Family of Malinda Hoagland, 12-year-old girl 'tortured girl to death' by father and wicked stepmother, files lawsuit for 'absolute failure of the system'
The family of a 12-year-old girl who was allegedly tortured to death by her father and wicked stepmother have filed a lawsuit against a number of state and county agencies - alleging an 'absolute failure of the system.'
Malinda Hoagland's three half sisters are seeking millions of dollars from Chester County, its Children, Youth and Family Office, Monroe County and its office of Children and Youth, as well as the Coatesville Area School District and the state of Pennsylvania in the federal suit filed Wednesday.
A separate lawsuit was also filed in state court against Commonwealth Charter Academy - the school Malinda attended from January up until her death in May.
The suits say all of these different agencies 'looked the other way' at warning signs that Malinda was being beaten and starved by her father, Rendell Hoagland, 52, and her stepmother Cindy Warren, 45, prior to her death in May, according to Fox 29.
These missed warning signs were 'so astounding and show an absolute failure of the system that should never be allowed to happen again,' the suits say.
Malinda Hoagland's three half sisters have filed wrongful death suits against a number of county and Pennsylvania agencies as well as the schools she attended
Her father Rendell Hoagland, 52, and her stepmother Cindy Warren, 45, are now charged with her death
The lawsuits claim representatives from Chester and Monroe counties, as well as staff at the schools Malinda attended 'affirmatively used their authority to place [her] into a home in which they knew that [she] was the ongoing victim of serial abuse, starvation and torment.
'Had these defendants not misused their authority in this manner, Malinda Hoagland would have been removed from her residence, spared months of torture, abuse and starvation and would be alive today,' the suits say, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The suits argue that Warren should never have been allowed to live with Malinda due to a child abuse conviction over 20 years ago that resulted in the death of her ex-husband McKinley Warren Jr.'s two-year-old daughter Jessica Bock.
Jessica died in 2000 in after Warren refused to change her diaper because 'she had painted her nails.' Instead, she called McKinley, who had been drinking at a bar, to come home and change the toddler's diaper - which is when he fatally injured Jessica.
Warren's ex-husband McKinley Warren Jr. is serving 25 to 50 years for Jessica's murder and for abusing their three-year-old son, Isaiah.
Warren, meanwhile, was given a three to seven year prison sentence after she testified against her former partner and pleaded guilty to child endangerment of their son.
But in a 2020 custody order in Monroe County, Warren was explicitly barred from being left alone with Malinda, the Inquirer reports.
Yet nothing was done when Rendell moved with her and Malinda to Montgomery County and eventually Chester County, the lawsuits argue.
The suits argue that Warren should never have been allowed to live with Malinda due to a child abuse conviction over 20 years ago
Warren's ex-husband McKinley Warren Jr. is serving 25 to 50 years for the death of his two-year-old daughter, Jessica (right)
The suits also claim that the staff at North Brandywine Middle School, where Malinda was enrolled up until November 2023, filed a complaint with the state Department of Health's ChildLine service over the girls' absences and their concerns that she was being abused at home, given her physical condition and behavior.
Records show Malinda had about 25 unexcused absences and an additional 10 excused absences in 2023, before she was removed from in-person schooling, NBC Philadelphia reports.
But employees at the Children, Youth and Family Office only called the home to discuss the concerns - and never conducted an in-person visit, the lawsuit alleges.
In those two phone calls, Hoagland and Warren said they would address the concerns about Malinda at her next doctor's appointment - but records show there was no indication she had seen a doctor for several years before her death, the lawsuits claim.
'If you have a student in your class who's becoming emaciated, losing weight, has scabs, wounds, bruises, [is] hiding food in her locker - which they knew about - you have to do more,' attorney Tom Bosworth said.
He noted that the goal of the civil suits is 'to ensure that a full and complete accountability will be achieved for the heinous actions of the educators, case workers and institutions who all failed Malinda miserably.
'The imposition of punitive damages is necessary to not only punish these defendants for their reckless conduct, but also as a deterrent so nothing like this ever happens again.'
An autopsy found Malinda had more than 75 identifiable 'bruises, contusions, ulcers, and pressure sores' on her body
Prosecutors have said Malinda was found 'barely alive' by police on May 4, after her father called 911 - claiming she had crashed her bicycle into a tree.
But medics at a local hospital were shocked by her condition, which included heavy bruising, half a dozen broken bones and liver damage.
An autopsy eventually discovered more than 75 individually identifiable 'bruises, contusions, ulcers, and pressure sores' on her body, and concluded that her death was caused by 'starvation and multiple blunt force injuries'.
She weighed just 50 pounds at the time of her death, prosecutors noted.
An ensuing investigation found that Rendell and Warren scrambled to delete videos and text messages in the hours before her death.
But officers were still able to recover 'hundreds of videos and still images on the defendants' cellphones and Blink Security Cameras,' after securing a search warrant.
They reportedly show Hoagland and Warren cuffing Malinda's ankles to furniture, forcing her to sleep chained on the floor with no pillow or blankets, and telling her not to expect breakfast, lunch or dinner.
The obese couple would allegedly force the little girl to do 'endless amounts' of strenuous exercises while shackled as punishment for 'perceived slights'.
Those 'slights' included stealing food, not smiling during school sessions over Zoom, or wetting herself while cuffed to furniture.
They would watch her over the video surveillance system and bark out commands and reprimands through the speaker system while the girl was chained and alone in the basement.
Other footage showed Malinda begging Warren to unshackle her, according to the lawsuit.
'I'm not going to act stupid, I'm not going to make you mad,' the young girl could allegedly be heard pleading.
'I know I ruined everything. Please allow me to change.'
Lawyers for Malinda's half sisters say they want accountability from the different agencies
Prosecutors also say Malinda's father and stepmother withdrew her from in-person schooling in November 2023, and enrolled her in solely online classes.
They would then allegedly use makeup to cover up her bruises and shackled her to the floor.
Hoagland and Warren are now facing the death penalty as they are charged with first degree murder.
But investigators have said there is no indication that either the Coatesville Area School District or the online Commonwealth Charter Academy failed to meet the legal requirements of reporting abuse.
They said evidence shows that teachers at both schools often checked in with Malinda.
In a statement to NBC Philadelphia, a spokesperson for the Coatesville Area School District said, 'The torture and death of this child is a horrific tragedy.
'We follow and exceed state-mandated policies and procedures for training of faculty and staff to identify and report suspected child abuse,' the spokesperson continued.
'We were shocked and shaken by the news that Malinda Hoagland had died months after being withdrawn from our school district last year.'
The Commonwealth Charter Academy also said that law enforcement officials found they did not fail in their responsibilities to report abuse, and noted that Malinda was an honor student who regularly attended classes and was actively engaged.
'Malinda Hoagland's death was tragic and heartbreaking for the CCA school community,' it said.
A representative of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services also told NBC Philadelphia they could not comment on pending litigation, but called Malinda's loss 'tragic.
'Our sincerest thoughts continue to be with Malinda's family and friends, as the death and loss of any child is tragic.'
