I am more interested in what got Devonte to finally seek help. After all these years, after him either staying silent or being coached by the women? What brought this? What was making them apparently withhold a lot of meals as punishment for what perceived crime? What could he possibly have done? And what may have warranted such a breach of rules?
Yes, the CPS visit triggered the women. I think Jen signed off on game when she found out or got the call from CPS, knew they were coming. They call first. A courtesy call. I read it somewhere, I know they do it here and I find it outrageous. For them to show up without an appointment I think means they were taking it seriously, but this? I doubt any calls were made over the weekend by CPS, again articles state that they went back out on Monday and Tuesday I think. I wish they had brought the police with them that Friday and waited and monitored the house, due to neighbors prior knowledge they should have. Or, if the neighbors were calling authorities, then keep Devonte right there, and call the police right there and then. Due to known past history and Devonte's expressed fear. They would all be alive. Especially with the neighbors backing him up with other report.
FYI...I am a licensed independent clinical social worker. Not trying to even go there...just by way of explanation. I am a mandated reporter, I file on people. I do not work for child services. I am a psychotherapist 20 years
Re: why did Devonte finally seek help?
IMO, it may have been a combination of watching his siblings get weaker, and finally going through the initial phases of delayed puberty (from being underweight) himself. With boys, you can't put off the growth spurt forever, even if they stay underweight and relatively short. Markis is tiny in most of the photos, but at 17 he finally was the same height as Jen. Nowhere near the normal range for someone his age. But tall enough that he might have been able to defend himself.
Devonte also got the most affirmation from adults outside the family. Even though it seems both women tried to isolate them from other influences, it may have been enough to give him a seed of intrinsic worth and self-confidence that the others lacked. Maybe the same thing with Hannah. The Seattle comment suggests (to me) that she met someone from there who made her feel safe.
Just to add, on the subject of the kids' weight... It is possible for children who are underweight before age 7 to stay underweight and fail to grow to a normal height for their age, even after getting proper nutrition. However, that kind of early life malnutrition only has a substantial impact on 30% of children who go on to get adequate food through adolescence and early adulthood. And "substantial impact" means 1"-3" shorter than average for their age. Most of the Hart kids were at least 6" shorter than the normal range for their age.
Barring any other developmental issues (which there is no concrete evidence of, as yet), statistical probability says that two of the kids, at most, would still have been underweight after getting six/nine years of adequate calorie intake. It is highly unlikely that all of them would be so small.
A few people have mentioned that the reason for Markis' facial swelling is due to a parotid gland issue. I looked up reasons for parotid gland swelling in teenagers and came up with this: "Parotid
swelling may occur in other disorders, such as diabetes and alcoholism, and in cases of
starvation, as seen with soldiers in prison camps." (Medical Issues and Eating Disorders, Allan Kaplan, 2013).
