Broken Harts

This very detailed and informational documentary tells the horribly tragic case of the well known Hart family who plunged to their deaths on the California coast. It includes the history of the 6 adopted kids, the women who adopted them and the mistreatment these kids endured.

Unfortunately, this story will be seized upon in a 'we told you so' manner and I write this review in counter to the other review by jfnaoau who portrays the family in a racist and homophobic way. These were great kids whose lives began and ended in unfortunate circumstances. These were 2 women who purposely misled the public and had terrible parenting skills. The race or family makeup makes no difference to what happened to this family. Fortunately the documentary does not try to paint this family unit in a negative light but focuses on the behavior of each individual. This is an American tragedy enhanced by the failures of the court and Child Protective Services.

I feel that the African American man hijacked this story to try and make it about race. If you want to blame social services for not interfering, I think it has more to do with two lesbian parents than the fact that they are white. Everyone was fooled by the lesbian mothers having the picture perfect family. I don't know the laws in Texas, but why did the Aunt leave them with her daughter who let the biological mother come see them? There are no easy answers, and six beautiful children lost their lives in this social experiment.

As expected, this documentary is HARD to watch. The lives these kids led is horrific. What also makes this hard to watch is the racism accusations that just aren't proven. To me, this is a woman (Jen) with severe mental health issues that were well hidden, a woman's partner (Sarah) who to me is a battered wife, controlled and doesn't know how to get out. I don't believe Sarah was a co-conspirator in the deaths, I think it was Jen. Irrelevant now. I think the "system" failed these kids, just like it fails kids every day all day long all over the country but racism? Nope. Not buying it. I think those kids would have been abused, neglected and ultimately killed no matter their skin color.

Those children were failed again and again and again, by everyone around them and the multiple agencies that should have investigated further. If the skin colors were reversed, the two adoptive 'mothers' would have been crucified upside down seconds after the first allegation was made. An absolute disgrace on every level. My heart breaks for those kids and everyone who loved them.

After watching the pathetic documentary "A Thread of Deceit: The Hart Family Tragedy" (2020), I wasn't sure I wanted to see another film on the Hart family. That documentary was outrageously focused on giving empathy to the two killer mothers. This film, on the other hand, is sane and shows how narcissism should never be mistaken for love. How driving off a cliff in order to kill six children is never acceptable or understandable behavior. How is was simply the easiest way in the mind of Jen Hart to evade CPS, and destroy all evidence of the abuse and starvation of her six adopted children. What would her friends and social media followers think if they knew the truth about how the children were actually treated?

Kudos to Sheriff Tom Allman, psychologist Joni Johnston and journalist Zaron Burnett III for their sane and keen observations about the crime. Mr. Burnett gets a lot of flak in the film reviews at Amazon for his comments about how race played a role in the tragedy. Personally, I think that criticism is unfair, because there was nothing he said that wasn't true and insightful. So much more true and insightful than the comments made by friends defending the Harts in "A Thread of Deceit: The Hart Family Tragedy".

Discrimination most certainly did play a role in the placement of three black children in a home with two white women in a far away state, when at least one totally responsible biological relative fought hard to adopt them. Jen Hart most certainly did play the role of the white savior saving the poor little black children from their birth family. Her social media posts were filled with such comments. Those three children were placed in their home, too, even though there were already complaints to CPS about abuse of the first three biracial children she and Sarah Hart adopted.

Six children were murdered by women who thought they had the right to kill them. This wasn't even the story about a biological mother who had too many kids too fast, and was suffering from postpartum depression. This was a story about women who tell one lie after another until the day they kill themselves and their adopted children, to avoid the fallout after being exposed as liars. Dead kids, no witnesses to testify. Any bruises and broken bones would be seen as being caused by the crash. No one left to describe what really went on in the Hart household.