Hart's Biological Aunt Fought for Custody and Was Denied

In 2010, a Texas appeals court turned down an attempt by Devonte Hart’s biological aunt to adopt him and three of his siblings. The court ruled against her because she had violated an order that prevented the kids from having any contact with their mother.

Court records obtained by The Oregonian show that Priscilla Celestine, the paternal aunt of Devonte, Sierra and Jeremiah Hart, had tried multiple times to win custody of the children, then known as Devonte, Ciara and Jeremiah Davis. A fourth sibling, Dontay, was not adopted by Sarah and Jennifer Hart.

Court records show the four children lived with Celestine in Houston for about five months in 2006 after Texas’ Department of Family and Protective Services took them from their mother.

As The Oregonian writes, Devonte’s biological mother, who isn’t named in the court documents, was “addicted to crack cocaine, had interactions with the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services since 1985, and had other children removed from her care before the latest case.”

Shona Jones, a family law attorney who represented Celestine, told The Oregonian/OregonianLive Thursday that she agreed with the court’s decision to take the children away from their biological parents. But, she said she thought the state acted rashly in removing them from their aunt’s care, which hinged on one violation: allowing the kids’ mother to see them.

Now the kids are dead, blood is on the State hands. The Adoptive family basically played chess with Child Protective Services and the kids surprisingly remained with them, instead of being taken away. Talk about double standards.  What a gut wrenching story all around, not only were these children abused behind closed doors, but their deaths could've been prevented had the State did their job. 

Jones said the mother’s visit was the only infraction Celestine committed, and it occurred over a 45-minute window when the caseworker arrived at her home unannounced while the aunt made a trip to her workplace. The kids were immediately removed from the home, she said.

Celestine had stable employment in Houston, no previous criminal history, raised an older daughter and had taken steps to accommodate the kids, such as moving to a larger home to care for the children, Jones said.

 

Since their deaths, a disturbing timeline of abuse allegations against the Harts stretching back 10 years has emerged, including possible physical abuse and withholding of food as disciplinary measures.