific coastline of the U.S. state of California. At , it is the longest state route in California, and the Lis ...

, in

, near Westport. The bodies of five of the children (Hannah, Markis, Jeremiah, Abigail, and Ciera) were found in or near the vehicle, which had landed upside down on a beach below the cliff. The body of Devonte has not been found . A superior court judge ruled in 2019 that Devonte was in the vehicle at the time of the crash, and a

death certificate A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, a ...

was signed on of that year. Expert analysis of the SUV's internal air bag-deploying computer determined that the Yukon had been intentionally driven off the edge of the cliff from a standing stop, accelerating to in 3 seconds with the throttle at 100%. A fourteen-member

coroner's jury A coroner's jury is a body convened to assist a coroner in an inquest, that is, in determining the identity of a deceased person and the cause of death. The laws on its role and function vary by jurisdiction. United Kingdom In England and Wa ...

unanimously ruled the case a

. The

inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a cor ...

was called to determine cause of death, but not any responsibility in the civil or criminal fields. The

California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is the principal state police agency for the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary jurisdiction, including patrol and Criminal investigation, investigations, over all California Controlled-access highw ...

stated that criminal prosecution was not possible due to the deaths of any responsible parties. Toxicology results showed that Jennifer's

blood alcohol content Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes. BAC is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume of blood. In US and many i ...

was over the legal limit at the time of the crash, and that both Sarah and two of the children had

diphenhydramine Diphenhydramine, sold under the brand name Benadryl among others, is an antihistamine and sedative. Although generally considered sedating, diphenhydramine can cause paradoxical central nervous system stimulation in some individuals, particula ...

in their systems. Sarah had made

Google search Google Search (also known simply as Google or Google.com) is a search engine operated by Google. It allows users to search for information on the World Wide Web, Web by entering keywords or phrases. Google Search uses algorithms to analyze an ...

es before the crash, inquiring about the lethality of

Benadryl Benadryl is a brand of various antihistamine medications used to stop allergy, allergies, whose content varies in different countries, but which includes some combination of diphenhydramine, acrivastine, or cetirizine. It is sold by Kenvue and ...

and the nature of death by drowning. Her searches also included "

No-kill shelter A no-kill shelter is an animal shelter that does not kill healthy or treatable animals based on time limits or capacity, reserving euthanasia for terminally ill animals, animals suffering poor quality of life, or those considered dangerous to pu ...

s for dogs"; the family's two dogs were found inside the Hart family home. The Mendocino County Sheriff's Department officially closed the case and released declassified records in 2019. According to an incident report following the murders, it was reported that Sarah told a co-worker "

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

she wish dsomeone told her it was okay not to have a big family. Then she and Jennifer would not have adopted the children."

In popular culture

An episode of the television series ''

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

'' was inspired by the Hart case. The episode, called "

Three Slaps "Three Slaps" is the first episode of the Atlanta season 3, third season of the American comedy-drama television series ''Atlanta (TV series), Atlanta''. It is the 22nd overall episode of the series and was written by executive producer Stephen ...

", had Loquareeous, a character inspired by Devonte. In the 2024 novella collection ''American Spirits'', author

Russell Banks Russell Earl Banks (March 28, 1940 – January 8, 2023) was an American writer of fiction and poetry. His novels are known for "detailed accounts of domestic strife and the daily struggles of ordinary often-marginalized characters". He drew from ...

included the story "Homeschooling", which fictionalizes the Hart family murders.

References

External links

*
Hart Family
Index of articles from ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

''
Broken Harts podcast
and
Broken Harts: Behind the Episodes
' (includes transcripts) – '' Glamour''
MEDIA ADVISORY/NEWS RELEASE
Mendocino County Sheriff's Office (MCSO). April 7, 2018. *
Minnesota child protective services (CPS) report
posted by

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

Priscilla Celestine v. Department of Family and Protective Services—Appeal from 313th District Court of Harris County
!--Related to the aunt being unable to take custody of the three children, something explored by some articles exploring the Hart crash--> {{Suicide navbox, state=collapsed 2018 in California 2018 controversies in the United States 2018 deaths 2018 murders in the United States 2018 road incidents Mass murder in the United States in the 2010s Child abuse in the United States Child abuse resulting in death Child murder in California Criminal couples Female criminal duos Female mass murderers Female murder–suicide perpetrators Female murderers of children Mass murderer duos Filicides in California March 2018 crimes in the United States Married couples Mass murder in 2018 Mass murder in California 2010s road incidents in North America Murder–suicides in California Road incidents in the United States Same-sex couples California State Route 1 Mendocino County, California Familicides in the United States