Charges against Malinda Hoagland's father, his girlfriend upgraded to first-degree murder
WEST CALN TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) — Charges against a Chester County couple have been upgraded to first-degree murder and conspiracy in the starvation and torture death of Malinda Hoagland, according to court records and the county district attorney's office.
Hundreds of new charges were filed against Rendell Hoagland, the girl's father, and Cindy Warren, Rendell's girlfriend.
District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe said prosecutors will pursue the death penalty due to the level of torture they allege the 12-year-old suffered at the hands of her biological father and his girlfriend.
"She did not have any disease," de Barrena-Sarobe said. "She was starved and forced to exercise, did not have an ounce of fat on her."
Malinda died in May, described as "broken and barely alive" when she was found.
Police say she weighed 50 pounds and had bruises and deformities on her arms and legs.
Detectives recovered hundreds of files, including videos, images and texts that depicted the alleged abuse that took place for years.
"They communicated regularly on how they would terrorize Malinda," de Barrena-Sarobe said. "It appears Malinda was reprogrammed to accept abuse as part of her life."
As part of an extensive CBS News Philadelphia investigation, we uncovered what attorneys for Malinda's estate described as missed red flags by agencies.
Records show Malinda was removed from the Coatesville Area School District in January and allegedly placed in a cyber school.
Detectives allege Malinda Hoagland was starved for months and forced to perform strenuous exercises while chained to furniture. Those actions went undetected. Arrest papers claim Malinda had not been seen for months. Investigators obtained multiple in-home recordings of the alleged torture and abuse.
It's been reported that the Coatesville Area School District made its concerns about Malinda known to Chester County Children, Youth, and Families. While prosecutors said they made phone calls, we asked whether they should have visited the Hoagland residence in West Caln Township.
"I don't think a visit to the house would have shown anything," de Barrena-Sarobe said. "She had been reprogrammed."
A spokesperson for Chester County said in a statement, "As required by law, CYF has convened a review team and an official report reflecting the findings will be developed. Due to the confidential nature of child protection cases such as this, we cannot comment further on any aspects of Malinda's case."
Attorneys Tom Bosworth and Alexandria Crouthamel represent Malinda's estate and her three older half-sisters.
They're pushing for the creation of a database that tracks child abuse offenders because Warren had a child endangerment conviction in her record from 2007 out of Monroe County.
A custody order obtained by CBS News Philadelphia revealed Warren was under severe limitations to be around Malinda Hoagland. When confronted by reporters outside an unrelated court hearing last month, she declined to discuss the charges.
Warren was restricted in the length of time she could be around Malinda, but prosecutors said Rendell Hoagland and Warren ignored those restrictions.
Attorneys for both defendants have declined to comment. They'll be back in court for a preliminary hearing next month.