CALN — The Coatesville Area School District has reacted to the horrific death of a former 12-year-old student, Malinda Hoagland.
A Chester County couple — Rendell A. Hoagland and Cindy Marie Warren — have been arrested and charged in the death of the man’s daughter, with episodes of abuse, including being chained to an air hockey table, captured on video in their home. The woman’s criminal past involves the beating of her son and the murder of her stepdaughter at the hands of her then-husband.
In a school district statement, CASD Superintendent Catherine Van Vooren said that it was with an extremely heavy heart that she shared the news of the young student’s death.
“This news shakes our entire school community, and we are deeply saddened and upset by the horrific details of the abuse this child suffered,” she said.
The school district had some concerns about her welfare. Malinda was enrolled in the district from spring 2022 through December 2023.
“Our staff diligently reported concerns about her welfare to the state agency that receives and manages concerns.”
The superintendent then said that “shortly thereafter” the student withdrew from school and enrolled in a cyber charter school.
The victim’s brother remained at King’s Highway Elementary School and is now “in protective custody and is expected to be relocated to another county and school district,” Van Vooren wrote.
The superintendent said that the district joins in collectively mourning the life of the child.
“No matter the length of time a child is a student in our school district, every child matters deeply and their welfare and well-being is critically important to us,” she said. “We will collaborate in the coming days on ways in which we can honor Malinda’s life as a school community and support our students as they cope with this tragic information.”
Counselors trained in grief and trauma support will be available at King’s Highway Elementary School, Scott Middle School and North Brandywine Middle School for both staff and students.
District Attorney Chris deBarrena-Sarobe announced the arrests of Hoagland and Warren at a press conference at the Chester County Justice Center on Tuesday, a day after they were taken into custody and three days after police were called to their home in West Caln Township and the investigation into young Malinda Hoagland’s horrific condition began.
“Malinda was subjected to evil and torment that no child should ever have to endure,” said de Barrena-Sarone. “I am grateful to every first responder and law enforcement officer who has worked tirelessly on this case.
“Together we will get justice for Malinda.”
The couple was charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault of a child, unlawful restraint, recklessly endangering another person, endangering the welfare of a child, and conspiracy. Further charges could be filed.
Malinda’s injuries included fractures to both wrists and ankles, broken vertebrae, an injured liver, cuts and significant bruising on her face and chest, deformities to her legs, and chest contusions. She suffered multi-system trauma, circulatory and respiratory failure, and cardiac arrest.
The location of Malinda Hoagland’s death in rural West Caln, and the alleged brutality of the girl’s abuse, immediately brought to mind the case of the last child to have been murdered in that township, 3-year-old Scott “Scotty” McMillan, who was beaten to death by his mother and her boyfriend.
The torture that “Scotty” and his older brother, who survived, endured at the hands of Gary Lee Fellenbaum III made headlines around the world. “Scotty” McMillan died on Nov. 4, 2014, of multiple blunt force trauma brought on by weeks of beating and torture he suffered at the hands of Fellenbaum and the boy’s mother, Jillian Tait.
The murder shocked members of the Chester County community for its savage nature and drew heartbreaking headlines around the world with its accompanying photograph of the red-headed “Scotty” sitting on the lap of an Easter Bunny model. At the time, then-Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan called the case “an American horror story.”
A representative for the district confirmed, Thursday, that Scotty’s brother, like Malinda, attended King’s Highway Elementary School. Malinda attended King’s Highway from April 2022 to June 2022 and she attended Scott Sixth Grade Center the following school year.
