PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The surviving family members of a Chester County girl allegedly tortured, starved and killed by her father and his girlfriend have filed lawsuits against the agencies they claim failed to protect her. The family of 12-year-old Malinda Hoagland, who died May 4th, filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against the County of Chester, Chester County Children, Youth & Families, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Monroe, Monroe County Office of Children & Youth, Coatesville Area School District, North Brandywine Middle School, Upper Dublin School District and Horace S.
Scott Middle School. The suit alleges "wrongful death, repeated violations of the State-Created Danger Doctrine and overall egregious negligence and recklessness." A state lawsuit was also filed in the Court of Common Pleas Philadelphia County against the Commonwealth Charter Academy, alleging wrongful death, negligence and recklessness, among other charges.
Authorities say Malinda weighed just 50 pounds at the time of her death. The girl's father, 52-year-old Rendell Hoagland, and his girlfriend, 45-year-old Cindy Warren, were charged with first-degree, second-degree and third-degree murder, as well as involuntary servitude and other offenses. Prosecutors have announced their intention to seek the death penalty in the case.
Rendell Hoagland Malinda’s half-sisters, Emily Lee, Jamie and Abbey Hoagland, scheduled a Wednesday afternoon news conference with their attorneys to discuss the lawsuits, along with their ongoing efforts to seek accountability and legislative change in the wake of their sister's death. Attorneys for the plaintiffs say the combined lawsuits seek millions of dollars in punitive and compensatory damages as the missed red flags and warning signs show "an absolute failure of the system that should never be allowed to happen again." “The system failed Malinda, and who knows how many other children are suffering through similarly horrible circumstances.
I hope that these lawsuits will finally shed light on the negligence of those who didn’t do their jobs and simply swept this under the rug as if Malinda was less than human,” said Emily Lee Hoagland. In addition, the lawsuit contends Warren never should have been allowed to live in the home with Malinda given her previous child abuse conviction. Warren and her previous husband were investigated about 20 years ago over allegations of abuse of Warren’s 2-year-old daughter and the couple’s 3-year-old son.
Attorneys say Warren's then-husband pleaded guilty in the death of the 2-year-old child and is serving a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison. Warren was given leniency after testifying against him and pleaded guilty to child endangerment of the son. She was sentenced to 3-7 years in prison.
Cindy Warren After previously attending several schools in person, Malinda enrolled virtually in the Commonwealth Charter Academy in January 2024. Despite having knowledge of Warren’s criminal past as a convicted child abuser, “defendant CCA never informed any authorities or took any action to intervene to protect Malinda Hoagland, which was their obligation to do,” according to the state complaint. Her teachers “failed to intervene, failed to investigate Malinda’s well-being, and failed to report suspected child abuse and neglect as mandated by law,” the complaint continued.
An autopsy revealed Malinda died from starvation and multiple blunt force injuries, including about 75 visible bruises along with contusions and ulcers. The report further revealed injuries to Malinda’s brain, heart, lungs, liver, pancreas and intestines, as well as healing fractures of the pelvic bone, lower vertebrae, right forearm and both thigh bones. “These lawsuits are about accountability for everything that my father and his girlfriend did to my sister and the failure to protect her from such torture and abuse by her schools and state and county officials,” said Abbey Hoagland.
"As we agonize every day thinking about what she went through, the horrors and pain she suffered, we just want to make sure no other child ever has to endure such cruelty while those who are in charge of protecting them turn a blind eye,” she added. Rendell Hoagland and Cindy Warren are due back in criminal court for their scheduled preliminary hearings on August 29..
