PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Chester County man and his girlfriend have been charged in connection with the death of his 12-year-old daughter. Authorities say the girl was found badly beaten and malnourished by first responders, before succumbing to her injuries.
Rendell Hoagland, 52, and his girlfriend Cindy Warren, 45, were arrested Monday night and face charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault of a child, kidnapping and other charges in the death of Hoagland's daughter Malinda. Authorities say they responded to a 911 call from Hoagland on Saturday at his West Caln home.
Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe says first responders found the child covered in bruises and “emaciated,” weighing only 50 pounds. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors found she had at least a half-dozen broken bones and her organs were failing. Despite efforts to treat her, Malinda died at the hospital.
The district attorney says investigators found numerous videos on Hoagland’s and Warren’s phones from a home security camera system, through which he says the two would verbally berate the girl, forcing her to perform strenuous exercise, such as running in place or doing squats, while shackled to furniture.
“And they showed that she would be punished for perceived slights by being denied food, sometimes for days. And these videos started months ago,” said de Barrena-Sarobe. He added the 12-year-old had little to no contact with the outside world after she was pulled out of her middle school in late November or early December and shifted to online cyber-schooling.
A spokeswoman for Coatesville Area School District says the entire community is devastated. She says the school district reported concerns to Childline in the fall, before Malinda’s parents withdrew her from the school district.
Hoagland and Warren are being held on $1 million bail. De Barrena-Sarobe says their attempted homicide charge could be upgraded to murder, pending medical test results.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of the victim’s name.