The Misery Machine - The Case of Cristina Pangalangan

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Starting point is 00:02:13 who were adults at the time of our story. At birth, Christina was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a condition that affected her brain in motor skills. In time, she would also be diagnosed with epilepsy and scoliosis and took medication to manage her symptoms. Christina was nonverbal and used a wheelchair. This also meant she needed to be looked after at all times. She was described as a wonderful soul, purely loving and innocent. Despite the many challenges she faced, Christina had a personality that was uniquely her own.

Starting point is 00:02:47 She was stubborn, especially when it came to her sisters or when she wanted something a specific way. Christina also really enjoyed swimming, though even more than that, She loved to sit back and watch her cartoons. She loved cartoons. Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob Square Pants were her absolute favorites. She would watch them every single day over and over again.

Starting point is 00:03:11 Christina was a student at Colleton Middle School where she loved being around her classmates. The classroom brought her joy, not just because of the learning, but because she enjoyed the attention she received from those around her. She was someone who appreciated connection and found happy, in being seen and included. Christina's condition shaped parts of her life, but they did not take away her capacity to experience joy, closeness, or love.

Starting point is 00:03:37 She always had a happy expression on her face. She did not shy away from showing how she was feeling through her facial expressions, being at angry, sad, or happy. Christina's mother Rita, who was her caretaker, was working as a teacher at Coleton County Middle School. She had a long career, more than 25 years in education,

Starting point is 00:03:55 and was well-experienced and popular. In 2014, she was named Teacher of the Year. Beyond the classroom, Rita was part of community organizations that supported children with disabilities, but her role as a mother and as Christina's full-time caretaker would soon come under scrutiny. In 2016, the South Carolina Department of Social Services filed the first complaint against Rita. The report stated that she had failed to provide adequate care, supervision, and medical attention to her daughter. Christina's basic needs and her safety were being questioned. The complaints continued over time.

Starting point is 00:04:29 By 2018, Rita had also begun seeing Larry Eugene King, Jr. of Walterborough. The relationship would develop while Christina remained in Rita's care. Then in 2019 came the fifth complaint. This time it involved visible injury. Rita brought Christina to school. Her face, neck, and chest were all covered in burns. According to the complaint, they were emitting an odor, indicating that there was an infection. There were no bandages.

Starting point is 00:04:57 on her wounds, which were draining. When Christina entered school, everyone became concerned. What was happening inside her home? Seeing the cause for alarm, the Coleton County School District was quick to alert DSS, who reached out to Rita immediately. In question, Rita began to explain that Christina accidentally spilled hot water on herself while sleeping. Rita was asked to seek treatment for her child's wounds.

Starting point is 00:05:20 However, there were no medical records confirming treatment. In the next day, Christina would return to school again with the same wound. and no medical care. She would remain in Rita's care after this ordeal. The school raised concerns more than once with the South Carolina Department of Social Services, but nobody responded. There were no answers, no follow-up,

Starting point is 00:05:40 and no meaningful intervention. At one point, Rita expressed frustration with the school's persistence. She didn't know why they were after her. She told social workers that she was tired of the reports, that the school kept contacting them again and again, and if it didn't stop, that she would just pull Christine out.

Starting point is 00:05:57 out entirely. She was willing to stop sending her disabled daughter to school just to silence the concerns against her. She didn't want anyone questioning her parenting abilities. Over time, others began to take note of Rita's behavior towards Christina. Rita had a former roommate, someone she often relied on, often on short notice to help care for Christina. Sometimes it was last minute, sometimes without asking. The roommate said she was forced into doing this. On one particular occasion, the roommate tried to refuse because she had to go to work, but Rita kept insisting. According to the roommate, she told me to leave Christina in my car with the windows down because she does it all the time. That moment stayed with her. It sounded casual,

Starting point is 00:06:46 but it wasn't, not for a child who needed full-time caretaking. Then came August of 2019. Christina had been enrolled to start eighth grade that year. A friend. Friday afternoon, August 2nd, Rita needed someone to watch Christina again. She reached out to an 18-year-old named Lindsay Lewis. It was a last-minute request like so many others, but this time she apparently had a reason. Rita had once been Lindsay's child development teacher at school. She knew Lindsay wanted to be a nurse one day, and she used that to her advantage. This would help you, Rita had told her.

Starting point is 00:07:19 It'll look good for your future. The idea hadn't even started with Lindsay. It came from Rita through Lindsay's mother. Rita framed it as a learning opportunity, and Lindsay said yes. She went to Rita's house where she met Christina for the first time. She saw as that Christina didn't speak. She didn't walk. Instead, she slowly crawled on her hands and knees.

Starting point is 00:07:41 The body was low to the ground. She couldn't fully grasp objects and she couldn't feed herself. Lindsay had never done anything like this before. She was handed instructions. We explained how Christina needed help with everything. bathing, feeding, changing. She explained Christina's entire routine so Lindsay could learn it. She told Lindsay to give...

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Starting point is 00:09:06 Then Rita asked if she could leave just for a few hours as she had date planned with her boyfriend named Larry. As he agreed to this, she was young and eager to help. She wanted to be trusted, and so she stayed. And then she was alone. That evening, Rita texted her. A simple check-in to ask how Christina was doing. And then she added, almost casually, that she would be back the following day. So Lindsay waited.

Starting point is 00:09:33 Saturday came and no one showed up. There was no calls, no updates, no text, no change of plan whatsoever. Christina's mother, her only caretaker, was gone. She was left with an 18-year-old she barely knew. But Lindsay did not know, she could not. have predicted is that the house she was forced to stay back in would be a whole mess. There were no groceries in the house. There was no plan.

Starting point is 00:09:59 There was no list of emergency contacts. Just a teenager, a severely disabled teenager, and a house that felt heavier by the hour. Lindsay searched the kitchen and found nothing but Christina's nutritional drinks. The refrigerator was mostly bare. It became clear that there had been no preparation for an overnight stay. Then Lindsay noticed something else. fed bugs. The house was completely infested. He was stunned. This was a teacher's home, the home of a mother, with a child who needed constant medical attention. Rita never returned

Starting point is 00:10:33 that night either. All throughout Saturday, there was no sign of her. There wasn't even a text message. Finally, on Sunday, more than 48 hours since Lindsay had arrived, Rita sent her first message. She said Larry had food poisoning, that he was supposed to drive her back to the house, but she didn't know how to drive his truck, so she waited. Later that afternoon, Rita finally came back. Lindsay didn't see who dropped her off, but she heard it. There was music playing outside, a vehicle pulled up. Someone was waiting inside. Lindsay believed it was Larry. She heard the baseline echoing from the vehicle as Rita entered. Rita would then take Christina to Larry's home, a property off of Low Country Highway. At around 11 a.m., they placed Christina at

Starting point is 00:11:20 in the back seat of Rita's 2012 Volkswagen Jetta. The car was turned off and Christina was left there. The car was parked in the front yard. An unshaded, open space. No trees, no cover, no breeze. They were just a few feet away from her, but their attention was somewhere else. Inside the house, Rita and Larry were in the middle

Starting point is 00:11:44 of a multi-day crystal binge. An hour passed. They checked on her once and went back inside. Throughout the afternoon, they argued, sat on the porch swing, walked in and out of the doorway. At one point, they disappeared inside together to hook up. Christina was still outside. The windows were rolled up. The engine was off.

Starting point is 00:12:07 There was no air conditioning. She was in a soiled diaper, and she couldn't move. She couldn't unbuckle herself, couldn't open the door, and she couldn't call for help. By the time Rita and Larry realized they had locked themselves out of the vehicle, nearly four hours had passed. They tried to pry open the door, but they failed. Then they got into Larry's pickup truck and drove to Rita's house to retrieve the spare key fob. Another hour went by. By the time they returned, Christina had been locked inside the car for five hours and 42 minutes. The outside heat had risen. And inside the vehicle, it was far worse. There was no ventilation,

Starting point is 00:12:47 no circulation, nothing to ease the rising temperatures. Inside the car, it reached 135 degrees. Her skin was blistered. Her diaper was soaked. She was gone. When first responders arrived at the scene, Christina had been already removed from the car, but she wasn't breathing.

Starting point is 00:13:09 She was non-responsive. Her skin showed signs of extreme heat exposure. Her body was limp and completely still. They tried, but it was clear. She was beyond help. There would be no resuscitation, no emergency reversal,

Starting point is 00:13:24 no saving her. At the scene, Rita told first responders it had only been a few minutes. She said she had left her daughter in the vehicle while she stepped inside her boyfriend's home to grab a pack of cigarettes.

Starting point is 00:13:36 She said she returned to find the car locked with Christina in the key. Introducing Taco Bell's new jalapino citrus salsa with bright citrus, real red jalapinos, Guahillo chilis. Usually, you add sauce to the food, but when the sauce is this good, the food is just there to get the sauce to your mouth. That rolled cassidia, not a rolled cassidia anymore.

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Starting point is 00:14:21 the timeline unfolded clearly. What they saw instead was six hours, a series of choices, time that had passed, opportunities to check on her missed over and over again. The footage showed Rita and Larry outside the house, walking, talking and laughing, embracing in the doorway,

Starting point is 00:14:41 sitting on the porch swing, then disappearing inside. It showed a life continuing just steps away, from a child who is dying in the heat. The couple were taken into custody in connection to Christina's death. In a bizarre turn of events, Rita's daughter Ashley was arrested in charge with unlawful conduct of a minor for leaving her seven-year-old and her nine-month-old in a hot car on a 91-degree day.

Starting point is 00:15:06 This occurred less than two weeks after Christina was killed in the same manner. At trial, the forensic pathologist who conducted Christina's autopsy testified. The cause of death? Hypothermia, an extreme and prolonged exposure to heat. Vomit was found in Christina's lungs. She had inhaled stomach fluids, a sign that her body had begun to shut down. Her systems completely collapsed. And in her final moments, she was left unable to even clear her own airway. Christina had died in the backseat of her mother's car with no help, no voice, and no way to get out.

Starting point is 00:15:44 In 2021, a lawsuit was filed against the South Carolina Department of Social Services. The accusation was clear. The department, very agency meant to protect vulnerable children, had been warned more than once. The lawsuit alleged that the South Carolina Department of Social Services had been notified numerous times what the care Christina was receiving, that there were several red flags and that these were documented. Somebody knew about this. According to the complaint, the department was contacted on at least five. separate occasions, each time with concerns about how Rita was caring for her daughter,

Starting point is 00:16:19 but nothing was done about it. Lawsuit stated that despite repeated warnings, the department failed to intervene in a meaningful way, that Christina remained in an environment where basic medical care was not guaranteed, where she could be burned, sick, or left alone with nobody stepping into care for her. These were not abstract claims. They came with names, dates, and documentation. And still, No protective action happened that might have saved her life. By the time Christina died in August of 2019, those five calls were no longer just paperwork. They were evidence of failure.

Starting point is 00:16:54 Lawsuits sought accountability, not just for one tragedy, but for the repeated moments where intervention was possible, and they chose not to intervene. In August of 2022, another lawsuit was filed. This time, it was a wrongful death and survival action brought on behalf of Christina's estate. The defendants were named clearly, Rita Frazier Pangalangan and Larry Eugene King Jr. By now, there were two battles unfolding, one in civil court, the other in criminal trial. The state prosecution was led by Solicitor Duffy Stone and Deputy Solicitor Sean Thornton. The opening days of the trial, they laid out their case. They told the jury that Christina wasn't just left behind by accident.

Starting point is 00:17:35 Investigators took the stand and testified that both Rita and Larry had tested positive for Crystal in the day of the incident. They had been under the influence the entire time. The defense tried to argue otherwise. They said it had been a tragic mistake, not criminal, just a failure of judgment. Barry took the stand himself. He testified that the car had been running when he placed Christina in the back seat and that he never meant to harm her. Rita, however, did not testify. What was your relationship with this child?

Starting point is 00:18:04 She was just my girlfriend's daughter. Did you, this is a child who had special needs and needed special care? Did you wash this child? Did you bathe this child? Somebody did. Did you? No, sir. And it's tough, but this child was in a diaper. This young girl wore a diaper and wasn't able to clean herself. Did you clean this child? Did you change your diaper? Were you responsible? Were you responsible? Did you pay any child support or anything for this child? No, sir. Regardless, the night before they spent that night at your home. Is that right? Yes, sir. And tell me how in the morning you got up. In the morning you got up. up and you and miss or I'm sorry did you go to bed that night no so I've been up all night was that partly due to that amphetamine use yes and when you got up in the morning

Starting point is 00:18:51 did you and miss you and the other defendant have a conversation which led to what we saw on the porch that is you carrying the child out yes sir okay yes sir tell the ladies and gentlemen what that comment you i don't want you quote it but just tell him what the conversation was about just about her being involved with somebody else and um we had talked about it and some Things broke my heart and I just asked her to leave. All right. So it was about basically what you would call infidelity. Is that right? Yes, sir. You asked her to leave?

Starting point is 00:19:16 Yes, sir. Did she agree to leave? Yes, sir. And then what happened next? I put a child in the car. All right. You said you put the child in the car. Did you carry her out? Yes, sir, I did. And why were you the one to carry her out? Rita has an extra kidney or has a lot of trouble, help trouble, and her daughter was getting heavy for him. So she asked me to carry it.

Starting point is 00:19:33 Would there have been anything inappropriate, wrong or rough about the way you were treated that little disabled girl? Man, absolutely not. Never. Can you imagine a circumstance where that would be your reaction? No, sir. And where did you put her in the car, if you recall? Behind the driver's seat, on the driver's side, in the rear. And you stepped away then? Did mom come in like get her settled or seat belt or something like that? I think so, yes, sir.

Starting point is 00:19:52 Was the car running when you put the little girl in? Absolutely. Would you have left that little girl in that car if that engine wasn't running and the AC wasn't on? Never. Never. Even with your feelings hurt, sir? Never. Up until the time you all discovered that little girl's body, Was there anything unusual scary about this day?

Starting point is 00:20:09 No, so it was another normal day. I thought everything was, I had no idea that anything was not normal. Were you trying to memorize the events moment by moment? No, she'd follow me back inside. What were y'all talking about at that? You'd ask her to leave. She didn't leave. What was going on between you?

Starting point is 00:20:24 She was just trying to plead with me and talk to me and just trying to make things right. And while y'all's in the house, we just put the cards on the table. Did you make up? We did. and decided to move on. Yes, sir. And what happened when you tried to leave? Came back in and told me her keys were locked in her car.

Starting point is 00:20:40 Said keys were locked in the car? Yes, sir. And what was your reaction to that? Not my problem. You cheated on me, get out of here. No, I tried to help her get in the car. I didn't know. I didn't know that anything other than that was wrong, to be honest. Is the car still running?

Starting point is 00:20:52 Car was running. Were you worried about the situation? No, sir. Not really. Okay. And if you had known, and I know you seen what we've all seen. If you'd have any inkling that that's what was going to happen or was happened, what would your reaction? I would have knocked that wind out of that car and got that child. I had no idea. Oh, so you made an effort to get the child out of the car, is that

Starting point is 00:21:15 right? Yes, sir. Or to get the car over. Were you successful in that? Not right away. I wasn't. Okay. And how you tried, it's not important, but do you recall what you did to try to get into the car? Some of it, yes, sir. What did you do? I tried to, you didn't think I tried to pry the door. I tried to offer to knock out the sunroof, but really didn't want me to do that. You said you offered to knock out the sunroof? Yes, I did. Not your car. Okay. But you offered to knock out the sunroof and she said no? Yes, sir. Did you all then come up with a different plan? Yes, sir. And what was that? She said she had a spare key at our home. Okay. And were you at this point just done with the operation or do you continue to try to help? I continued to try to help.

Starting point is 00:21:58 What did you do to try to help? I went and took her to get another spare key. And when you left, was the engine running? Yes, sir. And was it running when you got back? Yes, sir. And did you think that AC was on? Yes, sir.

Starting point is 00:22:09 And when y'all got back, were you able to pop to just pull up with your key? That's all the problem. Did you pull up, hit the file and unlock the door? No, sir. Why not? I think the batteries were weak in it. It wouldn't mark him. It wouldn't unlock the door.

Starting point is 00:22:20 So y'all hit it, hit it, unlock, and it wouldn't unlock it? Yes, sir. Had a real problem now, sir? At least she had a real problem. Is that fair? Yes, sir. What did you do to address that? I called Robert Stokes Lock and Key.

Starting point is 00:22:31 Do you know someone there? Yes, Robert, the owner. Okay. So you called the owner of Stokes Lock and Key. And what was the purpose of that call? So he could help me get into the vehicle. And if, in fact, you made that call, would that be reflected on the videotape? Were you in the yard when you made that?

Starting point is 00:22:43 Absolutely, yes, sir. Okay. So you called Stokeslock and Key, and you spoke with the person you knew there and asked how to get into cars. Is that your testimony? Yes, sir. And what did he tell you? He told me it was an emergency key in the key file. Okay.

Starting point is 00:22:55 And it was an emergency key in the key fob. People may know what that means, but apparently you didn't at the time. So what does that mean? It was a key inside the fob that you separated and put out of key. He told me to pop off, told me to retrieve the key. I got the key and told me to pop off the face off the door, handle socket, unlocked the car. Were you eventually able to unlock the car? Yes, I did.

Starting point is 00:23:14 And it wasn't with that key fog? No, sir. It was just old-fashioned stick it in and turn? Yes, sir, yes, sir. When the child got out, what the child was taken from the car and knew she was deceased. And what was your immediate reaction? Call 911. Did it occur to you that maybe you were in trouble?

Starting point is 00:23:31 No, sir. Any time up until, I mean, any time during the course of this investigation, speaking with police officers, speaking with anybody else who talked to you about it, were you like, oh, my goodness, I need to cover something up? Never had an idea, man. Excuse me? No, sir. No, sir.

Starting point is 00:23:45 Okay. So you called 911, and the information you gave them, was it correct? Yes, sir. And when law enforcement arrived, did you talk to him? Yes, sir. And was the information that you gave them correct? Yes, sir. The vehicle itself.

Starting point is 00:23:55 Are the windows tenant in that call? Yes, sir. Aren't it a dark tenor? That comes from the fact. Very dark. Can you see in that car? No, sir. When law enforcement got out there and later, they took you down to the police station, is that correct?

Starting point is 00:24:06 Yes, sir. Did anybody ever tell you, you don't have to talk to us, you got a right to remain silent, all that sort of thing? Yes, sir. And did you sign the form and say, I understand it? Absolutely. And then did they keep talking to you for several hours? Yes, sir. Did you talk until they said you don't need to talk anymore?

Starting point is 00:24:18 Yes, sir. Did you ever lie, try to cover up for yourself? Never. You carried that child to the car and put her in the car. You're accused of causing great bodily injury to this child. child. Do you feel like you handled her correctly and appropriately? Yes, I did. I asked you earlier, is there any way she caused harm to any child? Never. I love children. Did you and Rita and get together and plan some way to kill this child? Absolutely not. Did y'all get together and plan some way to hurt

Starting point is 00:24:41 this child? No, sir. Can you imagine a circumstance that could have occurred? No, sir. The jury deliberated for just over two hours. During that time, they submitted two questions, each one asking for clarification on the specific charges against the couple. Inside the courtroom, emotions ran high when one of Christina's older adult sisters, Elizabeth, gave testimony on behalf of their mother. Through tears, she tried to explain who Rita was. She said, my mom, she loved Christina so much, and she's a good mom. She would often say that God created her to be Christina's mom because she was tough and she could handle it.

Starting point is 00:25:16 She described Rita as devoted, as someone who worked multiple jobs to make ends meet so she could care for Christina. When insurance refused to cover a walker for Christina, because they claimed it was cosmetic, Rita found a way. She took on tutoring gigs. She cleaned houses. She did everything to ensure Rita's needs were met. The courtroom listened in silence. Rita sat just a few feet away holding a tissue to her face. She cried quietly as her daughter spoke on her behalf. Elizabeth continued, she loved her. Christina was her whole world. And she has not been the same. Every single day we've lived with missing Christina. In the closing arguments, Zillister Stone's stood before the jury with one focus, the timeline.

Starting point is 00:25:59 He walked them through every hour, every moment. Every appearance the couple had made outside that car. Every chance they had to intervene. Every time they didn't. He was asking the jury to imagine. He was asking them to remember. To remember the footage and to remember the burns. To remember the child who had been left to die in a seat of a car for over five hours.

Starting point is 00:26:24 Then he turned to the law. Solicester Stone told the jury that murder required malice and that malice doesn't always look like rage. It doesn't always come with a weapon. Sometimes it looks like nothing at all. It can be actions, the way someone acts enough to show disregard for another person's life. He asks, so the question you have here is, what did they do to show disregard for human life? His answer was everything. He reminded the jury that Christina was completely dependent.

Starting point is 00:26:56 on others. She was nonverbal, immobile, and unable to free herself. He described how her vulnerability made the couple's actions even more devastating. He acknowledged what the defense had said earlier, that everyone in South Carolina knows what happens when you leave a child in a hot car. He told the jury, that is disregard for human life. Solicester Stone pointed to not just what the couple had done, but what they had never done. And the evidence collected, at no point did they show that they cared for Christina. Then he brought the jury back to Christina. They were shown crime scene photos. Her body after five hours in the heat, her wounds, her burns, he called it torture. He let that word hang. He told them, but in this courtroom today, I asked you to use the word murder.

Starting point is 00:27:47 The defense closed with a different argument. Larry's attorney Gil Gatch told the jury he had no legal responsibility to Christina. He claimed the car had been left running, that this was not an intentional killing, just a terrible situation that spiral beyond control. In the final moments of the trial, Rita's defense attorney, Dame Phillips, made one last attempt to reach the jury. He called Rita to stand beside him, just feet away from the jurors. She rose from her seat and walked forward. He asked the jury to look at her, really look at her. She stood there, shoulders shaking, her hands trembled. She sobbed openly in front of the room. Her face was blotched, red, wet with tears. He said, this is this woman's life. This is this woman's freedom. And I'm not saying she did

Starting point is 00:28:34 everything right because God knows she didn't. He then paused and then continued gesturing to the world beyond the courtroom. And you can be angry at Rita out here, but you can't do it in there. Rita returned to her seat. She reached for more tissues, something that she had done often during trial. Silently, she cried into her hands. In September of 2023, after deliberating for just over two hours, jury returned with their decision. Hank joined BJ's wholesale club the day he became a father of 30. I coach football. Now coach Hank saves up to 25% off grocery store prices. 30 pounds of pasta. Three cases of protein bars, 75 sports drinks. And that's just pregame.

Starting point is 00:29:28 He knows teamwork and BJ's knows savings. This is your home, coach. Home of the Save. Join for just $20 at BJs.com slash SW Fort Worth and save 10 cents a gallon on gas for six months. Now open, limited time offer new members only. BJ's Home of the Save. On the charge of criminal conspiracy,

Starting point is 00:30:08 by the defendant, not guilty. Rita Pangalangan and Larry Eugene King Jr. were both found guilty of murder and inflicting great bodily injury on a child. Reader received 37 years in prison. Larry was sentenced to 32. Each was also handed a concurrent 20-year sentence for CA. By October of 2024, after years of hearings, filings, and legal delays, a financial settlement was finally reached. It was tied to both the wrongful death and civil lawsuits. One filed against Christina's mother and her boyfriend, the other against the state's department

Starting point is 00:30:44 of Social Services. The total amount was $314,05.85.82. U.S. of that figure, $195,000 were expected to come from the South Carolina Department of Social Services, the same department that, according to the lawsuit, had failed to protect Christina despite being contacted multiple times. The allegations claim the Department of Social Services had violated its own statutes, laws created to safeguard children from neglect and harm. Christina had been reported as at risk. She had been burned and she had been overlooked. The system did nothing to help her.

Starting point is 00:31:21 The remainder of the settlement was tied to her estate, an acknowledgement, at least on paper, of the life that was taken. Christina's funeral took place on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 14th, 2019, just days before she was meant to start eighth grade. The service was held at Faith Church on Hampton Street in Wendon. Walter Borough. In her obituary, she was remembered simply, a purely loving and wonderful soul. That was the Christina the world was asked to remember. Christina Ann Pangalangan never spoke a word in her life, but her story has since sparked conversations far beyond her small South Carolina town,

Starting point is 00:32:02 in courtrooms, newsrooms, and eventually the South Carolina legislature. Her story didn't end with a verdict or dollar amount. Christina's death revealed a legal loophole in South Carolina's criminal code. Under state law, the charge of homicide by CA could only be applied if the child was under the age of 11. Christina was 13. As a result, prosecutors were forced to pursue more complex murder charges, charges that revolved proving intent rather than recklessness. Though her mother and her boyfriend were eventually convicted of murder and sentenced to decades in prison, Solicitor Stone warned that not every case would be so clear-cut. Christina's trial became the catalyst for a proposed change in state law,

Starting point is 00:32:51 one that would expand protections by raising the age limit for CA homicide charges from 11 to 18. Her life, though short and marked by hardship, became the reason the law may soon change. A bill now bears her shadow. Christina was silent. Her movements were limited, but in death, she created a legacy no courtroom could ignore. And that legacy may go on to protect children whose stories have yet to be written. It lives on through legal reform and through the calls to close the gaps that let her fall through. And it lives on in a memory of a girl who love cartoons, who needed care, and who was failed

Starting point is 00:33:31 again and again until the world was finally forced to listen. Christina will never grow older, but the law might. The proposed change would allow homicide by CA to apply in all cases involving minors, so that at no child, regardless of age, is left outside the law. And no one like Christina ever falls between the cracks again.

The Misery Machine - The Case of Cristina Pangalangan

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