Editors note: This story contains graphic information that may disturb some readers.
A 12-year-old girl is dead after being tormented by her father and his girlfriend for months, according to officials in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Authorities charged the pair for the girl's killing.
Chester County District Attorney Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe said that when officers and first responders found the girl on Saturday, she had numerous broken bones and was barely alive.
Investigators say they found deleted cell phone videos that showed the abuse and torture was "ongoing" and "systematic."
“Doctors found a child who was emaciated. She weighed 50 pounds. She was covered in bruises. She had a half dozen broken bones, at least. Her organs were failing and ultimately she died while she was being treated at the hospital," de Barrena-Sarobe said.
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Right now, there aren't any answers as to why Malinda Hoagland was treated this way by her father, Rendell Hoagland, and his girlfriend, Cindy Warren.
But, Chester County's DA said there were enough answers to charge the two people for the girl's death.
The two subjected the girl to “evil and torment that no child should ever have to endure and they did it for months,” de Barrena-Sarobe said.
Hoagland and Warren are each facing attempted criminal homicide, assault, kidnapping and other related charges.
This all stemmed from a call to 911 on Saturday when Hoagland called police and told them his daughter was riding her bicycle and hit a tree which knocked her unconscious, the criminal complaint says.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
West Caln police say Hoagland called saying that his daughter was unconscious and unresponsive. While she was taken to the trauma center at a nearby hospital, authorities opened an investigation.
“Police slowly learned that Malinda had been pulled out of middle school in late November and early December and shifted to an online cyber school," de Barrena-Sarobe explained. “She was virtually showing up on camera based on some of the videos that we reviewed, but she was shackled below from where the camera was."
The criminal complaint states that Malinda was often shackled in the basement of the home as well.
Investigators have been combing through the cell phones of the couple and say Warren deleted several texts with Hoagland. Meanwhile, on both phones, police found dozens of deleted videos from the couple's in-home camera system that had speakers attached.
“Those videos showed that Malinda was ankle-cuffed to furniture and verbally berated by the defendants through that in-camera speaker system. The video showed that they would punish her by demanding strenuous exercise such as squats and running in place while she was still shackled and they showed she would be punished for slights by being denied food," de Barrena-Sarobe said.
The couple was arrested on Monday night and jailed on $1 million cash bail. Online court records don't list an attorney who could comment for either person.
The District Attorney's Office will decide whether to charge them with murder after all of the evidence is reviewed as they wait for medical reports to come back.
Malinga Hoagland was a student at the Coatesville Area School District from spring 2022 through December 2023.
"Our staff diligently reported concerns about her welfare to the state
agency that receives and manages concerns. Shortly thereafter, she was withdrawn from our schools," Superintendent Dr. Catherine Van Vooren said in a statement. "This news shakes our entire school community, and we are deeply saddened and upset by the horrific
details of the abuse this child suffered."
The District Attorney said that Warren's 9-year-old son was in the home, but it appears he was treated well and is unharmed.
Back in 2009, Warren was sentenced for a different child abuse case where authorities say she lied about her then-husband abusing her son and stepdaughter and refused to say he caused the girl's death.
"If you have concerns about the safety of a child, even of a child you hardly know, you should say something. Call 911. Call childline at 800-932-0313," de Barrena-Sarobe said.
If you have any information that could help investigators with Malinda Hoagland's case, please call Chester County Detectives at 610-344-6866.
Correction (May 8, 2024, 6:16 a.m.): This story has been updated to clarify the criminal charges Hoagland and Warren faced upon their initial arrest. The most serious charge is attempted criminal homicide.
