Financial strains can add a lot of pressure to an already dysfunctional and abusive relationship.
The comment about paying off debt was interesting to me.
Jen and Sarah bought their home in Minnesota back in 2005, paying $95K for it. Peak interest rates in 2005 were 4.25%. Assuming a mortgage of $90K, the P&I payment would have been $545 per month. 2014 property taxes were under $1K per year, so a generous monthly escrow for property taxes from 2006 to when they moved to Oregon would have been $100 per month. Basic housing cost of $700 per month max.
It would be normal to assume that Jen was bringing in income prior to adoption and that the couple was saving money. But we all know what happens when one assumes.
With adoption assistance allowances, the family financial situation should have been decent from 2006 to mid 2012, due to the low housing cost.
But sometime in 2012, Sarah lost her job and this had to put severe financial strain on the family. The MN house was relisted for sale on August 6, 2012, so it seems Sarah lost her job in July or early August. Her LinkedIn resume shows she started working at Kohls in Oregon in October 2012, so the family could have been without her income for 2 to 4 months.
There are no details about the move to Oregon, nor is the time precisely known. The MN house sold in early April 2013. An article in the Statesman Journal has Jen and the kids traveling to Oregon from MN in December 2012 and getting in a rollover accident around 12/26/2012, so it's fair to surmise the whole family took up residence in Oregon sometime between January 2013 and April 2013. They rented a house at 2405 5th Ave., West Linn, OR. This area is an expensive one to live in and their housing costs had to be double, triple or more than what they paid in Alexandria.
The sale listing for the Alexandria property shows different furniture from pictures of the West Linn home. Moving is expensive and they may have bought new furniture instead.
Jen's June 2017 FB post talking about the family getting slammed in the past year did allude to financial difficulties. She said they almost ended up being homeless due to discrimination from the government and insurance companies, which makes no sense, but that is what she posted. Add in Sarah's rear ended, car totaled and the other things Jen posted and there were some big financial things taking place.
If they were trying to pay down debt to buy the new home, this meant they were low on cash. Homes can be bought with small down payments, but mortgage insurance becomes part of the cost. Property taxes on the new place are over $3,700 per year, so a conservative estimate of the monthly housing payment including escrow is over $2,000 per month. Factor in that Markis turned 18 last year, so his adoption subsidy stopped and he would no longer be considered a dependent, since he was not in college. Even though money was tight, Sarah and Jen somehow saw fit to buy new living room furniture for the house in Washington state.
I do have to believe that this couple had enough money to support the family in Minnesota, and they probably got gifts and help from friends in terms of clothing and costumes for the kids. It may have dwindled off a bit when they moved to Oregon, but with them cutting themselves off that last spell in Oregon and then moving to Washington, the financial struggles must have been overwhelming.
The point of all of this is that 1) finances can add more pressure to a situation that is already a pressure cooker and 2) the bits and pieces of information here and there show that this couple did not make good financial decisions when money was tight. And there are two independent reports of money being tight, including one from Jen herself.
ETA: someone brought up the point that the rental in West Linn may have come furnished. This is a good point to consider and might explain why the furniture was different from home to home to home.