WEST CALN TOWNSHIP, PA — A Chester County father who abused and tortured his 12-year-old daughter for years before ultimately killing her has pled guilty to first degree murder, authorities announced this week.
Rendell Hoagland, 54, of West Caln, agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors which sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 30 to 60 years. Prosecutors had originally sought the death penalty.
In addition to first degree murder, Hoagland pled guilty to conspiracy and kidnapping.
“We still have more work to do, but today we took a big step towards getting justice for Malinda,” Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said in a statement.
A trial for Malinda’s stepmother, Cindy Warren, will begin on June 8.
In a two-hour court proceeding this week, Rendell Hoagland admitted to “repeated and systematic” abuse for the last several years of Malinda’s life.
Both Malinda’s extended family, along with first responders who responded to the 911 call, spoke in court about how her death impacted them.
The child was pulled out of public school in late Nov. 2023 and shifted to a home cyber school. Teachers had routinely checked on Malinda’s well being before and after this, investigators found, as Malinda had 10 excused and 25 unexcused absences from school during that fall.
In the several months that followed, Hoagland and Warren severely abused and starved her inside their home on the 200 block of Reid Road in West Caln, the District Attorney’s Office said. But her abuse began long before that, police said their latest investigation found.
Dozens of videos found on both Hoagland’s and Warren’s phones showed that they ankle-cuffed Malinda to furniture, verbally berated her through an in-camera speaker system, demanded physical strenuous exercise like squats and running in place, and denied her meals for various perceived slights, police said.
On May 4, 2024, at around 7:28 p.m., Rendell Hoagland called 911 after Malinda passed out. Medics immediately noticed that many things were “gravely wrong,” with Malinda, the DA said, including that she was severely malnourished and had several broken bones. She weighed only 50 pounds, was covered in bruises, and was suffering from severe organ failure, police said.
She was taken to Paoli Hospital Trauma Center, where she died at 9:58 p.m.
Hoagland and Warren were arrested on May 6, 2024, and originally charged with attempted criminal homicide, kidnapping, and aggravated assault. First, second, and third degree murder charges, in addition to involuntary servitude charges, were filed in July 2024 following new discoveries in the investigation.
If you have concerns about the safety of a child contact Childline at 1-800-932-0313.