Do you remember this picture from the 2016 election of Bernie Sanders with a beautiful family proudly standing behind him?
Or how about the little boy in the front – still in one of his signature hats – tearfully protesting and still hugging a policeman?
When the country found out that, in May 2018, this young boy and his family had died in a sudden car accident, these were the moments that popped up in the media. It seemed like the entire country mourned the loss of a family: two mothers fighting for gay rights in rural Minnesota and their six black adopted children, two sets of three siblings.
I mourned them, too… until I heard that Jennifer Hart may have driven intentionally off the cliff and I heard this podcast. From Glamour comes the aptly-titled Broken Harts, the tale of this seemingly perfect family and the haunting secrets that lay beneath.
Interviews with neighbors and friends and deep dives into social media tell stories of neglect, abuse, and two moms reaching their boiling point. Glamour does an incredible job of looking deep into the Hart family’s history and trying to understand what happened that literally sent them off a cliff.
I have always been interested in true crime stories, but this one especially got me as I hearing how many people loved those children and how easily the signs of abuse can be hidden. If you won’t listen for yourself, listen for Markis, Hannah, Devonte, Abigail, Jeremiah, and Sierra.