ACTIVE SEARCH CA - Hannah, 16, Devonte, 15, & Sierra Hart, 12, Mendocino County, 26 Mar 2018 #4

[Whiteorchids]

Parotid gland swelling. Most common cause in kids is bacterial infection (i.e. abscessed tooth). That's usually only on one side, though, not symmetrical. Most common cause for symmetrical parotid gland swelling in kids is malnutrition/starvation.

I was a dental assistant for 10 years about 20 years ago and never witnessed that condition.

 

[SATA]

Maybe just too skinny.
On the other hand, it also looks like an abscess to me.

Doesn´t look like the jawbone to me, but I could be wrong.

Just thought it was odd the kids had the same very pronounced jaws - in a unique way, have never seen this in people.
And not bio siblings.

 

[maggieo]

Devonte was asking for non perishable meats and protein to escape. He had a plan.
Imo..

I think that's a definite possibility, and I truly hope he did run away. But I think the women told the kids that, if CPS investigated, the siblings would be separated. I think they held that over the kids' heads. And so I doubt Devonte would leave all by himself. But who knows, it could have reached a "every kid for him/herself" point.

The food he asked for is also food that could easily be hidden away and wouldn't smell. You can buy tortillas in bags that are shelf-stable--they literally last for months. (I think the "cured meats" he asked for probably means jerky.) I think Devonte was building a secret stash of food so that the kids could eat without him going to the neighbors every day. Such a smart, wonderful kid. He probably saw himself as the one who had to look out for the others.

 

[Poppyflower]

https://www.statesmanjournal.com/st...ons-missed-signals-preceded-deaths/499212002/

One former friend at the festival said she saw a different side of the Hart family that weekend. The woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, recalled how she had spent a day with Devonte and Sierra.

Their parents grew enraged when the group returned with food the friend had bought for the two children. Sarah, the woman said, violently grabbed Sierra, severely bruising her.

"It left a mark around her wrist for days," the friend said, in a detailed email exchange with The Oregonian/OregonLive. "Red turned to blue and yellow. She was in trouble for not sharing with everyone and [she was] called selfish."

The woman said Sierra later told her she would likely be grounded and she often got in trouble for speaking with people her parents didn't know well. As someone who experienced an abusive upbringing, the friend said she recognized Sierra's fear.

"They seemed completely incapable of dealing with normal childlike behavior," said the woman, who later moved from the Pacific Northwest

That is so horrible and hard to read, those poor kids

It is so gross that they disguised themselves as peace loving moms. Can you imagine the anguish of the children- signs of love, peace, equality, etc and wanting those things so bad for your home life? On top of everything, they were living a huge contradiction and it wasn't their fault.

It is so dark and twisted.

 

[turanna25]

I was a dental assistant for 10 years about 20 years ago and never witnessed that condition.

I worked as a pediatric emergency room nurse... I saw it a lot in teens that were brought in for malnutrition from eating disorders. I believe it looks very much like its symmetrical parotid gland swelling from malnutrition/starvation. MOO

 

[castilloisno1]

About the jaw swelling..could it be from mumps??

 

[nothingnew]

Do we know that these children were malnourished? We have the neighbor saying that the children were asking for food but we don't know how long that was going on. CPS didn't have the opportunity to investigate those claims, either. All we really have to go on, at this point, is the word of the neighbors and some pictures-pictures that only provide speculation.

And there is their former friend that they knew from the festival circuit that called family services when they lived in OR. Jen & Sarah withholding food from kids as disciplinary action. Oh, and one of the girls told CPS back when they were in MN (?) that the moms withheld food. But other than all of that yeah, speculation.

 

[SATA]

PayrollNerd:

Always believe the kids. Feed them if they ask. Offer to send them home with a snack. Let them bathe/swim at your place. Give them outgrown clothes. Observe and offer guidance if the situation presents itself.

Amen to that, and glad you had guardian angels.

 

[waschbaer]

Parotid gland swelling. Most common cause in kids is bacterial infection (i.e. abscessed tooth). That's usually only on one side, though, not symmetrical. Most common cause for symmetrical parotid gland swelling in kids is malnutrition/starvation.

This makes the most sense. We know that food was being used as punishment, and Devonte was begging the neighbors for food, and the kids all seemed very very small for their ages in the stats released by the authorities, including a 16 year old girl the size of my average sized 8 year old daughter. And there were at least two kids with this highly unusual, noticable swelling around that gland. I think you pretty much have to be correct. Unfortunately for the kids.

 

[waschbaer]

About the jaw swelling..could it be from mumps??

It could be, but you would expect to see it go through the whole family and go away pretty quickly then. Markis at least has the odd swelling in photos spanning many months.

 

[11223344]

In this context, my mind went to jerky bc it definitely doesn't need refrigeration.

Maybe, somehow in the limited interactions with that neighbor, the kids said they aren't eating sugar? Also, I study diets and nutrition and many, many people cut out white sugar but still allow fruit, dates, honey, maple syrup, etc. they just avoid white sugar. Then other don't allow any sweeteners but do allow fruit and then others who don't do any sugar but what is naturally in vegetables.

Just my speculation and moo.

I worked as a pediatric emergency room nurse... I saw it a lot in teens that were brought in for malnutrition from eating disorders. I believe it looks very much like its symmetrical parotid gland swelling from malnutrition/starvation.

There are updated pics I think of kids more recent. I can't link cause on Facebook group. But you can see that his face doesn't look like that, and Marcus's is less pronounced. They also look more filled out. Why I was speculating that the withholding meals as punishment wasn't the same as the Turpins. Not that it didn't happen. But from the pics, it looks like the kids came malnourished and underweight and really needed a lot of services and interventions, got opposite as well as using food restriction as punishment who knows how much. When already malnourished. I am not standing up for mothers at all. I just think kids would have reached out sooner if they were actively starving.

 

[SATA]

About the jaw swelling..could it be from mumps??

Mumps don´t come and go, do they?

 

[emma.laurens]

I worked as a pediatric emergency room nurse... I saw it a lot in teens that were brought in for malnutrition from eating disorders. I believe it looks very much like its symmetrical parotid gland swelling from malnutrition/starvation. MOO

Agreed, have seen it in multiple teenage ballet dancers, albeit less pronounced.

 

[human]

This makes the most sense. We know that food was being used as punishment, and Devonte was begging the neighbors for food, and the kids all seemed very very small for their ages in the stats released by the authorities, including a 16 year old girl the size of my average sized 8 year old daughter. And there were at least two kids with this highly unusual, noticable swelling around that gland. I think you pretty much have to be correct. Unfortunately for the kids.

Wow. If that is true, it is more than a couple of missed meals.

How long would it take to get to that state? Did anyone see it in the Turpins?

 

[maggieo]

Most common cause for symmetrical parotid gland swelling in kids is malnutrition/starvation.

Well, this explains it, I think. (Research backs you up.) The swelling can come and go, apparently. If we've never seen this before, it's not surprising; most of us have never seen a child deliberately--or undeliberately--starved.

 

[bluesneakers]

I worked as a pediatric emergency room nurse... I saw it a lot in teens that were brought in for malnutrition from eating disorders. I believe it looks very much like its symmetrical parotid gland swelling from malnutrition/starvation. MOO

I've seen these "chipmunk cheeks" on women who had bulimia.

When someone with bulimia purges through constant self-induced vomiting, these glands become irritated and sore. The amount of swelling is dependent upon the number of times the bulimic purges. The cheeks will remain swollen and enlarged until the purging behavior stops. It may take several weeks for the swelling to go down completely after the purging ceases.

http://eatingdisorders.com/articles/bulimia/bulimia-cheeks

 

[SATA]

I worked as a pediatric emergency room nurse... I saw it a lot in teens that were brought in for malnutrition from eating disorders. I believe it looks very much like its symmetrical parotid gland swelling from malnutrition/starvation. MOO

So you would know - and emma.laurens too.

​

Oh, God, how horrible.

Explains why it is on both sides. explains that it comes and goes and finally also explain why you see it alike in non bio siblings in the family.

 

[waschbaer]

There are updated pics I think of kids more recent. I can't link cause on Facebook group. But you can see that his face doesn't look like that, and Marcus's is less pronounced. They also look more filled out. Why I was speculating that the withholding meals as punishment wasn't the same as the Turpins. Not that it didn't happen. But from the pics, it looks like the kids came malnourished and underweight and really needed a lot of services and interventions, got opposite as well as using food restriction as punishment who knows how much. When already malnourished. I am not standing up for mothers at all. I just think kids would have reached out sooner if they were actively starving.

How would they have reached out? I'm sorry but this sounds a bit too much like victim blaming to me, like, "if it was that bad, why didn't she just leave?" We all know it's often not that simple. These were kids. If they ran away, the police would more likely than not return them to their parents. Who would then do gods know only what to exact vengeance for their misbehavior. A six year old with a penny in her pocket, in their deranged thinking, had earned herself a beating against a hard tub and a cold waterboarding. Running away could get them beaten within a literal inch of their lives! Reaching out for help and getting the parents in trouble, too. It just isn't that easy.

 

[katydid23]

I doubt they were vegan. Those leather couches stood out to my vegan self right away when viewing the real estate listing someone posted. I don't see any other indication they were vegan. You can limit sugar and go for mostly organic and non-GMO food and still eat animal products, I believe. IMO

If they have chickens, I assume they eat eggs. So they are not Vegans.

 

[bluesneakers]

If they have chickens, I assume they eat eggs. So they are not Vegans.

Based on asking for jerky/cured meats I don't think this family was all vegan (and it looks like they wear leather), BUT vegans do keep chickens as pets and don't eat the eggs.
:chicken: