Jennifer Hart

Jennifer Jean Hart (June 4, 1979 – March 26, 2018) and Sarah Margaret Hart (April 8, 1979 – March 26, 2018, Gengler) were both from South Dakota; Jennifer originated from Huron, Sarah from Big Stone City, although some sources claim Ortonville, Minnesota – adjacent to Big Stone City – as Sarah's hometown.

Both women were the eldest children of their families.

Jennifer had two siblings and Sarah had three siblings.

According to her father, Jennifer was not initially raised as a Lutheran but was baptized as one.

Jennifer attended Huron High School.

Sarah attended Ortonville High School in Minnesota.

The two women attended and began their relationship at Northern State University (NSU); Sarah had initially attended the University of Minnesota for one semester before transferring to NSU, while Jennifer started at Augustana University before transferring in 1999.

Both women majored in elementary education, with Sarah focusing on special education.

Jennifer estranged herself from her father after 2001.

State government reports stated that the couple cut off contact with their relatives because of criticism about their parenting.

Prior to adopting their six children, the Harts were foster parents to a 15-year-old girl.

A week before their first three children were due to arrive, the Harts dropped the girl off at a scheduled therapist appointment.

The therapist then informed the girl that the Harts would not be coming back for her.

After Sarah graduated in 2002, Jennifer left the university without graduating.

They moved to Alexandria, Minnesota, in 2004, where both women worked at a Herberger's store.

In the new location, they made a choice to be open about their relationship.

In 2005, Sarah asked a local court to have her last name altered to match her partner's. The couple went to Connecticut to be married in 2009; at the time same-sex marriage was not legal in every U.S. state.

On Facebook, Jennifer stated that the women were initially closeted when they lived in South Dakota, and that when they decided to come out they lost friends.

Jennifer worked miscellaneous jobs until she became a stay-at-home mom in 2006, while Sarah became a manager at Herberger's. After a period of living in West Linn, Oregon, the Harts moved to an unincorporated area near Woodland, Washington; Sarah became a manager at a Kohl's in Hazel Dell.

The couple were living near Woodland at the time of the murders.

The Harts received funds from the state of Texas, covering their six adopted children, which accounted for almost 50% of the family's income.

Members of Jennifer's and Sarah's families stated that the two women distanced themselves from them, although both families were accepting of their sexual orientation.

Abigail (born 2003), Hannah Jean (born 2002), and Markis Hart (born 1998) were adopted by the Harts from Colorado County, Texas; the placement came on March 4, 2006, and they were adopted that September.

After their biological mother, Sherry Davis, lost custody due to substance abuse problems in August 2006, the Davis children were given to their paternal aunt, Priscilla Celestine, under the condition that they have no contact with their biological mother.

However, after she was required to work another shift, Celestine allowed Davis to babysit the children, which a case worker observed.

As a result, the children were removed from Celestine's care and a court prevented Celestine from obtaining permanent custody.

The Davis children were put into foster care; their older brother, Dontay, was not adopted by the Harts due to behavioral issues.

In June 2008, they adopted three additional children: Ciera Maija (born 2005), Devonte Jordan (born 2002), and Jeremiah Hart (born 2004), originating from Houston.

In 2008, while the family was living in Minnesota, a teacher observed bruises on Hannah's left arm and was told she had been hit by Jennifer with a belt.

Within months, all six children had been pulled out of the public school system for a year.

In 2010, Abigail said that she had "owies" on her back and stomach and stated that she felt threatened by the Harts, who had beaten her and held her head in cold water over a penny they assumed had been stolen.

When authorities became involved, all children claimed that they had been spanked constantly and deprived of food.

One allegation of child abuse from 2013 touched upon Jennifer's use of Facebook, saying that "the kids pose and are made to look like one big happy family, but after the photo event, they go back to looking lifeless."

Prior to the murders, 12-year-old Devonte came into the national spotlight when he was photographed crying as he embraced a police officer during a 2014 protest in Portland, Oregon, resulting from the Ferguson unrest.

The image became known as the "hug felt 'round the world."

Jennifer was very active on social media and used Facebook to project an image of a loving, happy family while also sharing her thoughts on race, politics, and trips the family went on.

This helped mask some of the problems within the family.

The Hart family murders was a murder–suicide which took place on March 26, 2018, in Mendocino County, California, United States.

Jennifer Hart and her wife, Sarah Hart, murdered their six adopted children: Ciera (aged 12), Abigail (14), Jeremiah (14), Devonte (15), Hannah (16), and Markis (19) when Jennifer intentionally drove the family's sport utility vehicle off a cliff.

Jennifer was in the driver’s seat, and Sarah was in the front passenger seat.