Monday proved to be a pivotal, if enigmatic day surrounding the search for a missing North Carolina girl.
Not only did the girl’s mother, Diana Cojocari, plead guilty in a Mecklenburg County courtroom to failing to report her disappearance, but the defense for the child’s stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, asked for more time to review evidence before his trial on the same charge, which was due to start Monday, according to local NBC affiliate WCNC. His attorneys reportedly said they only just received an interview in which Diana Cojocari’s cousin told the FBI about her seeking a safe place for her and Madalina.
Neither parent, however, is charged in the girl’s disappearance beyond failing to tell authorities she had gone missing in late November 2022. Madalina’s whereabouts remain a mystery. She went missing at age 11 and would now be 13.
The judge reportedly said that Diana Cojocari, 39, had already spent the maximum amount of time behind bars for the crime, and she would soon be released from custody. Online records show her behind bars as of Tuesday, but it’s unclear how long she would stay in the United States in the long run. On Monday, she acknowledged the judge’s warning that because she is here on a green card, it is likely she will be deported to her birth nation of Moldova, an Eastern European nation bordering Ukraine to the south.
As for Palmiter, 61, his defense reportedly pushed back the trial to Tuesday afternoon, but want time to review an interview in which Diana Cojocari’s cousin apparently discussed her. According to reported documents, Diana Cojocari went to this male cousin for help leaving Palmiter and had given Madalina’s school a medical excuse for the girl missing class. The mother allegedly voiced concern that she was in danger from a third party — not from Palmiter.
“Diana reveals her delusional fears to [her cousin] and tells him that she has accumulated enough funds to ‘live off of for two or three months,’” documents said, according to a report by local ABC affiliate WSOC.
Documents also referenced her allegedly sending large amounts of money out of the United States.
Prosecutors reportedly argued this material was not exculpatory toward Palmiter, but the defense said it is their business to know what Diana Cojocari was up to.
“The defense needs to know whom Diana was in contact with, where and when she went and what contacts and calls she had in order to bolster Palmiter’s defense regarding his reasonable belief,” the defense reportedly wrote.
They are also asking for evidence, including search warrant results.
Now Palmiter’s attorney is asking the judge to continue this case to give them adequate time to review this new evidence (interview), and asks for the following additional evidence: pic.twitter.com/60rulMCmmG
— Hunter Sáenz (@Hunt_Saenz) May 20, 2024
Madalina’s last confirmed sighting is leaving a school bus on Nov. 21, 2022, the week of Thanksgiving.
She never went to school again. According to cops in the town of Cornelius, North Carolina, a school resource officer and a school counselor visited the family home on Dec. 12, 2022, but no one answered. Diana Cojocari allegedly arrived on campus for a meeting on the following Dec. 15, with no sign of Madalina. She allegedly told cops that she last saw her daughter on Nov. 23, 2022, and that when she went to check on her on Nov. 24, which was also Thanksgiving, Madalina was not in her room.
“Diana Cojocari stated she waited until Saturday, November 26th at 1900 hours, when Christopher Palmiter returned home [from a road trip] before asking if he knew where Madalina was,” police wrote.
Palmiter claimed not to know and he asked Diana the same question, defendant Cojocari allegedly said.
“I [the affiant] asked Diana why she did not report Madalina missing until now,” authorities said. “Diana stated she was worried it might start a ‘conflict’ between her and Christopher.”
Palmiter allegedly told police he left home for Michigan on Nov. 23 to pick up items. He said he did not see Madalina the day he left and he believed that the last time he saw her was a week before his trip, officers said.
He allegedly returned home on Nov. 26, and asked his wife about Madalina’s whereabouts. Diana Cojocari allegedly said she did not know.
“Chris stated that he asked Diana if she had hidden Madalina and Diana asked Chris if he had hidden Madalina and they both said no,” authorities said.
The post Madalina Cojocari’s mom pleads guilty and faces deportation while stepfather stalls trial over interview about mother’s ‘fears’ first appeared on Law & Crime.
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Author: Alberto Luperon
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