WEST CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES, July 25, 2024 /
EINPresswire.com/ -- PRESS CONFERENCE
Thursday, July 25
2pm EST or immediately following the Chester Co. District Attorney's press conference
Chester County Courthouse, 201 West Market St., West Chester, PA
As the family of a 12-year-old girl who was allegedly brutally tortured and killed by her father and his girlfriend continue to seek answers and accountability, their attorneys on Thursday plan to address the enhanced first-degree murder and conspiracy charges filed against the couple along with the expected release of gruesome new details.
Malinda Hoagland died on May 4, 2024, at a Pennsylvania hospital. She weighed just 50 pounds after a short, tortured life of starvation and horrific abuse. Her father, Rendell Hoagland and his girlfriend, Cindy Warren, had been charged with attempted criminal homicide, kidnapping and aggravated assault, among other charges.
The charges have now been enhanced, including first-degree murder and conspiracy. The Chester County District Attorney’s Office also is expected to announce on Thursday new disturbing details uncovered during the investigation.
Attorneys
Tom Bosworth and
Alexandria “Ally” Crouthamel, who represent Hoagland’s half-sisters, plan a news conference immediately following the District Attorney’s announcement to address the new information and charges, and their efforts to seek accountability and legislative change.
“We will not stop until a full and complete investigation has been done by the County, Commonwealth, and schools for the horrid and preventable death of Malinda. So many red flags and warning signs were missed, and we seek accountability,” Bosworth said.
“No child ever should have to endure what Malinda suffered,” added Crouthamel. “Every stone will be turned over in trying to determine how Malinda’s preventable death occurred. She was a 12-year-old beautiful girl who had the rest of her life to live. Sadly - and negligently - the very people who were supposed to protect her failed miserably.”
The repeated missed warning signs and red flags highlight the absolute negligence of those responsible for her well-being, including their awareness of a 2020 custody order that severely restricted Warren’s contact with Hoagland, and a notification from her school to the Chester County Children, Youth & Families department about their concerns for her welfare. Still, no one ever visited the home to check on her, even after she was pulled out of school in late 2023.
In addition, 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. Her 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.
“Malinda was a vivacious and innocent child whose body and soul were tormented and ravaged by the very adults responsible for her well-being,” Bosworth said. “The sustained physical and mental abuse and torture that Malinda endured was made possible only through the conduct of state, county, and corporate officials, whose reckless actions placed Malinda in the hellish environment to which she eventually succumbed.”
At the time of her death, little Malinda was emaciated and starving, her organs were failing and she was covered in bruises with at least a half-dozen broken bones. She had spent the previous months enduring unimaginable torture at the hands of her father and Warren, including being shackled to the furniture, having a hood placed over her head, repeated beatings and verbal abuse, being forced to do strenuous exercise and punished by denying her food for days.
Now, Malinda’s half-sisters Emily Lee and Jamie and Abbey Hoagland, who were cut out of her life after they questioned their father about Warren’s criminal past, demand answers and accountability.
Crouthamel and Bosworth have been in touch with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro about a proposed law named after Malinda to protect children across the state.
“Emily, Jamie and Abbey deserve answers,” Crouthamel said. “And those responsible for the care of Malinda should be and will be held accountable.”
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Tom Bosworth of
Bosworth Law focuses on representing catastrophic injury victims, representing those harmed by dangerous consumer products, dangerous medical devices, medical malpractice, and more. In 2022 he became the youngest attorney in Pennsylvania history to obtain a verdict greater than $10 million for a living patient in a medical malpractice case.
Alexandria “Ally” Crouthamel of Crouthamel Law Offices focuses her practice on criminal defense. She defends clients from serious felonies that include aggravated DUI, homicide, theft, fraud, drug crimes and misdemeanors. She also assists family law clients in filing Protection From Abuse (PFA) orders, divorce, and custody motions, and protects children involved in child and youth legal matters. Crouthamel has a deep commitment to protecting the rights of her clients.
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Brian Skoloff
Newsroom PR
+1 801-889-9075
brian@newsroompr.com