Left to right: Malinda Hoagland, Rendell Hoagland (Chester County (Pa.) District Attorney).
A dad in Pennsylvania has admitted to systematically abusing and torturing his daughter until she died at age 12 — weighing just 50 pounds.
Rendell Hoagland, 54, has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, the Chester County District Attorney's Office announced on Friday. Malinda was admitted to the hospital on May 4, 2024, after Hoagland called 911. He initially told first responders that his daughter had struck a tree while riding a bicycle at 12:30 a.m.
She died while in surgery, and an autopsy revealed that her cause of death was starvation and multiple blunt-force injuries.
Hoagland also pleaded guilty to conspiracy, kidnapping, and "other charges" related to Malinda's death, according to the DA's office. During the two-hour plea agreement and sentencing hearing, Hoagland reportedly "admitted to repeatedly and systematically abusing his daughter for years."
As part of the plea, Hoagland was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
According to prosecutors, Malinda was conditioned by her father — as well as Malinda's stepmother, Cindy Warren — to accept her parents' treatment of her as normal.
"It appears that Malinda was reprogrammed to accept abuse as part of her life," de Barrena-Sarobe said at a July 2024 press conference. "She would not report abuse because she was afraid of being beaten even more fiercely than she had been before."
As Law&Crime previously reported, Rendell and Warren were arrested in May 2024 and initially charged with attempted murder. Those charges were later upgraded to murder.
Hoagland was the one who called West Caln police on Sunday, May 4, 2024, at 12:30 a.m. after finding his daughter unconscious. Police responded to the home to find "a 12-year-old girl who was broken and barely alive," the district attorney's office said at the time.
Paramedics rushed Malinda to the hospital but she died during surgery.
The DA said the girl weighed 50 pounds, had at least a half-dozen broken bones and was covered in bruises. Cops recovered home surveillance videos that allegedly showed Hoagland and Warren cuffed Malinda's ankles to furniture and "verbally berated" her for "perceived slights." As punishment they allegedly denied Malinda food "for days" and forced her to do strenuous exercises such as squats or running in place while shackled. Meanwhile, a 9-year-old — Warren's biological child — who lived in the house was unharmed and treated well.
"Information from the Coroner's Office and medical experts demonstrates a yearslong pattern of extensive torture and abuse," Chester County District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe said in a statement at the time. "Moreover, text messages and hundreds of videos show that the defendants engaged in a calculated and systematic method of terrorizing, manipulating, and dehumanizing Malinda."
Records show Warren was convicted in 2009 of child endangerment. Local NBC affiliate WCAU reported that the case stemmed from the death of her stepdaughter and abuse of her son. She reportedly lied about her then-husband's role in the abuse.
The DA's office said that Hoagland's plea agreement was reached "in consultation with the victim's family, who spoke in court about how they have been impacted by Malinda's death."
During the plea and sentencing hearing, first responders also shared their experiences responding to the 911 call "and how Malinda's death has affected them," the statement noted.
"We still have more work to do, but today we took a big step towards getting justice for Malinda," District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said.
Warren's trial is scheduled for June 8.
David Harris and Jerry Lambe contributed to this report.
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