Aunt denied custody of kids in crash off Calif. cliff
She was blocked from caring for children who plunged from Calif. cliff with adoptive parents
The aunt of some of the adopted children who died or are missing after the car driven by their adoptive mother plunged off a cliff in California last month had unsuccessfully sought custody of the kids years before in Harris County family courts, records show.
The aunt of several Houston children who died or are missing after the car driven by their adoptive mother plunged off a cliff in California last month had unsuccessfully sought custody of the children years before in Harris County family courts, records show.
And the Houston attorney for the aunt was sharply critical of Texas child welfare officials for removing the children from her client’s care.
Authorities in California are still investigating the March 26 incident in which a car carrying a family of eight ran off a 100foot cliff on a coastal highway. The bodies of Sarah and Jennifer Hart, both 39, and three of the couple’s adopted children were recovered soon after.
California law enforcement officials are investigating whether the crash was intentional. The couple’s three other adopted children are presumed dead, and authorities recovered the body last weekend of an unidentified person who may be one of the missing children.
On Friday afternoon, a spokeswoman with the California Highway Patrol announced that Jennifer Hart’s blood-alcohol content at the time of the
crash was .102, which is above the state’s legal limit of .08.
Toxicology tests also found that Sarah Hart and two of their children had “a significant amount” of an ingredient commonly found in the allergy drug Benadryl, which can make people sleepy. Toxicology results for a third child killed are still pending, an official said.
The case has garnered national attention, because one of the children, Devonte Hart, became famous in 2014 after being photographed hugging a white police officer at a Black Lives Matter protest in Portland, Ore.
Devonte’s aunt, Houston resident Priscilla Celestine, had sought custody of the children — Sierra, Devonte and Jeremiah and one other sibling, records show. A Houston-based appeals court denied her request in 2010 because she had let the boy’s biological mother see the children, in violation of a judicial order barring visitation.
Texas’ Department of Family and Protective Services had in 2006 deemed Devonte’s biological mother unfit to care for him and his siblings. Court records show the children’s biological mother had a history of drug abuse and that one of the children had suffered multiple bone fractures in her care, and her parental rights had been terminated.
One-time visit
A spokeswoman for the agency said she could not comment on the specifics of the case and referred to a written statement DFPS previously released.
“In any adoption, we try to look at absolutely everything to ensure that it is a good match — that the child or children are getting a permanent and loving home. A typical adoption includes trial visits, and at least a six-month placement with the adoptive parents,” DFPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins said in the statement. “During that time, for out-of-state adoptions, the child welfare agency in that state would be monitoring the family and reporting back to us, and we in turn report it to judge overseeing the case. The judge reviews all the information on the adoptive parents and decides to approve, or deny, or ask for more information.” According to the court records, the children lived with Celestine for about five months before they were placed in foster care. The Harts then adopted Devonte and two siblings in 2009.
A Minnesota police report obtained April 3 also shows a different daughter told authorities in 2008 one of her mothers bruised her with a belt.
Celestine was not available for comment. Her attorney, Shonda Jones, on Friday sharply criticized CPS and Harris County family court for so quickly removing the children from her care.
Celestine had moved into a larger town house that could accommodate the children and was a stable, hardworking woman who had a steady job for 30 years, Jones said.
“She probably didn’t even have a driving ticket; she’s one of those church-going women,” Jones said.
Jones said Celestine had left the children with their mother only one time, when she was called into work and had no one else to look after them. The CPS visit occurred in a 45-minute time window while Celestine was at work, she said. Promises to not allow future visits with the children’s mother fell on deaf ears, she said.
“I felt it was a very harsh and punitive in the way that was handled,” she said. “Honestly, it really upsets me.”
She also questioned why CPS had allowed the Harts to adopt additional children after allegations of child abuse.
The San Antonio ExpressNews reported April 6 that the adopted parents received $270,000 from the state of Texas in monthly adoption subsidies to help pay the costs of raising the children.
Abuse allegations
The Harts lived in Minnesota when they adopted six children who had been living in Texas foster care. Abigail, Hannah and Markis — all siblings — were adopted in 2006, from Colorado County. The Harts adopted Sierra, Jeremiah and Devonte, a group of siblings from Harris County, in 2009. The Harts did not adopt a fourth sibling removed from Celestine’s care.
The Harts had been accused of child abuse of their adopted wards in Minnesota, Washington and Oregon, according to news report. Sarah Hart had pleaded guilty in 2011 to domestic assault in Minnesota.
In March, neighbors in Woodland, Wash., contacted child-welfare workers with concerns about the children not having enough food to eat.
The case is the latest to bring scrutiny to CPS’ handling of adoptions of children in foster care. A Fort Bend County couple who adopted eight special- needs children in one year was charged with aggravated kidnapping and child injury.
One of the children died in 2011; the others lived in squalor in a single room locked with a deadbolt and with boarded-up windows, authorities alleged.
Paula Sinclair, the Fort Bend woman accused in the case, was sentenced last month to 35 years in prison. The charges against her ex-husband, Larry Sinclair, are still pending.