New information obtained by the Oregonian provides further evidence that Jennifer Hart falsely portrayed the reality of her family dynamics before driving herself, her wife, and her adopted children over a cliff in Northern California in late March.
Jennifer and Sarah Hart and four of their adopted children: Markis, Abigail, Jeremiah, and Ciera, were confirmed deceased in the crash. Devonte Hart, 15; and Hannah Hart, 16; remain missing.
The Oregonian obtained financial records found during a police search of the family’s Woodland, Washington, home, which provided new insight into how the family earned money. The report described the children as “money makers” for their mothers, and cited records that showed that Sarah Hart earned $45,000 dollars a year as an assistant manager at a Kohl’s retail store, and the family earned about $41,000 in income designated for the six children, who were adopted from foster care in Texas in two separate sibling groups in 2006 and 2009, respectively.
The latest Oregonian report does not specify the source of the $41,000 in payments intended for the children . An earlier report found that the family received about $1,900 a month from the state of Texas for the care of the adopted children.
The Harts reportedly earned an additional $11,000 a year from a surprising source: Records found at the scene showed that the family earned that income from a man who identified as a stepfather in the biological family of some of the children. The report does not state which of children’s biological relatives the stepfather is connected to.
According to CrimeOnline‘s most recent information, authorities investigating the crash in California have not located any biological relatives of Hannah, Markis, or Abigail Hart, who were adopted together. In April, the Oregonian located and interview the biological mother of Devonte, Jeremiah, and Ciera; who spoke of her heartbreak at losing custody of her children and learning of their adoption in 2009. She gave no indication that any of her relatives had contact with the Hart children since the adoption, which was closed; and the records remained sealed per Texas law.
In July, the Oregonian reported that authorities were seeking relatives of both missing Hart children, Devonte and Hannah — who are not biological siblings — for blood samples they could compare to human remains found about a mile from the crash site in May. So far, forensic analysts have not been able to identify the remains for lack of viable comparison samples. There was no indication in CrimeOnline‘s most recent conversations with the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office that any biological relatives had come forward.
The Oregonian report also raises more questions about the living conditions of the six Hart children. The police search records showed that investigators found only one twin bed that appeared to be meant for a child; though another room contained loveseats and a padded mat.
As CrimeOnline previously noted, the Oregonian report also notes that investigators found a large quantity of meat items in the home although Jennifer had claimed on social media that the family was vegetarian. The Hart women were also known among friends to have largely avoided alcohol, but investigators found 17 bottles of wine in the home.
Pictures frames hanging on the wall of the home were found empty of photographs.
[Feature image: Associated Press]
