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A special jury in California ruled Thursday that two women committed suicide and their six children adopted into a suicide-murder in March 2018, officially determining the cause of the family's fatal fall on a cliff of more than 100 feet.
Authorities thought long ago that Sarah Hart and his wife, Jennifer Hart, had deliberately driven their SUV on a cliff in Northern California with their six children in the car, a few days after learning that they were under investigation by child protection officials. The Coroner's Special Jury, which determines the mode of death and not the crime, took a unanimous decision after about an hour of deliberation after hearing chilling details over two days of testimony.
Investigators discovered that Sarah Hart had recently done internet research on suicide, Benadryl doses and whether drowning was painful, according to the Associated Press. An investigator said that Sarah Hart had 42 doses of generic Benadryl in her system, while Jennifer Hart, the driver, had a blood alcohol level of 0.102 percent when she drove the car off the top of the cliff. In California, it is illegal for drivers to reach a level equal to or greater than 0.08%.
An investigator said the driver deliberately stepped on gasoline.
"They both decided it would be the end," said Jake Slates, an investigator of the California Highway Patrol, according to the Associated Press. "That if they can not have their children, nobody will have them."
The authorities found the remains of five of the children: Markis, 19; Hannah, 16 years old; Jérémie, 14 years old; Abigail, 14 years old; and Ciera, 12 years old. A sixth child, Devonte, 15, is still considered missing but is presumed dead.
Such juries are very unusual. This is the first time in Mendocino County for 52 years, said Thomas Allman, county sheriff and coroner. As the parents were dead and would not be subject to criminal charges, the proceedings revealed more facts in testimony, he said. Criminal charges can not be laid against persons who have died, so the jury was charged with determining the cause rather than guilt.
Years before the accident, the family had gained international notoriety thanks to a widely shared photo of Devonte, black, holding in his arms a white police sergeant during a protest in Portland, Oregon in 2014 Photos and videos describe a happy family, including a YouTube video of four children singing "we are so well provided.
However, investigative documents showed that the parents had been accused of abuse on several occasions. In 2010, the Minnesota Child Protection Agency received six cases of abuse or neglect, two of which were found to be well-founded; Sarah Hart admitted to having harmed Abigail and was convicted of an offense of assault.
[[[[Learn more about the dark family life of the family and the accusations against them]
The family moved to West Linn, Oregon, where an anonymous person reported to the authorities that the children appeared malnourished. The investigators spoke to women who knew the family and said the parents had imposed harsh discipline on the children, but officials said they could not identify a "security threat."
In 2017, after the family moved to Woodland, Washington, neighbors said one of the kids, Hannah, had rang the door at 1:30 am to ask them to take her to Seattle. He was missing two teeth, looked very skinny and said he jumped out the second floor window to escape. Hannah was hidden in a bedroom when her parents arrived a few minutes later, but eventually went home.
In March 2018, Devonte began to go to the neighbors' home to ask for food, claiming that her parents had refused to give her food. Neighbors contacted the Washington State Child Protection Agency on March 23, three days before the accident.
Later on March 23, a child protection officer knocked on the door of the Harts' home. There was no answer.
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