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Rita Pangalangan, a 53-year-old South Carolina woman charged with murder in 2019 death of her 13-year-old daughter, Cristina Pangalangan, was convicted of the killing. Pangalangan’s teenage daughter with cerebral palsy died of heatstroke on August 5, 2019, after she was left unattended inside a Volkswagen car for hours under the scorching heat.
Following the death, Rita Pangalangan was accused of abandoning her disabled daughter for four to five hours in a car parked outside of Rita’s boyfriend, Larry King’s home. Shortly after, Pangalangan and King were charged with the murder of the child.
Four years after the incident, on Friday, September 1, 2023, the jury found the pair guilty of murder. Shortly after, Circuit Judge Clifton Newman handed Rita Pangalangan a collective sentence of 57 years with credit for time served, which is 39 days.
Rita Pangalangan was found guilty of the charge of murder and sentenced to 37 years. In addition, she was also convicted of inflicting great bodily harm and was sentenced to 20 years. Newman announced that both sentences would be served concurrently to each other.
Incidentally, King was also found guilty of murder and was sentenced to 32 years and an additional 20 years for great bodily harm.
Rita Pangalangan and Larry King were under the influence of meth on the day of Christina's death
Per multiple reports, four years after 13-year-old Cristina Pangalangan died of a heat stroke after being left in her mother’s car for hours while she visited with her boyfriend, the suspects responsible for the death were convicted in the tragic incident. On Friday, Christina’s mom, Rita Pangalangan and Rita's boyfriend, Larry King, were both found guilty of murder.
The sentence was handed down following a days-long trial in which prosecutors argued that the suspects deliberately left Christina in the car for hours despite being aware that the young girl with cerebral palsy was confined to a wheelchair, unable to speak or walk by herself.
In the trial, investigators also testified that Rita Pangalangan and her boyfriend tested positive for meth on the day of the incident. Prosecutors also presented surveillance footage from King’s residence that showed the pair’s activities while Christina was left alone in the car for hours with the windows rolled up.
Prosecutors argued the suspects' movements in the video that showed the two around the car multiple times in the hours leading to Christina's death were evidence of blatant disregard for human life.
Rita Pangalangan's daughter testified during the trial
However, the defense countered the prosecutors' arguments, alleging that the keys were inside the vehicle, that was running at the time of the incident. One of Rita’s daughters, Elizabeth Clyde, also testified on behalf of her mother, painting a picture of an attentive and caring woman. The testimony was a stark contrast to her behavior on the day of the incident.
“We got the walker for her even though insurance wouldn’t pay for it, They said it was cosmetic, so mom would work extra tutoring jobs, she would clean houses, she made sure Cristina had whatever she needed. Because the insurance often dubbed something unnecessary or cosmetic she made sure Cristina had above and beyond what she needed.”
She added:
“She loved her. Cristina was her whole world. And she has not been the same – every single day we’ve lived with missing Cristina.”
However, the jury, after deliberating for two and half hours, convicted the suspects of murder. Before announcing the sentence, Circuit Judge Clifton Newman said that while Cristina's death couldn’t be defined in terms of traditional murder, the suspect's recklessness indicated a deliberate disregard for human life. The judge said:
“Considering that the two of you were there around the car any number of times without doing anything to save this child’s life and contributing to the child’s death.”
Shortly after the sentence was announced Rita Pangalangan was reportedly seen breaking down in the courtroom.
