—
This is an extremely difficult article to write since it involves a sensitive subject and one that, in my opinion, should concern everyone who reads it. It may also be triggering for some since it describes child abuse and death. I had intended to pen this since I initially heard about the case, first on Facebook and then on the news. It involves the Hart family, whose parents, Sarah and Jen adopted two sets of three siblings. Their lives came to an end on March 22, 2018, as Jen plummeted the family SUV over a cliff in California into the ocean. What followed has been a nearly daily series of articles that peeled back the shiny façade and revealed allegations of horrendous abuse, some validated by Child Protective Services, some witnessed by others, some reported and others only now coming to light.
When I first became aware of it, my Social Worker Spidey Sense began to twitch. The original news stories, reported in venues throughout the world, spoke of the possibility that it might have been an accident that ended their lives, but the way in which the trajectory of the motor vehicle was described and in light of the fact that CPS had visited the house twice in the days prior and no one was home, had me believing that this was intentional. The parents’ bodies and three of the six children’s bodies were accounted for, but it seems unlikely that the other three were left behind since someone could have leaked that they were still alive.
My thought—and this is pure conjuncture on my part—was that they were washed out to sea. Here is how I imagined the scenario played out. The moms gathered the kids into the car and told them they were taking a road trip to California from where they were living at the time in Washington State. Since that was a common occurrence for them, the children probably thought nothing of it, not realizing that it would be the last one they would take. The mothers didn’t want to face the charges that would be levied against them if what neighbors reported, including starving the children, since one of them came over and asked for food for himself and his siblings, and assaulting another of the children who visited them in the middle of the night were found to be true. They also didn’t want to leave any of them behind to either tell the tale or struggle without their siblings and the parents on whom they had come to depend, even if there was abuse in the mix.
The coroner’s report found that Jen’s BAC was over the legal limit and that Sarah and the children had traces of Benadryl in their systems. No one was wearing seatbelts.
Each subsequent article I have read, and admittedly, I am almost obsessed with this case, has become even more horrific, Stories have unfolded about harsh punishments levied against children who were already survivors of abuse and deprivation. Their bodies were smaller and less developed than could be expected for those their ages. The public image of smiling children gave way to withdrawal and silence according to some news reports. My thought is that Stockholm Syndrome in which the victim aligns with the abuser, held sway.
This is the toughest part and my protective mama bear, roaring with claws bared comes into play…. all this was happening under the noses of an entire world who only saw the image that the mothers wanted to present, that of a socially conscious, free-spirited, happy family. I was first introduced to them (not personally, since we had not met, but I had reached out to them when I planned on visiting Portland, Oregon where they were living at the time and they did not respond) the way everyone was when one of the boys named Devonte Hart became a celebrity by hugging a white police officer who was at a protest rally in their town surrounding the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri by a white police officer. Since I do FREE HUGS myself, I was moved by the courage of this young man in the face of his fears and in the spotlight. A photo that was taken of the hug itself went viral. Amid this, I found another picture that was taken as Devonte approached the heavily armored officer and then wrote my observations about it. I had no clue about what might have been even more frightening; things that were going on for him and for his siblings out of camera range.
Here’s where it gets even more upsetting. I visited the Facebook page of one of the mothers, which is still up and read posts about how this could not possibly be true, and that Jen and Sarah were exemplary parents who would never harm their children, who indeed, according to them, rescued them from abuse, even though Sarah plead guilty to assaulting one of the children a few years ago. Not only were they permitted to keep the three original children but adopt the other set of siblings. I questioned their friends, about their misplaced loyalty, “I didn’t know the family personally, but I am reading more loyalty directed to the parents than the kids. If any of the abuse allegations are true, then the loyalty is not justified. I have been reading accounts from day one and my social worker intuition is twitching big time. I’m sorry if this pains anyone who did know them but there is no excuse for putting bruises on your child or withholding food in the name of discipline.” Several came back with the idea that I had no clue what I was talking about and said that the neighbors who called CPS were racist and homophobic and had an agenda. Then someone questioned why I was on the page if I didn’t know them.
My response was, “I don’t know her personally, like many who are here. We connected via the photo of Devonte since I do FREE Hugs as well. I wrote an article about the photo that preceded the more famous one. Like most people here, I was enamored by what I saw and the presentation of a loving family. It was why I was shocked by the stories I read. I am not making assumptions. If you notice, I am asking questions to understand. If these neighbors have a negative agenda, then shame on them for their accusations. If they are accurate, then the welfare of the children was not tended to.”
I closed my messages to them with this:
“May these sweet little souls find peace. As I continue to read news stories, it seems that much of what transpired was not in the best interest of the children. For those who still defend the moms, is it possible that you missed clues and saw what you wanted to see? Could this have been prevented? With awareness and refraining from denial perhaps other lives could be spared and other children kept safe from abuse. THAT would honor this family.”
—
—
Photo credit: Getty Images