Father, girlfriend charged in death of 'severely emaciated' 12-year-old girl: Chester County DA

WEST CALN, Pa. - A disturbing case of alleged child abuse ended with the tragic death of a young girl at the hands of her own father and his girlfriend, according to Chester County officials.

Rendell Hoagland and Cindy Warren have both been charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, kidnapping and related offenses in connection to the death of 12-year-old Malinda Hoagland.

The investigation began after Rendell Hoagland, the girl's father, called 911 to report that his daughter hit a tree while riding her bicycle in West Caln this past weekend.

(Chester County District Attorneys Office)

Officers arrived to find the unconscious girl in the back seat of a pickup truck "looking emaciated, with a weak pulse, and barely alive," according to a criminal complaint.

Malinda was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

Hospital staff noted the girl was "severely emaciated" with significant bruising, abrasions and fractures all over her body. She weighed only 50 pounds. 

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According to affidavits, both Hoagland and Warren told detectives that the girl only sustained injuries from an apparent mountain bike crash, along with water slide incident during a camping trip days prior.

When asked about the girl's weight, Warren claimed she had been "losing weight for about two and one-half months," but that a doctor's appointment had been made to address the issue.

Rendell Hoagland and Cindy Warren have both been charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, kidnapping and related offenses in connection to the death of a 12-year-old girl. (Chester County District Attorney’s Office)

Hoagland said he discovered his daughter was selling food at her school, where she last attended classes on November 30, 2023, according to county documents. She was pulled out of middle school and shifted to online cyber school in January 2024. 

"She had incredibly limited access to the outside world since she was pulled from school," Chester County District Attorney Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe told reporters. 

Investigators later executed a search of the family's home and camper, where several electronic devices, including cell phones and home security cameras were recovered. Court documents detailed numerous videos that show the child shackled to furniture and made to exercise as she is yelled at and threatened through the camera by Hoagland or Warren.

Criminal complaints state that over 100 disturbing videos of abuse were found on the recovered devices, and text messages between Hoagland and Warren that discussed the child's deteriorating condition. 

Warren and Hoagland are alleged to have "acted in concert with the intention of terrorizing and abusing the child, and continued their actions until the child's death."

The 9-year-old biological son of Warren also lived at the home during the alleged abuse. Investigators said he has since been removed from the home, but appeared to be healthy and taken care of. He is no longer in Warren's custody.

"If there's something to take from this right now it's that if you have concerns about the safety of a child, even of a child that you hardly know, you should say something," de Barrena-Sarobe said.

Documents say Warren has a prior conviction for endangering the welfare of a child in Monroe County related to her son and the beating death of a two-year-old child in her care.

Hoagland and Warren are being held on $1 million bail and the DA says more charges could come in the future.