The sisters of Malinda Hoagland, a 12-year-old girl who was allegedly starved and tortured to death by her father and stepmother earlier this year, are suing the agencies they believe should have done more to protect the Pennsylvania preteen.
Malinda died in May “due to starvation and multiple blunt-force injuries,” according to the Chester County district attorney. She weighed just 50 pounds at the time of her death and was covered in 75 individually identified bruises, contusions, pressure sores and ulcers.
Her three half-sisters sisters, Jamie, Emily Lee and Abbey Hoagland, have since filed a lawsuit against the County of Chester, the Chester County Department of Children, Youth & Families, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the County of Monroe, the Monroe County Office of Children & Youth, the Coatesville Area School District, North Brandywine Middle School, Upper Dublin School District, and Horace S. Scott Middle School.
In the lawsuit filed on Wednesday, they accused each entity of wrongful death, repeated violations of the State-Created Danger Doctrine and overall egregious negligence and recklessness, among other wrongdoings, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The suit argues that representatives from Chester and Monroe counties, and the staff at Malinda’s schools “affirmatively used their authority to place [her] into a home in which they knew that [she] was the ongoing victim of serial abuse, starvation, and torment.”
“Had these defendants not misused their authority in this manner, Malinda Hoagland would have been removed from her residence, spared months of torture, abuse, and starvation, and would be alive today,” attorney Thomas Bosworth wrote.
Malinda’s father, Rendell Hoagland, and her stepmother, Cindy Warren, were arrested days after she died. They’re accused of withholding food, repeatedly beating Malinda with their hands and a belt, and forcing her to perform calisthenics for hours while chained to furniture, according to the affidavit of probable cause for their arrests.
The couple are each facing charges including first-degree murder and related crimes in connection with Malinda’s death.
