The mother of a missing North Carolina girl, Madalina Cojocari, has expressed her hopes for her daughter's safety following her guilty plea for failing to report the child's disappearance promptly.
Madalina was last seen alighting from her school bus in November 2022, at the tender age of eleven. A month later, her mother, Diana Cojocari, and stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, were apprehended after reporting her missing only two days prior.
Over a year has passed since Madalina's disappearance, and her whereabouts remain a mystery. On Monday, Diana Cojocari pleaded guilty to a felony charge of failing to report her daughter missing, a significant shift from her initial not guilty plea. As reported by local outlet WCNC, Diana, a non-American citizen, now faces potential deportation to Moldova following her change of plea. Since 2022, she has been held in jail under a $250,000 bond.
Upon her release from jail on Tuesday, a WSOC-TV reporter questioned Diana about Madalina's safety and her current location. Diana responded with a simple, "I hope so." When pressed further by reporter Hannah Goetz, Diana reiterated, "I hope she is safe."
In contrast, Christopher Palmiter pleaded not guilty to the same charge. He secured his release from jail in August after posting a $25,000 bond, and his trial commenced on Tuesday, 18 months after Madalina's disappearance.
The last public sighting of Madalina was on 21 November 2022, captured on surveillance footage as she disembarked from her school bus. Diana informed investigators that she saw Madalina at home two days later before bedtime, but the child was missing the following morning.
In the ensuing weeks, Madalina's school repeatedly contacted her parents regarding her whereabouts. Diana reported her daughter's disappearance to a school resource officer on 15 December, leading to her and Palmiter's arrest two days later.
In December 2022, Diana claimed that she refrained from reporting her daughter missing to avoid conflict with Palmiter. Investigators suggested that Diana may have embarked on a hiking trip before reporting Madalina missing. They also alleged that she sought help from a distant relative to "smuggle" her and Madalina away to escape her troubled relationship with Palmiter.
Court documents obtained by WCNC reveal that law enforcement officers spoke with Diana's cousin, who suggested that Diana and Madalina were in danger from a third party unrelated to Palmiter. According to the cousin, they were planning to flee the country after their plans to stay with Palmiter's relatives fell through.
Palmiter's defense team has accused the prosecution of failing to disclose the conversation with Diana's cousin and other crucial evidence until recently. They argued, "The defense fails to understand how providing the entire file could compromise information that is now a year-and-a-half stale." The prosecution has countered this claim, asserting that the evidence was not relevant to the charge at hand.
Login