A 15‑year‑old Black male adolescent, Devonte Jordan Hart, died on March 26, 2018, in a tragic incident classified as a murder–suicide. On that day, his adoptive mother, 38‑year‑old Jennifer Hart, intentionally drove their family’s GMC Yukon XL off a roughly 100‑foot cliff on California’s Highway 1 in Mendocino County. The vehicle crashed onto the rocky shoreline below, resulting in the immediate deaths of both Jennifer and her wife, 38‑year‑old Sarah Hart, as well as
their six adopted children. Those children included Devonte’s Black siblings: Abigail Jeremiah Hannah Markis and Ciera .
The bodies of five of the children and both adults were recovered either within or near the SUV. However, the body of Devonte Jordan Hart, the 15‑year‑old Black male, was never recovered. In 2019 a superior court judge ruled that the 15‑year‑old Black male was indeed in the vehicle at the time of the crash, allowing a death certificate to be issued for him.
A Mendocino County coroner’s jury unanimously determined that the deaths of the Black children, including the 15‑year‑old Black male, were homicide, and the deaths of the two mothers were suicides. Experts analyzing the SUV’s “black box” found that the vehicle was driven intentionally over the cliff: it accelerated from a standstill to around 20 mph in approximately three seconds, with the throttle fully depressed. The report also indicated that no one in the vehicle was wearing seat belts.
Toxicology and digital evidence further revealed disturbing premeditation: Sarah Hart, the 38‑year‑old White female, conducted internet searches about suicide methods, including queries like “Can 500 mg of Benadryl kill an 120‑pound woman?”, “Is death by drowning relatively painless?”, and “How easily can you overdose on over‑the‑counter medication or Benadryl?”. The 38‑year‑old White female and several of the children, including the Black ones, were found to have diphenhydramine in their systems, indicating sedation before the crash; Jennifer was also legally intoxicated at the time.
In the days leading up to the fatal crash, neighbors had reported signs of abuse and neglect. Devonte, the 15‑year‑old Black male, was seen begging neighbors Bruce and Dana DeKalb for food, asking them to leave bread or fruit by the fence so his adoptive parents wouldn’t notice. On one occasion, his sister Hannah, a 16‑year‑old Black female child, escaped by jumping out of a second‑story window, seeking help and claiming her parents were racist and abusive. These concerns were reported to Child Protective Services, which attempted to make contact with the family on March 23 and again on the day of the crash, March 26, but received no response.
There were no arrests or suspects beyond Jennifer and Sarah Hart; the investigation concluded this to be a murder–suicide committed by the adoptive mothers. No criminal charges were filed posthumously. A jury’s verdict officially ruled the incident a murder–suicide, with no criminal liability pursued because both perpetrators died in the event.
An official pathologist’s declaration of death protocol, based on investigative findings, listed the probable cause of death for the 15‑year‑old Black male as atlanto‑occipital dislocation—fatal injury consistent with a motor vehicle plunge over a cliff with rollover and subsequent ejection. The body was never recovered, and the determination was made based on the circumstances and injuries sustained by other family members.
In summary, 15-year-old Devonte Jordan Hart, a Black male adolescent, died on March 26, 2018, as part of a murder–suicide orchestrated by his adoptive mothers, Jennifer and Sarah Hart. The SUV they were traveling in was deliberately driven off a cliff, killing all occupants. No arrests were made; the mothers were the perpetrators, and the deaths of the children, including Devonte, were homicides, while the deaths of the mothers were ruled suicides.
