Coroner’s inquest set in family plunge off California cliff

WILLITS, Calif. (AP) – Authorities in Northern California will hold a coroner’s inquest to determine the manner of death for eight members of a family whose SUV plunged off a coastal cliff last year.

Mendocino County sheriff’s Capt. Greg Van Patten says that during the two-day inquest starting Wednesday a jury will hear from officials and experts, and decide whether the deaths of Jen and Sarah Hart and their six adopted children were accidental, a murder-suicide or undetermined.

The family’s SUV plunged off a seaside cliff more than 160 miles (250 kilometers) north of San Francisco. A tourist spotted the car in the water on March 26, 2018.

Five bodies were found that day. The remains of two more children were found weeks later. The remains of a teenage boy have not been found.