WARNING!: Description below may be disturbing to some readers.

This 50' aerial view overlooks Highway 1 near the Juan Creek bridge crossing south of Hardy, California. This pullout marks the location of the Hart family murders that took place on March 26, 2018. 

Jennifer & Sarah had gotten married in a same-sex marriage in 2009 in Connecticut.  The two had met while studying elementary education at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota.  Prior to adopting their six children, they were foster parents to a 15-year old girl however the Harts had dropped her off to a scheduled therapist appointment.  The therapist then informed the girl that the Harts could not be coming back for her.  With the six adopted children, the family had moved around Minnesota, Oregon, & Washington w/ reports of abuse allegations.

On March 26, 2018, Jennifer Hart (38) and her wife, Sarah Hart (38), killed themselves and their six adopted children: Ciera (12), Abigail (14), Jeremiah (14), Devonte (15), Hannah (16), and Markis (19). Jennifer deliberately drove their GMC Yukon XL from this pullout & off the 100' cliff, killing everyone in the family. Jennifer was in the driver's seat, and Sarah was in the front passenger seat.  The bodies of five of the children (Hannah, Markis, Jeremiah, Abigail, and Ciera) were found in or near the vehicle, which had landed upside down on a beach below the cliff. The body of Devonte has not been found as of 2025. A superior court judge ruled in 2019 that Devonte was in the vehicle at the time of the crash, and a death certificate was signed on April 3 of that year.

Expert analysis of the SUV's internal air bag-deploying computer determined that the Yukon had been intentionally driven off the edge of the cliff from a standing stop, accelerating to 20 mph (32 km/h) in three seconds with the throttle at 100%. A fourteen-member coroner's jury unanimously ruled the case a murder–suicide. The inquest was called to determine cause of death, but not any responsibility in the civil or criminal fields. The California Highway Patrol stated that criminal prosecution was not possible due to the deaths of any responsible parties.

Toxicology results showed that Jennifer's blood alcohol content was over the legal limit at the time of the crash, and that both Sarah and two of the children had diphenhydramine in their systems. Sarah had made Google searches before the crash, inquiring about the lethality of Benadryl and the nature of death by drowning. Her searches also included "No-kill shelters for dogs"; the family's two dogs were found inside the Hart family home. The Mendocino County Sheriff's Department officially closed the case and released declassified records in 2019.

According to an incident report following the murders, it was reported that Sarah told a co-worker "[that] she wish[ed] someone told her it was okay not to have a big family. Then she and Jennifer would not have adopted the children."  Rachelle Hampton, in Slate, citing how the authorities did not resolve the Hart case, stated that child protective services authorities give harsher treatment to African-American parents and guardians compared to white parents and guardians.  This case has been addressed in a few pop culture films.

From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hart_family_murders