Family SUV plunges off cliff in CA - family from WA

[Howl]

3 hours ago, Terrie said:

This is one of the most complete collections of information I've seen.

Yes, it's remarkably thorough, including the amount of Benadryl found in the blood during autopsy. 

Spoiler

Jen hadn't taken any diphenhydramine, but she was legally drunk at the time of her death. She rarely drank alcohol, but before her death she consumed the equivalent of five alcoholic drinks. Sarah had the equivalent of 42 capsules of diphenhydramine in her blood at the time of her death.

The three children whose bodies were recovered immediately, whose blood could be tested, also had high levels of diphenhydramine in their blood, although none of them had enough to be fatal. Markis had the most, the equivalent of 19 capsules. The recommended dose listed on the bottle is one or two capsules. According to people who knew the Hart family, Sarah and Jen often gave the children Benadryl on long car rides so they would sleep through them.

No one was wearing seat belts at the time of car went off the cliff. 

And it's infuriating how many times these women came to the attention of CPS for abuse and lied their way out of it.  

[hoipolloi]

On 4/25/2019 at 9:20 AM, Terrie said:

This is one of the most complete collections of information I've seen. http://charleyproject.org/case/devonte-jordan-hart. 

Absolutely horrifying. The Harts, especially Jennifer, were fucking monsters. Worse yet, that timeline probably only recounts a fraction of what those kids went through all those years with the Harts. No one will ever know how terrible it really was.

It's enough to make me almost wish there were a hell.

[Howl]

On 4/26/2019 at 8:20 PM, hoipolloi said:

No one will ever know how terrible it really was.

We know one aspect of the ongoing horror because ALL of those kids were stunted physically -- they were all consistently undersized for their ages, likely because of chronic food deprivation.  

[Ozlsn]

10 hours ago, Howl said:

We know one aspect of the ongoing horror because ALL of those kids were stunted physically -- they were all consistently undersized for their ages, likely because of chronic food deprivation.  

This is one thing that I really don't understand about this whole thing - those kids were not just low on the charts but in some cases not even on the charts. Why were there no follow up plans with dieticians? With paediatricians? How the hell did that not raise concerns for everyone? Especially when it was all 6 kids, from two different sibling groups and so genetics could be pretty conclusively ruled out. That should have been a major flag, and it was sort of glossed over. 

[Dreadcrumbs]

5 hours ago, Ozlsn said:

This is one thing that I really don't understand about this whole thing - those kids were not just low on the charts but in some cases not even on the charts. Why were there no follow up plans with dieticians? With paediatricians? How the hell did that not raise concerns for everyone? Especially when it was all 6 kids, from two different sibling groups and so genetics could be pretty conclusively ruled out. That should have been a major flag, and it was sort of glossed over. 

I think institutionalized racism and apathy played a huge role in what happened to the Hart kids here.

Oh, and probably some people probably being too chickenshit to ask questions about the black kids with two moms (Broken Harts touched on this and it just made this all the more gutwrenching to me).

Edited April 29, 2019 by Dreadcrumbs
Riffles

[Cleopatra7]

52 minutes ago, Dreadcrumbs said:

I think institutionalized racism and apathy played a huge role in what happened to the Hart kids here.

Oh, and probably some people probably being too chickenshit to ask questions about the black kids with two moms (Broken Harts touched on this and it just made this all the more gutwrenching to me).

Listening to Broken Harts, it was obvious to me that there are a lot of people who think that children of color are automatically better off with white guardians, even if said guardians are sketchy and abusive. In the case of Native American children, there has been and still is a push to get them into foster care and adopted by whites as a “civilizing mission.” We’ve seen how fundies take this attitude with adopted children from Africa and it seems like the Harts has a secular version of it as well (ie claiming that the kids were “crack babies” or developmentally delayed and they were saving them from themselves). 

[Terrie]

Yep. Even on this thread, someone got offended when I pointed out this was an issue of society believing that the best option for kids is a middle-class white family. And, yeah, it looks tlike the Harts played the "they're broken kids from the foster care system" card, in addition to moving around so people didn't get more than a snapshot of the issues. 

[Howl]

I wonder if Jennifer also had the type of personality that's extremely charming and believable (narcissistic manipulator) while simultaneously conveying "don't fuck with me or I'll make your life a living hell."  There was profound pathology there related to absolute control.  And a hundred times yes to the perception of the martyr white savior of black children working in her favor. 

Maybe there were recommended followups, and they didn't do it because they'd been hiding abuse.  Along with food deprivation, It's also possible that the stunted growth was partially related to unrelenting emotional abuse. 

With the kids getting older and perhaps ready to spill the beans -- and financial problems,  never forget that Jennifer and Sarah's response to an anticipated CPS visit (and a potential loss of control) was familial mass murder and suicide.  Regardless of how we judge Sarah, she went along with the plan. 

I'm hoping with all my heart that the children did not know what was getting ready to happen.  Again, the drugging with Benadryl was a form of control that did not allow the children to escape.  GRRRRR, getting worked up again.  

Best head to the gym!

 

Edited April 29, 2019 by Howl

[hoipolloi]

2 hours ago, Howl said:

Jennifer and Sarah's response to an anticipated CPS visit (and a potential loss of control) was familial mass murder and suicide.  Regardless of how we judge Sarah, she went along with the plan. 

Yes, she did. Sarah did Jennifer's bidding right to the end.

[turquoise]

The Washington Post has a heartbreaking article about the older brother of Devonte, Jeremiah, and Ciera, three of the children murdered by the Harts. The Harts didn't want to adopt him because he was having behavioral problems. So instead he was separated from his siblings and got shuffled around the foster care system, which of course made his problems worse. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/his-siblings-were-killed-by-their-adoptive-mother-he-was-left-in-foster-care-to-suffer-a-more-common-fate/2019/12/11/f54f793a-d654-11e9-9610-fb56c5522e1c_story.html