Jennifer and Sarah Hart with their children (Image: Facebook)
Most people who encountered the Hart family thought they were almost perfect.
Parents Sarah and Jennifer were eager to demonstrate to others how caring and forward-thinking they were, and how they had dedicated their lives to their six adopted children.
Both maintained social media accounts filled with photographs of beaming faces, family holidays and other meticulously arranged moments of happiness.
Friends would frequently comment on their devotion to their kids, and the strength of their family bond.
However, beneath the meticulously crafted image lay a degree of domination and sheer brutality that would culminate in one of the most disturbing killings in contemporary American history.
In the early morning of March 26 2018, the Harts’ SUV plummeted 100ft off a clifftop on the Californian coast, landing upside down on an isolated beach below. Inside the vehicle were Sarah and Jennifer Hart, both 38, and their six adopted children: Markis, 19; Hannah, 16; Jeremiah, 14; Abigail, 14; Ciera, 12; and Devonte, 15.
A search was launched for the family (Image: California Highway Patrol)
Five bodies were retrieved from the wreckage and shoreline. The body of 15-year-old Devonte was never recovered, though he is believed dead, reports the Mirror.
From the outset, investigators examining the case suspected this was no accident, particularly after observing there were no tyre marks on the road.
Information extracted from the vehicle would subsequently reveal it had sped up sharply from a stationary position before hurtling off the cliff edge. A nearby camper told jurors he heard an engine being revved violently moments before the fatal drop.
A subsequent coroner’s inquest confirmed the worst fears. A jury of 14 unanimously ruled the deaths as a murder-suicide, concluding that Jennifer Hart had intentionally driven the car off the cliff, resulting in her own death, her wife’s and those of all six children.
As investigators delved further, the meticulously crafted image of the “perfect parents” rapidly crumbled, unveiling a far more sinister reality.
In the hours and days leading up to the fatal crash, the couple had been researching various methods of mass suicide on the internet. Their searches included queries about the lethality of Benadryl and what it feels like to drown.
The car plunged 100ft off a cliff (Image: California Highway Patrol)
Toxicology reports disclosed that Sarah Hart and several of the children had significant amounts of diphenhydramine, the sedative ingredient in Benadryl, in their systems.
Jennifer Hart, who was at the wheel, was also discovered to be over the legal alcohol limit.
Regrettably, if authorities had been able to intervene earlier, the horrific mass murder might have been avoided.
Just days prior, child protection officials in Washington state, where the family resided, had reopened an ongoing investigation after Devonte knocked on a neighbour’s door asking for food, claiming his parents were withholding meals.
Following this tip-off, caseworkers tried to contact the family three days before the crash, and again on the very day they perished.
This wasn’t the first occasion concerns had been flagged. Throughout the years, teachers, neighbours and family acquaintances had all reported similar issues which revealed a troubling pattern – harsh punishments, withholding of food, physical mistreatment and children who seemed frightened and isolated.
In 2010, Sarah Hart pleaded guilty to assaulting one of the children and was convicted of a misdemeanour. However, despite these numerous warning signs across several states, the family stayed intact.
On social media, Jennifer Hart worked tirelessly to manage the public perception through Facebook updates and photographs, presenting the family as happy, socially conscious and affectionate.
One of the children, Devonte, even gained brief international recognition after being photographed embracing a police officer during a 2014 demonstration.
Investigators subsequently determined the couple believed authorities were on the verge of removing the children from their custody.
According to evidence presented at the inquest, the decision to murder the family stemmed from the conviction that if they couldn’t retain the children, nobody else would be permitted to have them.
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