Malinda Hoagland Murder: Death Penalty Sought, DA Says

The Chester County District Attorney's Office said it intends to pursue the death penalty for both Malinda's father, 52-year-old Rendell Hoagland, and her "de facto stepmother," 45-year-old Cindy Warren.

At the time of her death, Malinda weighed 50 pounds and was covered in approximately 75 individually identified bruises, contusions, ulcers, and pressure sores throughout her body, the DA's office said.

Authorities also noted that teachers had periodically checked in with Malinda before her cruel parents yanked her from school and put her in cyber classes.

Hoagland and Warren were first charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, conspiracy, and nearly a dozen other felonies after Malinda died on May 4.

As of Thursday, July 25, they had been charged with first-, second, and third-degree murder, involuntary servitude, and additional offenses, authorities said. Both are still being held at the Chester County Prison without bail.

First responders were called to the couple's Reid Road home on May 4 and found Malinda unresponsive, according to prosecutors. Hoagland told them that his daughter had hit a tree while riding a bike, and she later died during emergency surgery, authorities said previously.

Medical staff told investigators that the 12-year-old had "significant bruising," liver damage, and was suffering from "multi-system trauma" including circulatory, respiratory, and cardiac failure, the DA's Office said.

She was emaciated to an extent that "should not occur in this country," trauma surgeons reportedly said.

Investigators later found video footage of Malinda shackled to various pieces of furniture in her father and stepmother's home and forced to do calisthenics in place, authorities said.

In the Thursday release, investigators offered a complete timeline of the last two and a half years of Malinda's life, during which time they said Hoagland and Warren starved and abused her while actively working to cover it up.

• November 2021: Hoagland and Warren have their first recorded discussion about "assault causing injury" to Malinda.
• November 2021: Malinda was last seen by a doctor who recorded her weight at 77 pounds.
• June to September 2022: Hoagland and Warren use "stress positions and food/water restriction" as “punishment."
• December 2022: A roughly 30-minute video is recorded wherein Malinda is forced to hold books over her head while being "threatened, berated, and beaten."
• February to March 2023: Malinda misses a month of school due to injuries that Hoagland and Warren were "unable to conceal with makeup."
• July 2023: Hoagland and Warren install security cameras throughout their home to monitor Malinda.
• November 2023: Malinda attends in-person school for the last time before she is withdrawn and made to attend online classes.
• December 2023: A video is recorded of Malinda forced to wear shackles.
• March 2024: Malinda is awarded "Student of the Month" at her online school.
• April 2024: Hoagland and Warren rub soap in Malinda's eyes, causing "vision impairment."
• May 3, 2024: The final video is recorded of Malinda conscious and attending online classes.
• Morning of May 4, 2024: Malinda loses consciousness during a family camping trip around 1 a.m. Hoagland takes her "back and forth" between the campground and family home during the early morning hours.
• Evening of May 4, 2024: Hoagland and Warren search the internet and drug stores for ways to wake Malinda and discuss taking her to the hospital. An hour and a half later, Hoagland calls 911. She is pronounced dead at Paoli Hospital two and a half hours after the 911 call.

“Information from the Coroner’s Office and medical experts demonstrates a years-long pattern of extensive torture and abuse," said DA Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe on Thursday.

"Moreover, text messages and hundreds of videos show that the Defendants engaged in a calculated and systematic method of terrorizing, manipulating, and dehumanizing Malinda."

"We will get justice for Malinda.”

Warren has a prior conviction "related to the physical abuse of her 3-year-old son and the beating death of a 2-year-old child in her care," authorities have noted.

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