The Hart Family Case - This IS One Of The Most HORRIBLE True Crime Stories

One quiet morning in March 2018, a car was found at the bottom of a cliff in Mesino County, California. The wreckage and the body scattered nearby hinted at a terrible accident, but as investigators dug deeper, they realized this wasn't just a tragic crash; there was a much darker story behind it. What drove this family to the edge, and how had no one noticed the warning signs before it was too late?

Jennifer Jean Hart, known as Jen, was born on June 4th, 1979, in South Dakota, USA. While her mother's name remains private, her father, Douglas, worked in the Federal Energy Administration. Jen was the eldest of three children in the family. They lived in Huron, a small town in eastern South Dakota, where Jen's childhood was surrounded by natural beauty and plenty of opportunities for sports, which she embraced passionately, breaking away from typical gender expectations. She chose to play baseball with the boys instead of softball. Jen also had a love for animals and developed musical talents alongside her siblings, often playing the trumpet at Christmas church services.

Despite the seemingly peaceful family life, Jen's parents divorced when she was 12. She and her siblings stayed with their mother while Douglas moved to a different part of town, maintaining regular contact with his children. Jen, who was closer to her father, decided at 14 to move in with him. The arrangement worked for a while, but eventually, Jen's behavior became difficult to manage, leading her father to send her back to live with her mother. Despite her rebellious phase, she graduated from high school in 1997 and surprised everyone by enrolling at Austina University, a conservative Lutheran institution. To further surprise her community, Jen decided to be baptized into the Lutheran Church, despite not being raised in that faith.

Two years later, Jen transferred to Northern State University, where she met Sarah Margaret. Sarah, born on April 8th, 1979, in North Dakota, was the oldest of four children. The two women instantly connected, and before long, they were living together on campus, both pursuing education degrees with Sarah focusing on special education. Though Jen seemed to be moving past her earlier behavioral issues, in January 2000, she was caught shoplifting. She admitted to the police that she wasn't sure why she had done it, hinting at personal struggles but without providing details. Ultimately, she pleaded guilty to petty theft. She continued her studies but eventually dropped out, unlike Sarah, who graduated in 2002. By this time, Jen had distanced herself from her family, including her father. Jen never disclosed her relationship with Sarah to him, and according to her father, their falling out had nothing to do with Jen's sexual orientation.

After Sarah's graduation, the couple moved to Minnesota, buying a two-story house near the mall where they both worked. Around this time, they began to share their relationship openly with friends and family; however, this newfound openness caused some friends to distance themselves. In 2005, Sarah legally took Jen's last name, becoming Sarah Hart, and shortly after, they decided to open their home as foster parents. Their first foster child, a 15-year-old girl, later shared that she had intended to stay until she turned 18 but was asked to leave when Jen and Sarah decided to pursue adoption.

In 2006, they adopted their first three children—Marcus, 8, Hannah, 4, and Abigail, 2—from Colorado County, Texas. Two years later, they expanded their family with three more siblings from Houston—Devonte, 5, Jeremiah, 4, and Sierra, 2. All six children were of African-American descent. Jen took on the role of stay-at-home mom, documenting her life with the children on social media. She shared everyday moments and culturally enriching activities, including teaching them to play musical instruments and even cutting their hair. She showed how the family celebrated the 30th anniversary of "The Goonies," one of her favorite movies, by making matching costumes for everyone. Her online posts also highlighted the children's achievements, such as Marcus's success in a geography competition and Hannah and Jeremiah's recital of the Greek alphabet.

In one particularly heartwarming post, she shared how Jeremiah and Abby taught their youngest sister, Sierra, a kindergarten song. The proud mother frequently shared moments with her followers, including the time when Devonte brought home a sheet full of praise and well wishes from his classmates. Jen's social media accounts were filled with images of the children, many of them holding signs that read, "Love is always beautiful." In those pictures, they often appeared as a perfect family, wearing matching shirts and wide smiles. However, behind closed doors, the reality was quite different from the picture painted online.

In 2008, while living in Minnesota, a police report surfaced in which one of the couple's daughters told officers that her mother Sarah had hit her with a belt. However, when the authorities questioned the mothers, they both claimed that the girl had fallen down the stairs, and the incident was quickly dismissed. The following year, in 2009, Sarah and Jen traveled to Connecticut to get married, as it was one of the few states where same-sex marriage was legal at the time. Every detail of their ceremony was shared on social media.

Despite the picture-perfect life they portrayed, things within the family were far from ideal. On November 15th, 2010, Abigail, who was 6 years old at the time, confided in her teacher that she had bruises on her stomach and back, saying one of her mothers had hit her. The teacher confirmed the bruises were visible and reported that Abigail had also mentioned other troubling incidents, including being denied food and having her head dunked in cold water as punishment for allegedly stealing a penny. When investigators questioned the mothers, Sarah admitted to hitting Abigail in a fit of rage, while Jen acknowledged that she was aware of Sarah's violent behavior. Following this confession, the authorities inspected the home and interviewed the children, all of whom confirmed they had been physically punished and deprived of food on several occasions. Sarah pleaded guilty to domestic assault and was sentenced to 90 days in jail; however, she didn't serve the sentence as she was granted one year of community service. Despite this, the children remained in the couple's custody.

After the legal case was resolved, Jen and Sarah withdrew their six children from the Minnesota public school system and began homeschooling them. In contrast to Jen's usual openness on social media, this decision was kept completely private. Jen later explained on her profiles that she believed public school was not a safe place for her children, citing discrimination due to their race and their mothers' sexual orientation. She also claimed that Devonte, in particular, had suffered physical attacks, threats, and insults at school. Although she voiced her grievances about public education, Jen never mentioned the homeschooling decision on social media. Instead, she posted a photo of the six children sitting in a forest clearing captioned "Science class in the woods."

During this time, the family faced other challenges. According to court documents, Jen and Sarah made over 30 calls to the police reporting instances of discrimination and aggression due to their sexual orientation. Their neighbor, whom they had accused, later admitted to behaving inappropriately. In 2011, Jen shared moments from her life online, including her attendance at music festivals and her excitement about forming a circle of friends who even organized a party for Devonte. She frequently posted photos of him, often emphasizing how special he was in their household. However, their seemingly strong family facade began to crack when Sarah had to relocate to Portland, Oregon, for work. Jen stayed behind with the children for six months until they sold their house and moved to Portland.

Shortly after their arrival in Portland in April 2013, a local photographer captured an image of Devonte dancing. Jen shared the photo online, praising her son's infectious joy. Around this time, Jen befriended a woman at a charity concert who later described Jen as a kind, sensitive, and compassionate person. However, the woman also noticed that Jen interacted mostly with Devonte and Jeremiah, while the other children seemed distant, often with their heads buried in books. She described Abigail as outgoing, Marcus as shy, and Sierra as full of laughter. Jen confided in her new friend that raising the children was incredibly challenging, and she mentioned that the kids had been removed from school because they were punished more harshly than others. Jen also claimed that her children were born with addiction issues due to their birth mother's drug use, which led to them overeating because they didn't know how to behave.

She explained that the children seemed younger than they were, attributing it to genetics and their difficult early lives. According to Jen, the children would never be able to live independently, work, marry, or have children of their own. She believed they would never lead normal lives. Despite these alarming remarks, no legal documents were found to support Jen's claims about the children's conditions. Outwardly, the family seemed to be loving, though concerns about their well-being began to arise.

On July 19th, 2013, the police filed a report based on concerns about the children's welfare, which was referred to Oregon's Department of Human Services. Details of the report emerged later when a neighbor from the Hart's neighborhood came forward. She accused the couple of abusing their children by withholding food, calling their treatment of the kids emotionally abusive, controlling, and cruel. Investigators uncovered additional testimonies from neighbors who reported that the children were subjected to strict and unusual rules. They were required to raise their hands before speaking, were not allowed to celebrate birthdays, and were forbidden from laughing at the dinner table. It was also clear that the children lived in fear of their adoptive mothers.

Despite these alarming claims, when authorities interviewed the children, they all insisted that they were treated well. It was apparent that the children had been coached by their mothers on what to say, but without concrete evidence, there was no legal action the authorities could take. When questioned by investigators, Jen argued that any accusations against her were rooted in prejudice. She claimed that people were intolerant of a white lesbian couple raising six African-American children. Ultimately, Oregon's Department of Human Services concluded that there wasn't enough evidence to proceed further.

Around the same time, an event occurred that brought one of the children into the international spotlight. Unrelated to the accusations the family faced, in November 2014, a large protest took place in Oregon following the death of Michael Brown, an African-American teenager killed by police in an incident where Brown was unarmed. A grand jury decided not to indict the white police officer responsible, sparking nationwide protests. During one such protest in Oregon, Devonte was photographed with tears streaming down his face as he embraced a white police officer. The image quickly went viral, labeled as the most heartfelt hug in the world, becoming a symbol of social activism.

Soon after, Jen and Sarah decided to move their family to Washington. Jen told those around her that they no longer felt safe in Oregon, citing racial threats and strange noises outside their home. They claimed to have contacted the police several times about these incidents, but police records showed no such calls. What was documented, however, were multiple calls to the police from their new neighbors in Washington, expressing concerns about the welfare of the children.

In November 2017, the first of many alerts was made when 12-year-old Hannah was seen crawling out of a window in the middle of the night and fleeing to a neighbor's house. When Sarah and Jen arrived to retrieve her, Hannah begged the neighbor not to let her go, claiming she was being mistreated. Unfortunately, the neighbor handed Hannah back to her mothers. The next day, Jen attempted to smooth things over with the neighbors, explaining that Hannah was lying. She attributed her erratic behavior to her biological parents, saying Hannah's birth mother was bipolar and her father had been addicted to drugs.

But this incident was not the last to bring attention to the family. In March 2018, Washington's Department of Social and Health Services launched an investigation into the family after receiving reports of potential neglect and abuse. The complaints came from another set of concerned neighbors who had clear evidence that the children were not being adequately fed. This couple later spoke to the media, revealing that Devonte frequently came to their house asking for food, sometimes several times a day. He confided in them that his mothers were withholding food as punishment. The couple also expressed their alarm at how thin and small the children appeared. One of their daughters was missing two front teeth, and when they asked Jen and Sarah about it, they claimed that the girl simply didn't want her teeth replaced.

This explanation did little to convince the neighbors. On top of these disturbing accounts, there was yet another failed escape attempt by one of the girls. Covered in bruises, she showed up at the couple's door late one night, having walked through thorny bushes trying to flee her home. She pleaded for help, saying her mothers were mistreating her and begging not to be sent back. Unfortunately, the gravity of the situation wasn't fully realized by the couple that night when they saw Jen and Sarah searching for the girl with flashlights.

They returned her to her mothers. According to reports, Washington's Child Protective Services claimed they had no previous records of concerns about the family, either in Washington or in any other state. Despite earlier allegations elsewhere in the US, it seemed that time and time again, the system failed the children. By the time authorities finally resolved the bureaucratic issues and arrived at the Hart family's home, it was too late; Jen and Sarah had already left, taking the children with them.

What follows is a reconstruction of events based on the findings of the authorities. In the days leading up to the tragedy, Social Services attempted to contact Jen and Sarah on three separate occasions without success. It was later revealed that on March 24th, 2018, Jen, Sarah, and their six children left Oregon and began traveling south on the highway, eventually reaching North Carolina. The next morning, on March 25th, 2018, Jen was spotted at a grocery store purchasing food. The family stayed in the area until later that night when they continued their journey.

Tragedy struck on March 26th, 2018, when the family's SUV was discovered at the base of a cliff in Mesino County, California. According to investigators, Jen was behind the wheel. She had stopped the vehicle at a pullout on the highway before accelerating off the cliff. Both Jen and 39-year-old Sarah were found dead inside the vehicle, while three of their children, Abigail, Jeremiah, and Marcus, were found lifeless outside the SUV. Two weeks later, Sierra's body was discovered on a nearby beach, and in May, part of a foot inside a shoe was found on another beach. DNA testing later confirmed it belonged to Hannah. Devonte's body was never recovered, but authorities concluded that he too had perished, and a judge issued his death certificate on April 3rd, 2019.

Following this horrific incident, a thorough investigation, though tragically late, was conducted, sparking public outrage and accusations of negligence. Investigators discovered that during the road trip, while Jen drove, Sarah, seated in the passenger seat, had conducted several troubling internet searches. These included how to induce drowsiness using over-the-counter medications, how long it takes to die from hypothermia in a car, and one of her final searches, how to find a shelter for their dogs. This was particularly shocking as the couple had left their two dogs at home, showing a compassion they tragically did not extend to their children.

After the murders of their six children, authorities searched the family's last residence. The home appeared clean, orderly, and newly renovated, while Jen and Sarah's personal spaces were fully furnished and decorated. The children's rooms were bare. Investigators noted that the family's luggage was still in the house and none of them had even packed a toothbrush before leaving. The evidence pointed to a premeditated act, and one of the officers involved in the case concluded that Jen and Sarah, feeling cornered by the accusations against them, made the conscious decision to end their lives and tragically to take their children with them.

Psychological evaluations suggested that the couple believed if they couldn't keep the children, no one else should. Toxicology reports revealed that Jen, who had been driving, had consumed the equivalent of five beers, enough to impair her abilities. Witnesses later stated that Jen rarely drank, fueling speculation that she may have consumed alcohol to muster the courage to carry out the grim plan. Additionally, traces of a sedative were found in the system of Sarah and two of the children.

This case shocked society, especially those who had followed the family's seemingly happy life on social media for nearly a decade. Jen had shared photos of the children posing next to displays of food—vegetarian burgers, fresh vegetables, berries, and chocolate cream pies. These images starkly contrasted with the allegations that Jen and Sarah routinely deprived the children of food. The disconnect between their social media persona and the reality behind closed doors was a haunting element of the case. Moreover, Jen and Sarah's repeated claims that their children were in their home to be safe clashed harshly with the testimony of the children themselves and their ultimate fate.

While Jen and Sarah can no longer be questioned or held accountable for what happened on that California cliff, the investigation has been officially closed. Their deaths were ruled as suicides, and the deaths of their six children were classified as homicides. Beyond the horrifying actions of Jen and Sarah, this case has drawn intense criticism of the system that was meant to protect the children. Time and time again, the system failed them; authorities in five states had been involved in the children's adoptions and the abuse allegations, but none had managed to prevent this tragic ending. This has sparked widespread debate in the media and among the public about the need for better federal oversight of child abuse cases.

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