186. Malinda Hoagland: The 12-Year-Old Held Captive in Her Own Home

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 3 (01:08):
Hello and welcome to Reverie True Crime. I'm your host
page before we kick off today's episode. If you suspect
child abuse, call the Child Help National Child Abuse Hotline
at one eight hundred. The number four a child or

(01:30):
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(01:55):
On the night of May fourth, twenty twenty four, an
one call came in from a small Pennsylvania town. A
man said that his daughter had been in an accident.
When first responders arrived, they quickly realized something wasn't right.
What began as a simple emergency call would turn into

(02:20):
a deeply disturbing case. What happened stunned a community and
changed a family forever. In this episode, we're going to
follow what happened step by step as investigators started asking questions,
listening closely, and looking at what was right in front

(02:43):
of them. This story is so hard to hear, but
it should be told. Let's get started. Melinda Hoagland was
born on July fourth, twenty eleven, in Pennsylvania. From the
very beginning, she was a bright, curious, bubbly, playful child

(03:06):
who loved to laugh and was a movie fanatic. She
has three half sisters, Emily, Jamie and Abby All in
their twenties, they called Melinda Minna. According to family, Melinda
was outgoing, sweet and nature loving. She was especially drawn

(03:30):
to butterflies and fireflies, chasing their glow on warm summer nights.
In early childhood photos, she's smiling, head tilted, family pets
by her side. One picture shows her looking at peace
with her sister Emily, saying quote the picture of a

(03:53):
happy kid. Melinda's biological mother struggled with severe mental health
health issues which made her unable to care for herself
or Melinda. A judge granted custody to her father, Rindall Hoagland.
They viewed him as more stable and present. After that,

(04:16):
Melinda had no contact with her mother. There were no letters,
no visits, and no social media connections. Her world was
only as big as her father and eventually his girlfriend.
In twenty nineteen, Rindall met Cindy Warren on a Facebook

(04:38):
dating app, and soon their family life began to change.
Her half sisters would still visit Melinda, but as Cindy's
influence grew, Melinda became quieter more withdrawn. Visits would soon
come to a halt after his daughters had concerns about

(05:02):
Cindy after Rindall began dating Cindy, Emily said she googled
his new girlfriend and learned about her legal history. Quote.
I had said something to my dad like, hey, Dad,
do you know what this woman has been accused of?
Do you know what she's done? And we were just

(05:26):
not supposed to talk about it. I was just estranged
from my father, waiting for my sister to get older.
We had a relationship prior to my father's relationship with Cindy,
but I wouldn't say that we knew anything was going on.
It's just that we were kept in the dark end quote.

(05:49):
We will circle back to Cindy's history later, Emily held
on to hope that Cindy had changed from who she
once was. Rindall moved away with Melinda in Tow to
live with Cindy. Communications between Melinda and her sisters slowed

(06:09):
down over time until they stopped completely. That didn't sit
right with her sisters. Jamie said the last time she
saw Melinda was in May of twenty twenty three. This
was a few years after Rendall and Cindy had started dating,

(06:30):
and they were living in Chester County, more than two
hours away from where Jamie lives. Rendall had been entered
into a competition of some kind, and Jamie was meeting
up with them to hang out. Melinda wasn't at the competition,
so Jamie put her foot down and demanded to see her.

(06:53):
Jamie said, quote, I showed up at the hotel with
food for all of them. Melinda was in a row
that was fifty degrees, so she was under blankets and sweatshirts.
I didn't really think anything of it. End quote. When
Rindall and Cindy left the room, she talked to Melinda.

(07:15):
The conversations were pretty normal, and Melinda even said she
was making new friends at school. Jamie said, quote and
then that's really when they came back into the room
and were like, we're going to bed. You guys need
to leave now. End quote. Loved ones would eventually find

(07:37):
out the horrific truth about why Melinda was so withdrawn
and they hadn't seen her in so long. On Saturday
May fourth, twenty twenty four, fifty two year old Rindall
Hoagland made a nine to one one call. He was
panicking and sounded rushed. He said he was the father

(08:00):
of twelve year old Melinda Hoagland and she had crashed
her bike into a tree in the early hours of
the morning. According to him, she was currently in the
backseat of his truck unconscious. Emergency responders from Westcoum Township
Police and the Westwood Fire Company ambulance raced to the

(08:24):
location of a home tucked in the woods of Chester County, Pennsylvania.
When they arrived just after seven thirty pm, they didn't
find any wild commotion of a frantic father comforting his
injured child or the mess of a quickly managed accident.

(08:45):
What they found was way more disturbing. Inside the ambulance,
paramedics hovered over twelve year old Melinda. She was barely
clinging to life. Her pulse was weak and fading. Her
body was gaunt and frail. She only weighed fifty pounds.

(09:08):
Her face was pale and hollowed, her limbs bruised and
bent in unnatural ways. She was in horrendous condition. Police
Officer Russell Moore stepped into the ambulance and took one
look at Melinda. He had seen trauma before, but this

(09:30):
was much different. Not only did Melinda look injured, she
looked starved and neglected. Beyond reason. Officer Moore immediately called
in Detective Thomas Goggin from the Chester County Detectives. Something
about this entire story did not add up. Melinda was

(09:53):
rushed to the hospital. Even though the emergency team gave
their best efforts, she he was pronounced dead at nine
fifty eight pm. Detectives Goggin and Gerald Davis arrived at
the home that same evening to speak with forty five
year old Cindy Warren, who said she was Melinda's stepmother.

(10:17):
Cindy lived there with Rendell and her own nine year
old biological son. Cindy explained that the family had gone
on a camping trip the day before to Yogi Bear's
Jellystone Park camp resort in Quarryville. She said it was
meant to be a three week getaway from their everyday routine,

(10:39):
but rain had driven them back home early sometime on Saturday.
Cindy told detectives that when they left the campground, Melinda
got into the truck on her own and was really quiet,
probably sleeping, she figured. Cindy gave two at explanations for

(11:01):
Melinda's condition. First, she said Melinda had gotten hurt at
the water park when she was hit by another child.
At the bottom of a slide. Then, in the early
morning hours of May fourth, Cindy claimed Melinda had fallen
off her bike and hit a tree, causing a bump

(11:22):
on her head and a little blood on her nose.
She said Melinda sat with an ice pack for a
few minutes and then kept playing cornhole and running around
with the dog until about three in the morning. But
as investigators look closer, Cindy's story began to fall apart.

(11:45):
She claimed Melinda had pancakes. Later that day. She said
Melinda had been drinking pediasher taking vitamins, and they had
an upcoming doctor's appointment scheduled for May sixteenth, two weeks
away in the Pocono Mountains. But when the detectives examined

(12:06):
the PediaSure bottle that Cindy pointed to, it was nearly full.
Then came the search of the house. Inside Melinda's room
was a desk where Cindy said she did her online schooling,
but there were no toys or TV. There were no

(12:26):
signs of childhood joy anywhere. Her brother's room, however, had
a large television and video games. Melinda's space was bare
and cold. They found notebooks with scribbles and a list
of her favorite themes. Almost all of them were foods

(12:47):
and snacks. Cindy handed over her cell phone and consented
to a search. Investigators quickly noticed something weird. Every text
between her and Rendall prior to nine thirty that night
had been deleted, yet text with other people went back

(13:08):
much further. That was the first sign that something had
been scrubbed away. The next morning, detectives interviewed Rendall Hoagland
at the hospital. He stuck to the same story. It
was a bike accident and a bump that happened at
the water park, nothing more. He said. He gave Melinda

(13:30):
an ice pack and that she was fine. She had
a pancake and continued to play. But when he showed
detectives a picture of Melinda from just four months ago,
taken on January fifth, twenty twenty four, the difference was
absolutely stunning. In that picture, she looked healthy and more lively.

(13:56):
There was weight in her face and light in her eyes.
Detectives pressed them further, what about the weight loss. Why
hadn't she seen a doctor since twenty twenty two? Why
was her body so broken and battered? Rendell offered up
more information, saying that he had put a padlock on

(14:19):
the snack cabinet, but she could still eat quote unquote
regular food. He told them that she had once been
caught selling food at school and that's why they pulled
her out and started homeschooling. Records showed Melinda last attended
North Brandywine Middle School in November of twenty twenty three.

(14:42):
By January of twenty twenty four, she was officially withdrawn.
From that point on, no one outside the home laid
eyes on her. On May fifth, police executed a search
warrant on the home, and with they found confirmed their
worst fears. Hidden in the house were blink surveillance cameras.

(15:08):
There was one in every room. On those cameras were
more than one hundred videos. Clips dated back as far
as July twenty twenty three showed Melinda chained to furniture,
forced to do exercises, berated, and belittled by both Cindy

(15:28):
and Rendell. In one video from January first, twenty twenty four,
she's shackled to an air hockey table. In another, she's
holding her arms in the air for hours while Cindy
yells at her through the speaker. February seventh. At three
oh four am, Melinda as shackled asleep on the floor

(15:53):
with no blanket and no pillow. At seven thirty five am,
she's awake, still shackled, arms raised. She's seen doing squats, crying,
and reading while chained. The videos also show her marching
in place for hours at a time. She would be

(16:16):
punished for trying to sneak food, not smiling while doing
her schooling over zoom, for getting chores or homework, failing
to sit properly, failing to continue with forced exercise, or
if she urinated on herself while cuffed to furniture. At times,

(16:40):
Melinda would say thank you just for being allowed a
ten minute break. By April of twenty twenty four, she's
eating skin off her hands, and by May second Melinda
is shackled to a desk doing homework while Cindy yells
through the speaker, have a nice life, by bitch. The

(17:03):
investigators had seen enough. The digital trail of abuse was
dreadful and exhaustive. Each clip, each camera angle told the
same story. A twelve year old girl was wasting away
while the people who were supposed to protect her broke
her down piece by piece. The videos were only the beginning.

(17:29):
Inside a locked gun safe, they found tablets and a laptop.
There were additional cell phones hidden in a bedroom dresser
belonging to Cindy and Rendall. There was a small, pink
cased Android phone that one belonged to Melinda. Rindall's iPhone
was also taken as evidence. That same day, the investigators

(17:53):
turned their attention to the Jellystone campground. The camper where
Rendall and Cindy claimed Melinda fell and hit her head
was still parked there, and a search warrant was executed.
Inside things were neat and tidy, a little too well kept.

(18:16):
The camper had clearly been cleaned. Still, detectives found blood
stained pants and a pair of girls underwear in the trash.
Two bicycles were also seized. But it was the orderliness
of the place, the scrub down surfaces and tidy belongings.

(18:37):
It didn't look like a place where a child had
recently been hurt. It looked like a crime scene that
someone tried to clean up. At the hospital, the emergency
team had worked frantically to save Melinda, but her body
had already been through weigh too much on a rival.

(19:00):
Her temperature was just eighty three degrees fahrenheit. She was hypothermic,
her pupils were sluggish, and she was unresponsive. Doctors found
fluid in her abdomen, which is a sign of liver damage.
They rushed her into emergency surgery suspecting internal bleeding. There

(19:23):
were no liver lacerations, but her body had completely shut down.
She was suffering from circulatory failure, respiratory failure, and cardiac
failure all at once. The damage was irreversible. Her body
was covered in about seventy five bruises, contusions, ulcers, and

(19:48):
pressure sores, including her neck, forehead, chest, and both knees.
There was a deformity in her right arm and leg.
He also had a deformed left leg. Melinda had fractures
in both wrists and ankles, a fractured L three vertebra,

(20:10):
a fractured right inferior pubic ramis, bilateral chest contusions, and
a liver contusion. One doctor looked at the detectives and
said outright that the child's emaciated and physical condition alarmed
them and should not occur in this country. Rendall's version

(20:35):
of events had never added up, but now it was
completely disproven. When pressed, he described their quote unquote discipline methods.
He admitted to locking the snack cabinet so Melinda couldn't
access food, forcing her to march or run in place,

(20:57):
and making her stand in the corner. He tried to
draw a line saying that Melinda still had access to meals,
but detectives were not buying it. The truth was on video,
and the truth didn't lie. Rendell brought up the prior
incident in fall of twenty twenty three, where he said

(21:20):
Melinda had been caught selling food at school. He had
been outraged at a parent teacher conference. He had demanded
to inspect her locker. He claimed that he found she
was hoarding food. He was so angry at how the
school handled it that he pulled her out. Melinda never

(21:43):
went back. By January third, twenty twenty four, she was
officially withdrawn from public school. After that, she had no
contact with teachers, counselors, or nurses. There was no way
to be around those who might have noticed the bruises,

(22:04):
no one who might have helped her. Dad said that
he didn't remember why her phone had been taken away,
just that Cindy had done it, maybe two or three
weeks before her death. When asked if Melinda had any
interactions with others, like any zoom calls, any social contact,

(22:26):
her dad said she probably talked to her friends, but
he couldn't name a single one. Then came a damning
discovery of Cindy Warren's history. She wasn't a stranger to
child abuse allegations at all. In fact, she had a
prior conviction in Monroe County for endangering the welfare of

(22:50):
a child. The case involved her own three year old
son and the death of a two year old who
had been left in her care. We'll get more into
that later. Now she was here over twenty years later,
torturing another child under the guise of parenting. The Blink

(23:11):
security system had recorded nearly everything. There were over one
hundred separate video clips of Melinda shackled, punished, and berated.
Chester County District Attorney Chris d Barena Serobe said Melinda
was quote reprogrammed to accept abuse as part of her life.

(23:36):
Investigators scoured through these videos day by day and month
by month. January first, twenty twenty four, Melinda is shackled
to an air hockey table. January twenty seventh, she still shackled,
Cindy Warren walks in and calls her a fucking idiot.

(24:00):
For nearly forty eight hours. Videos show Melinda sleeping on
the floor, arms in the air, and denied food. Cindy said, quote,
keep moving and don't look for breakfast or lunch tomorrow
because you're not getting it, and you won't get dinner either,
because I'm not getting up. February sixth, Melinda is chained

(24:23):
to a dresser, marching in place for hours. February seventh,
at three am, she's sleeping on the floor again. She
didn't have a blanket or a pillow. February eighth, she's
still being forced to squat while shackled. Cindy allows a
ten minute break. Melinda says okay, thank you. February twelfth,

(24:50):
Melinda is seen holding books over her head for several minutes.
Cindy yells sit up straightbrus Ruary thirteenth, she's doing schoolwork
chain to the dresser. Ryndall yells, calling her a jackass.
April third, she's picking at her hands and eating her

(25:13):
own skin. May second, twenty twenty four was the last video.
Melinda is chained to a desk doing online school Cindy
Warren's voice cut through the speaker. Have a nice life,
by bitch. That was it. Two days later, Melinda was dead.

(25:38):
Texts recovered between Cindy and Rindall proved just how much
they knew and how much they tried to hide. On
May second, Cindy sent Rindall a photo of Melinda. Her
face was smeared with snot and she had an abrasion
near her right eye. By early May fourth, Melinda's condition

(26:02):
was worsening. They knew it. They texted back and forth.
At five thirty two pm, Rendall suggested calling nine to
one one. Cindy replied, quote, run her, don't call an ambulance.
They waited nearly two more hours until finally calling nine

(26:24):
to one one. By then, Melinda had lost her chance
at survival. One of the detectives in the case summed
it up in clear and damning terms. Melinda had not
died suddenly. She had wasted away four months as she
was slowly starved, physically broken, and emotionally tormented. The abuse

(26:50):
didn't happen in a flash. It happened over time, with intention,
and it was covered up with lies, manipulation, and technology.
The people who were supposed to protect her. Her dad
and his girlfriend, who were legally responsible for her care,

(27:11):
used seclusion, surveillance, and cruelty to rob her of everything.
The Chester County District Attorney said, quote, doctors found a
child who was emaciated. She weighed fifty pounds, She was
covered in bruises, she had half a dozen broken bones,

(27:32):
at least her organs were failing, and ultimately she died
while she was being treated at the hospital. The two
subjected the girl to evil and torment that no child
should ever have to endure, and they did it for months.
I am grateful to every first responder and law enforcement

(27:54):
officer who has worked tirelessly on this case. Together, we
will get justice for Melinda end quote. At the time,
both Rendell and Cindy were facing attempted homicide, aggravated assault
of a child, unlawful restraint, recklessly endangering another person, endangering

(28:18):
the welfare of a child, and conspiracy kidnapping. More charges
could be filed later. When they were arrested and jailed,
their bond was set at one million dollars. Superintendent Doctor
Catherine van Vorn said in a statement, quote, our staff

(28:41):
diligently reported concerns about her welfare to the state agency
that receives and manages concerns. Shortly thereafter, she was withdrawn
from our schools. This news shakes our entire school community,
and we are deeply saddened and upset by the horrific

(29:03):
details of the abuse this child suffered. Now let's go
back even further. Before Melinda, there was Jessica, and after Jessica,
there was Isaiah. On January fifth, two thousand and seven,
an anonymous call came in to Monroe County Children and Youth.

(29:28):
The tip was urgent and specific. A three year old
boy named Isaiah was locked in a room for days.
He had bruises, He was quiet and rarely seen outside.
Sometimes he was locked out of the house entirely when
his siblings were not in school. They were reportedly allowed,

(29:51):
encouraged even to beat him. That day, Detective Susan Lyon
and a Children in Youth case worker responded to the call.
They knocked on the door and were greeted by two
of Cindy and her husband McKinley Warren's sons, still just

(30:11):
kids themselves. One of the sons, named Brandon, told the
detective plainly quote I'm afraid of my dad. He hits
my brother end quote. When they brought Isaiah to the
front door, the three year old was wearing only underwear.

(30:31):
Detective Lion immediately noted the evidence written across his small body.
There were bruises, cuts, ligature marks, and even a burn.
His head was covered in contusions. They rushed him to
Pocono Medical Center. There, both sons, Brandon and McKinley, the third,

(30:55):
confirmed what they'd been living through. They said their father,
McKinley beat Isaiah repeatedly, and yes, they said, their mother,
Cindy was there. She saw it. Cindy was brought in
that same night for questioning, and this time she talked.

(31:15):
She admitted to police that she had witnessed Isaiah's abuse
many times. McKinley hit the boy not only with his hands,
but with a belt and the buckle of it. She
described how McKinley would force the toddler to walk up
and down the stairs with his arms above his head.

(31:37):
If Isaiah stumbled, McKinley would strike him. Cindy admitted that
she had seen Isaiah fall during one of these punishments,
hitting his head so badly it caused swelling in a
large bruise on his forehead. She said she was scared
that he might not wake up, so that night, she said,

(32:00):
ate up with him, not to protect him from the
next beating, but to make sure he didn't die in
his sleep. She knew and did nothing, She confessed, quote
I should have done something, But she didn't call the police.
She didn't take Isaiah to a doctor or leave McKinley.

(32:24):
She didn't try to save Isaiah. The details, down to
every last bruise, burn and belt buckle mark indicated that
this was not just the doings of a violent man,
but of a woman who learned to live with violence,
who accepted it, enabled it, allegedly, likely participated in it,

(32:49):
and covered it all up. The toddler, a prosecutor said,
looked like quote a prize fighter who had been through
a title bollut. Eventually, McKinley did plead guilty for abusing
his three year old son, and he had a confession

(33:09):
to make that he caused the head injury that killed
his two year old daughter, Isaiah's half sister, Jessica. Back
in December of two thousand, McKinley gained custody of Jessica
and parental rights in nineteen ninety nine, when Jessica's birth mom,

(33:30):
Veronica Bock, pleaded guilty and went to jail for endangering
a child's welfare. Cindy and McKinley, Warren's other sons, McKinley
the third and Brandon, were placed in foster care. Their
third child, Mariah, was born in two thousand and one

(33:51):
and shortly put into foster care too. Isaiah, after his
birth in two thousand and three, was also put into
far loster care, but they later regained custody of all four.
Despite a record of the couple's troubled history and the
death investigation of Jessica. All these times that her children

(34:15):
were taken away from her after she gave birth, she
acted like she didn't really care. Stroud Area Regional Captain
William Parrish said, quote, Jessica was in fine physical health
when she went to live with the Warrens. Isaiah was
in similar health when the Warrens regained custody of him,

(34:38):
but both children's health suffered when they were in the
Warren's custody end quote. Cindy said, on December first, two thousand,
she called McKinley to come home and change Jessica's diaper
because she had just finished painting her nails and didn't
want to mess them up. When he got home from

(35:01):
the bar where he had been slamming drinks, he was
pissed off and hit the baby in the head. They
took Jessica to Pocono Medical Center, where they told staff
that she had taken a tumble out of their parked
car and hit her head on a curb. The two
year old was flown out to Philadelphia to the Children's hospital,

(35:26):
where she passed away. At the time, Cindy's friends described
her as a kind, fun and loving mom who was
also being abused by McKinley. Her friend Diane said, quote,
unless you've walked in Cindy's shoes, you can never understand

(35:46):
what she's been through. Three times she was denied a
protection from abuse order for herself and her children. Whenever
she called the police to her home, she would always
be the one who ended up being taken away in handcuffs,
not her husband. He knew how to twist the truth.

(36:07):
The day she lost her children is the day her
sentence started end. Quote. In two thousand and nine, Cindy
made a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to allowing
her ex husband to beat their then three year old son, Isaiah,
and she was sentenced to three to seven years in

(36:29):
state prison. Cindy was charged with endangering the welfare of
a child. She didn't get charged with homicide in the
death of her two and a half year old stepdaughter, Jessica,
since she cooperated with investigators and testified against McKinley, who
was sentenced to twenty five to fifty years in jail.

(36:53):
Cindy's friend Natasha said quote, I've known Cindy for twenty years.
Was a very good mother, but when her husband was around,
she had no voice. Nobody knows what she went through.
Cindy's brother, Raymond Coons said, quote, Cindy has been a

(37:14):
very loving person ever since she was a little girl.
She's never done anything to take away my respect for her.
She kept calling authorities who did nothing until finally it
took an outsider calling for them to do anything. Just
being away from her husband is a good thing for her,
but for her to now lose her freedom is unfair.

(37:37):
She doesn't deserve this. Stroud Area Regional Captain William Parrish
was the one to investigate the death of Jessica and
the abuse of Isaiah. He was fighting back tears as
he said. Quote to say she did all she could
to get the authorities involved is erroneous. At any times,

(38:00):
she could have identified her husband as the one who
caused her stepdaughter's death and abused her son, but she
refused to do so. Instead, she lied with her husband
about how Jessica got hurt and left it to a
neighbor to report Isaiah's abuse. Whenever neighbors complained about her

(38:23):
and her husband being drunk, loud and boisterous, and we
responded to their home, she would be the one who
remained loud and disorderly while her husband calmed down, so
she would be the one taken away end quote. He
even told the judge that he went to the Warren's

(38:44):
house later that evening to question them about Jessica's injury,
and instead of being at their daughter's side in the hospital,
they were getting ready for bed. He explained how the
Warrens barely showed a reaction at all the following day
when they were told that Jessica passed away. Isaiah was

(39:06):
then placed with McKinley's relatives by Monroe County Children and
Youth Services, The judge told Cindy, quote, the prosecution has
to offer a plea agreement to the less culpable spouse
in efforts to elicit testimony needed to bring the other
spouse to justice. I know that's how it has to be,

(39:30):
but I wish we had independent evidence to prosecute both
of you and Jessica's murder. Giving birth does not make
you a mother. I don't care what your husband did
or said to you as a mother. Fear for your
children should trump fear for yourself. You took no advantage

(39:52):
of countless opportunities to get yourself and your children out
in an abusive situation. Not only did you defend your
husband while police were investigating Jessica's death, but you later
went to other counties to get back the children who
had been taken from you while the investigation was still pending.

(40:16):
Had that neighbor not reported the abuse of Isaiah, we
might very well have been here today in the case
of another child's murder end quote. Then, on May fourth,
twenty twenty four years later, when Melinda died, knowing what

(40:37):
Cindy had already been accused of, her half sisters, Jamie, Emily,
and Abby felt the world crumble beneath their feet. Unfortunately,
their worst fear and the worst possible outcome had happened.
A few weeks later, on May seventeenth, the three sisters

(41:00):
gave a statement through their attorneys, quote, there is no
how to God to navigate the alleged murder of a child,
a sister, a granddaughter, a niece, or a cousin. The
paternal family of Melinda Hoagland is grieving, questioning, and leaning
on each other for love and support. We also acknowledge

(41:24):
the impact that her death has had on the communities
she was a part of. We are putting our faith
in the justice system that those who are responsible for
the death of Melinda will be held accountable and punished
to the fullest extent of the law. We are fully
cooperating with law enforcement to bring justice for Melinda. We

(41:49):
wish to place our focus on the beautiful, sweet girl, Melinda,
who we all loved and continue to love very much.
We are asking the community to be vigilant and use
the National Abuse Hotline one eight hundred the number four
a child or child line in Pennsylvania one eight hundred

(42:15):
nine three two zero three one three to report any
suspected child abuse. This is anonymous reporting and your report
will be forwarded to the appropriate agency, and, of course,
in an emergency, please call nine one one. As we

(42:37):
seek justice for Melinda, our goal is to focus on
the future and work with law enforcement agencies and legislators
to ensure that repeat offenders can never hurt another child.
Melinda's life and death will not be in vain. Evil

(42:57):
never has the last word. We appreciate the support from
the community, and we ask that you join us on
our Facebook page Justice for Melinda and use hashtag justice
for Melinda to receive updates, to learn about the amazing
girl that Melinda was, and to help us be agents

(43:19):
of change. Thank you. End quote. A few months later,
Emily said she was devastated when she learned the truth,
recalling quote, I literally had to gasp for air. I
know that sounds dramatic, but how does one react to
being told their father has just done all of these

(43:42):
things to your baby sister. There's no more reference to
him as my father outside of this case. I think
that's the safest place to be for myself. I don't
know that man who is in jail end quote, Jamie
said quote this little girl deserved so much out of life.

(44:05):
End quote. Jamie began demanding accountability and not just punishment.
Wrongful death lawsuits were filed by the sisters representing Melinda's
estate against the County of Chester, Chester County Children Youth
and Families, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the County of Monroe,

(44:29):
Monroe County Office of Children in Youth, the Coatsville Area
School District, North Brandywine Middle School, Upper Dublin School District,
and Horace S. Scott Middle School. According to a statement
on the lawsuit from the sister's attorneys, the suit alleges

(44:50):
wrongful death, repeated violations of the state created danger doctrine,
and overall egregious negligence and recklessness reflected in multiple additional claims.
Among other allegations, the suits push for systemic overhaul, arguing

(45:11):
that Melinda's death was preventable. In late twenty twenty three,
the school district reported Melenda's absences, but there were no
home visits made. The attorney for the sisters said, quote,
it's clear the child was being starved and abused over

(45:32):
a period of time that could have been prevented. End quote,
Emily urged legislators for a public registry of physical child
abusers so no predator can slip into another county unnoticed.
Jamie said, quote, now that this has happened to our sister,

(45:55):
we don't want this to happen to anyone else. End quote.
Their efforts helped to spur House Bill three twenty one,
aiming to link Pennsylvania's sixty seven counties via database to
track child abuse convictions, ultimately closing the gaps that Melinda

(46:18):
fell through. Their attorney said, quote, we're pushing for something
called Melinda's Law, which is basically a registry for physical offenders.
So yes, there's a registry for sex offenders, as we
all know, and everyone can look it up. The general
public jobs everyone, but there's nothing for physical offenders. So

(46:44):
the girls would like to have some kind of registry
or database to establish that end quote. The sisters have
also formed a nonprofit in Melinda's honor, focused on child
safe safety, policy, advocacy and awareness. Their advocacy is driven

(47:06):
by love and the belief that their sisters should never
be forgotten. Their fight is her legacy, and their hope
is that no other child is left voiceless. Ever again,
a twenty twenty custody order CBS News Philadelphia obtained clearly

(47:28):
states quote, the minor child shall not be left in
the care of Cindy Warren, father's fiance for any period
of time exceeding one hour unless expressly agreed upon by
mother and father through written communication. Melinda was living with
Rendell and Cindy, which was a violation of the custody order.

(47:52):
Attorneys for the families said their lawsuit won't move forward
until the criminal trial is over. That may not be
until later this year or in twenty twenty six. Jamie
told People magazine, quote, it never does get easier to
talk about it, even a month, even a year from now.

(48:16):
It wouldn't be easy to talk about it. But this
subject isn't easy, And if we don't have the courage
to talk about it, nobody will. And this will go
back under the rug where it began, and it can't
go back under the rug end quote. Rendell Hoagland and

(48:37):
Cindy Warren might not go to trial for several more months,
but this is another case I'll be keeping my eye on.
Both have been charged with first degree murder, conspiracy, kidnapping,
and aggravated assault, among hundreds of other counts. The Chester

(48:58):
County District Attorney said the plans were to seek the
death penalty for both Rendell and Cindy. If you suspect
child abuse again, please call the Child Help National Child
Abuse Hotline at one eight hundred the number for a
child or one eight hundred four two two four four

(49:24):
five three, or go to www dot childhelp dot org,
c h I, L d h E LP dot org.
All calls are toll free and confidential. The hotline is
available twenty four seven and more than one hundred seventy languages.

(49:48):
You can also check the show notes for the Justice
for Melinda facebook page. I would love for you to
go give it a like and a follow to support
Melinda's cy and her family. Friends. Thank you for listening
to this episode, and I hope you'll join me next week.

(50:10):
Until next time, stay safe and take care.

Speaker 2 (50:15):
Thank you for listening to this episode. As we close out,
let us not forget. Awareness is our greatest defense in
a world that can be dark and grim. Vigilance is
our beacon of hope when it comes to the cases
we have explored together that have remained unsolved. If you
happen to hold a piece of the puzzle, there to
step forward. As author Lois McMaster bouge Hold once said,

(50:40):
the dead cannot cry out for justice. It is a
duty of the living to do so for them. Until
we reconvene, my friends, stay vigilant and stay informed.

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186. Malinda Hoagland: The 12-Year-Old Held Captive in Her Own Home

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