SC - Cristina Pangalangan, 13, special needs, died in hot car, Colleton County, Aug 2019 *Arrests*

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arielilane said:
DAILY TRIAL HIGHLIGHTS

DAY 3 – 9/1/23

  • Court is not scheduled for Thursday, August 30, due to a hurricane threatening the area.
DAY 2 – 8/30/23

  • Forensic Science Network Director Dr. Demetra Garvin testified that Rita Pangalangan and Larry King Jr. both had levels of methamphetamine in their blood consistent with abuse.
    • Rita had 400 ng/ml of meth and 160 ng/ml of amphetamine in her blood.
    • Larry had 480 ng/ml of meth and 88 ng/ml of amphetamine in his blood.
  • A forensic pathologist testified that Cristina died of hypothermia after being left in a hot car for hours.
    • The coroner recorded her body temperature as 109 degrees, the highest temperature his thermometer could reach.
    • He found evidence that decomposition had begun, based on the nature of her injuries.
    • Found that Cristina had vomited and that had aspirated into her lungs as she was dying.
  • The state rested its case-in-chief.
  • Larry King Jr. testified that the car was running with the air conditioning on when he placed Cristina in the car on Aug. 5, 2019.
    • Larry said that he knew Cristina but did not consider himself responsible for her.
    • Larry said that he and Rita had been fighting that day over infidelity, but they made up and had sex while Cristina was in the car.
    • On cross, Larry admitted that he knew Rita was using meth that weekend and that neither he nor Rita opened the front door of the car during a portion of the video shown in court.
    • Larry said he didn’t know what Rita did when she opened the front door at 12:29 when she checked on Cristina.
www.courttv.com

SC v. King, Pangalangan: Disabled Teen Death Trial

Rita Pangalangan and her boyfriend, Larry King Jr., were each sentenced to more than 30 years in prison for her daughter's murder.
www.courttv.com www.courttv.com

Last updated 7:07 AM, August 31, 2023
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If the a/c was running, why was the child's body temperature so high that the coroner's thermometer couldn't even measure the exact number?!

jmo
 
fred&edna said:
But wouldn't we at least see her open the car door and sit down? I can't even seem to find that.
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I saw the part in the video where RP opens front drivers side door as well as back drivers side door.
 

WATCH LIVE: Hot Car Child Death Murder Trial — SC v. Rita Pangalangan — Day Three​


A South Carolina woman faces trial for allegedly murdering her 13-year-old special needs daughter by locking her in a hot car for nearly five hours in August 2019. Rita Pangalangan claims she accidentally locked her daughter, Cristina, in the vehicle with the keys inside when she went to grab a pack of cigarettes inside the home of her boyfriend, Larry King. Authorities said when first responders arrived to administer aid, Cristina, who was wheelchair-bound and “helpless,” was “beyond help” and died. Pangalangan and King’s story allegedly fell apart when investigators seized security footage from the home that showed the couple locking Cristina in the car and leaving her unattended, returning to check on her several times.
 

LIVE: SC v. Pangalangan & King | Disabled Teen Death Trial DAY 3​


#LIVE - SC v. Pangalangan & King | DAY 3 - Rita Pangalangan takes the stand. A woman once named teacher of the year, and her boyfriend Larry King Jr. are standing trial on charges they killed a 13-year-old girl with special needs. According to court filings obtained by #CourtTV, Cristina Pangalangan was born on March 28, 2006, with severe intellectual and physical disabilities that left her confined to a wheelchair and unable to communicate verbally. Prosecutors allege that on August 5, 2019, Rita and Larry left Cristina alone in a vehicle parked outside of Larry’s house for more than five hours, killing the teenager.
 
kaen said:
I have been trying to wrap my head around this murder from the start. I get the mother was obsessed with the partner and she wanted time off from her daughter.
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x_files said:
drugs or bad DNA.
It seems bad decisions & murder runs in the family. They should study their brains for deformities.
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They might not find anything that unusual in brains, drug tests etc.

Going into history.....

After WWII, the Dutch police, working with good records and a small country, conducted an extensive investigation into holocaust related betrayals of Jewish people in hiding.

In addition to expected motives of anti semitisism, money, personal grudges, they discovered that a strange number of cases had a motive of "helper tired of helping".

The betrayer started out with good intentions. They helped people out of a genuine desire to help. No for profit demands for expense coverages, no demands for uhmm.... "other services" etc. In sheltering Jews, they put themselves at risk. Helpers were not executed in the Netherlands, but it was still a good way to find oneself in an unpleasant labor camp.

Yet, a number of these helpers then suddenly betrayed the people they were assisting during a time that they knew what arrest by the Nazis meant for Jewish people. In most of these cases, the "helper(s) gone bad" were not under an increased risk of discovery and punishment when they betrayed the people they once assisted.

Under later police investigation, they stated that they succumbed to the pressure, time demands etc. and that they were just..... "tired of helping".
 
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Cryptic said:
Going into history.....

After WWII, the Dutch police, working with good records and a small country, conducted an extensive investigation into holocaust related betrayals of Jewish people in hiding.

In addition to expected motives of anti semitisism, money, personal grudges, they discovered that a strange number of cases had a motive of "helper tired of helping".

The betrayer started out with good intentions. They helped people out of a genuine desire to help. No "for profit" demands for expense coverages, no demands for uhmm.... "other services" etc. In sheltering Jews, they put themselves at risk. Helpers were not executed in the Netherlands, but it was still a good way to find oneself in an unpleasant labor camp.

Yet, a number of these helpers then suddenly betrayed the people they were assisting during a time that they knew what arrest by the Nazis meant for Jewish people in hiding. Under later police investigation, they stated that they succumbed to the pressure, and that they were just..... "tired of helping".
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Very interesting. I suspect "tired of helping" plays a significant role here, especially since Cristina was likely entering adolescence or soon to enter, which requires even more care with hygiene. :(

The caregiving life was not going to get easier, at least not on the route the mom was taking.

jmo
 
Video is close to 20 minutes.


'I Stand by My Mom': Emotional Daughter Defends Rita Pangalangan in Child's Hot Car Death​


Elizabeth Clyde, the daughter of Rita Pangalangan, emotionally took the stand Friday in support of her mom. Clyde believed her mom did not "intentionally" try to kill her special needs child Cristina Pangalangan after leaving her in a hot car for five hours. "She loved her. Cristina was her whole world," Clyde said.
 
Caregiver burnout, mixed with drugs. sex. NO food in house but kool aid and ensure. Left with unqualified young babysitter for a weekend. Sorry but I feel she just didn't care about Cristina anymore. In 5 hours never gave her water, food, change her diaper or checked on her, and why lock the car in the first place? Why not let the child back into the house of mother planned to stay? Just sitting for 5 hours is cruel. Not lay her down to sleep?
 
Yeah I’m baffled by these 2 defendants and whether the state has proven murder convincingly here. I think extreme recklessness makes sense and the instructions say that malice can be inferred from that, thereby leading to murder.

I agree that caregiver burnout, extreme self-centeredness and drugs led to this crime. I think it could come down to whether you believe his testimony as to why he put Christina in the car to begin with. Is it reasonable that he just found out Rita was cheating on him and then they immediately make up/have sex?? Because if his intent in putting Christina in the car was because he thought they were about to leave and then got distracted that’s not malice necessarily but definitely indifference. But Rita is not absolved because she goes back to the car a little over an hour later and still leaves the child there….. it’s possible the child was dead at this point and if she wasn’t she would be making some kind of noise surely.

So does Rita see this and go back in and tell him and they both chose to ignore the dying or dead child??? Or did they just not care?? Which would show malice for sure.
 
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I think it's possible this started just as LK said....she was getting ready to leave and he carried Christina to the car in preparation for that. Then they were both so methed out that they both just assumed the car was on and the a/c was on--they might have assumed the other one did it. Their brains just couldn't comprehend anything other than that or reason that she was in danger. Or even remember that they had NOT turned the car/a-c on. And by the time they realized it, it was too late. They assumed she was comfy and cool and napping so they didn't disturb her.

I don't think the intent was to kill her. I don't think the State has proven conspiracy.

Still, it's murder, IMO.
 
TTF14 said:
I think it's possible this started just as LK said....she was getting ready to leave and he carried Christina to the car in preparation for that. Then they were both so methed out that they both just assumed the car was on and the a/c was on--they might have assumed the other one did it. Their brains just couldn't comprehend anything other than that or reason that she was in danger. Or even remember that they had NOT turned the car/a-c on. And by the time they realized it, it was too late. They assumed she was comfy and cool and napping so they didn't disturb her.

I don't think the intent was to kill her. I don't think the State has proven conspiracy.

Still, it's murder, IMO.
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I think the wrinkle is that Rita goes back out after their “make up” session and gets inside the car. At that point she would’ve realized the AC was def not on and the child is already dead or close to it. She knows the child is in the car and the car is extremely hot. Nonetheless she closes the door and goes back inside leaving the child there for another couple hours before they both come out and realize they’re locked out of the car. I think based on this the jury can get to malice murder for Rita. Larry may have some wiggle room if jury believes he genuinely thought AC was on the whole time, which is a though sell. More than likely he was too agitated and indifferent when he out the child in the car. Rita does not have that excuse! JMO
 
TTF14 said:
I think it's possible this started just as LK said....she was getting ready to leave and he carried Christina to the car in preparation for that. Then they were both so methed out that they both just assumed the car was on and the a/c was on--they might have assumed the other one did it. Their brains just couldn't comprehend anything other than that or reason that she was in danger. Or even remember that they had NOT turned the car/a-c on. And by the time they realized it, it was too late. They assumed she was comfy and cool and napping so they didn't disturb her.

I don't think the intent was to kill her. I don't think the State has proven conspiracy.

Still, it's murder, IMO.
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That's what I'm thinking too. :(
 
Weki said:
I think the wrinkle is that Rita goes back out after their “make up” session and gets inside the car. At that point she would’ve realized the AC was def not on and the child is already dead or close to it. She knows the child is in the car and the car is extremely hot. Nonetheless she closes the door and goes back inside leaving the child there for another couple hours before they both come out and realize they’re locked out of the car. I think based on this the jury can get to malice murder for Rita. Larry may have some wiggle room if jury believes he genuinely thought AC was on the whole time. Rita does not have that excuse! JMO
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Excellent point. I forgot about that. And you're right. With her, that could be the meth clouding her judgment maybe? I don't know....I've never done meth....but it sure does seem to make people not recognize reality or create a different one.
 
I think both of their brains were acutely addled by meth. Rita, especially, was hell bent on preserving her relationship with King. That was her only mission. Christina was the furthest thing from her mind, once she was in that car and out of sight.

I don't believe that the car was ever started, and therefore, there would be no air conditioning running for Christina. If you look at the video, it appears that the sunroof is in a "vented" position. Take a look. It certainly doesn't looked completely closed to me. It isn't laying flat, or flush with the roof of the car. Why would you turn on the A/C and have the sunroof open? She may have stuck the key in the ignition to be able to barely crack the sunroof, intending to leave imminently (probably after finishing a cigarette). She then left the key in the ignition, in the "off" position, and unintentionally locked the vehicle (somehow).

I think they had no conception of the time that was elapsing as they argued, and then eventually "made up" (as Larry King so delicately put it).

IMO.
 
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