Update: Jennifer Hart drove her family to their death

Here is an update on the Hart family who died when their SUV lurched off of a cliff last March.

A coroner’s jury ruled that Jennifer and Sarah Hart intentionally drove off the cliff in northern California to kill themselves and their 6 adopted children.

Investigators testified that Jennifer was the driver who deliberately stepped on the gas after drinking five beers while Sarah and the children had high amounts of Bendaryl in their bodies.

Investigators also said that Sarah had performed internet searches about suicide, Bendaryl dosages and whether drowning was painful. 

They said that, before they died, the neighbors in Washington, where they lived, reported the Harts to the state’s child welfare agency for starving their children as punishment. 

The next day, the Child Protective Services (CPS) visited the house, but the family already left.

Investigators believe that Jennifer and Sarah decided that they would rather kill their children than allow them to be taken away by CPS.

A sheriff and coroner said there were reports of child abuse when the family lived in Minnesota and other states, but that there is no federal oversight. He said there is systemic failures and lawmakers should learn from this. 

Five out of the six children’s bodies or body parts have been found and identified, but the sixth child, Devonte, is missing and presumed dead. 

https://www.nytimes.com/.../27/us/hart-family-crash.html...

https://apnews.com/fba9cb46d5654a6fa56fa2e349994fa4

https://www.nytimes.com/.../hart-family-murder-suicide.html