Madalina Cojocari’s Mother Now Considered A Suspect In Her Disappearance
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Breaking:
As the investigation into Madalina Cojocari’s whereabouts continues, her mother, Diana Cojocari is now being considered a suspect in her disappearance, according to a statement from the Cornelius Police Department.
No other details have been released at this time. Anyone with information is asked to call the Cornelius Police Department at 704-892-7773.
Read below for full coverage on Madalina’s disappearance.
Previous Coverage
The jury has found Christopher Palmiter guilty for failure to report Madalina Cojocari missing. He was sentenced to 30 months of supervised probation since he already served more than 200 days in jail for the crime. Watch WCCB News @ TEN for a full report from reporter Emma Mondo.
Madalina is still missing. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call 911 immediately.
Day 5 of Trial: Thursday, May 31st:
First half off the day
The morning started with the defense sharing their closing arguments for nearly an hour and a half.
He started by saying the most important thing is to find Madalina, but that this case is not about that, it’s about if Palmiter knew she was missing or not.
He shows a photo of Madalina, Diana and Palmiter at the dinner table, claiming his client cared more than anything about his family.
The defense claims that Diana was taking active steps to try and deceive him. He said Palmiter’s crime was being naive, and that Diana “wore the pants in that house.” He said she was abusive, controlling, and manipulative.
He says Palmiters memory is poor, but that it’s an impairment, not a crime. The defense says Diana was gaslighting Palmiter and dragging him along, and that the audio recordings were a way of setting Palmiter up.
He continued to discuss the control Diana had over Chris, and how he was taken advantage of, claiming that officers just assumed that he was a liar.
Palmiter was emotional again when the defense showed more photos of Palmiter, Diana and Madalina, saying Palmiter loved his family.
The Defense showed a diagram of the burden of proof, saying the jury can only find him guilty if they believe it beyond a reasonable doubt.
The state then presented their closing arguments, starting off saying for 23 days, Palmiter failed to protect Madalina.
He stated that there is one thing and one thing only for the jury to consider today, is if Palmiter is guilty of failing to report her missing.
Two elements of the charge were discussed by the state. First, is if the person is someone who provides care and supervision to a child under the age of 16, and the second is if he failed to report her disappearance.
The state told the jury that all they had to do was look at the facts, and not worry about anything else. HE claims that since Palmiter stepped into the role of a parent, that makes him someone who provided care and supervision to Madalina. The state said that we wouldn’t be sitting here in court today if Palmiter was supervising his daughter the way he was supposed too.
The state said he was indifferent to the wellbeing of his daughter because he was scared of his wife., He then referred to the initial statement Palmiter made to the cops with four different ideas of what he thought happened to Madalina, the last being she could have been kidnapped, that makes him guilty.
The State then went over a timeline of November 21st thru December 15th of 2022. He reminded the jurors of the law, and finished up by saying that the “defendant thinking, hoping, praying, or guessing that he knows Madalina’s location, makes him guilty.”
The judge gave the jury the directions for deliberations. The jury decided to work through lunch and begin deliberations.
Day 4 of Trial: Thursday, May 30th:
First half of the day:
The state picked up where they left off, asking Palmiter about Diana staying at his home after she was released from jail. He said that when he came home, she was sitting on their front porch. He let her stay at the house for one night and then she was set up in a hotel.
The defense asked Palmiter if it was fair to say they were having marital trouble. He became emotional and said yes.
Next to take the stand was the lead detective, Detective Gina Patterson.
The defense asked what items were found in Diana’s car and purse. Detective Patterson said a Western Credit Union receipt for $3,000 to Moldova was found in the car. She says that $7,500, two passports and the name of a cousin on a notepad was found in her purse.
First thing Palmiter asked the lead detective was to get his cell phone and laptop back because he needed them for work.
On the 16th of December, Palmiter said to detectives, “I didn’t find out she was missing until a week after I got back.” He called Diana a “wholesome calm person” to detectives. He told detectives that Diana had burned everything with Madalina’s image on it.
Madalina was not seen by detectives in surveillance footage from Madison County, but Diana was.
The defense asked if Palmiter was given his phone when he was being questioned to show them photos, the detective said no.
The defense told the judge after the jury left that he does not plan to call Diana Cojocari to the stand. Her attorney has been told she can leave for the day.
The next witness will be Paul Palmiter after the lunch break. Court will resume at 1:45pm.
Second half of the day:
The Defense has called Mr. Paul Palmiter to the stand.
Paul said he had met Diana Cojocari less than a dozen times. He said that he knew they met on a dating website. He said Chris’s interactions with Madalina were always positive when he was around them, that he was always making sure “his daughter, Madalina” was ok.
He says Palmiter showed up in Michigan on Mothers day of 2022. He asked his brother to leave his phone inside and talk outside. He told his brother that someone from Diana’s past was after her, and he was looking for a safe place that Diana and Madalina could go. He says Christopher was emotional telling him his family was in danger.
Paul says he offered an extra bedroom in their house, but Christopher didn’t want anyone to track them down at his house.
Several weeks later, Diana showed up in Michigan at Paul’s house unexpectedly. She wanted to talk to Paul and his wife about if Madalina could come and stay with them and go to school in Michigan.
Paul says that Christophers main concern was if someone was to try and take Diana, he wouldn’t be able to take care of Madalina alone. He said he would talk to his wife about helping, but they needed to do it legally and draw up a document for them to legally house Madalina.
Paul says his brother has always been very truthful and has never lied to him or anyone in the family. He says he wouldn’t come here to lie for his brother.
The next person to take the stand was David, a longtime friend of Palmiter’s.
David said that Christopher was his best friend until he got married, he said after that they just had different interests. David says that Chris was a truthful man who followed the law.
David said he met Diana Cojocari after they married, and the conflicts and differences really started to show on their annual beach trips. He said that he would try to distance himself from Diana, and she would distance herself from groups on trips as well.
David said there was a power dynamic in Diana and Christopher’s relationship, Diana being controlling. He claimed he witnessed strange behavior from Diana several times. One example he shared was Diana telling their group at the beach to stop taking photos of a rainbow, and that it was an angel receiving their crown, and to take pictures of it was sacrilegious.
He told the court wife was listed as Madalina’s emergency contact, and David didn’t know until the police called looking for Madalina. David said he called Palmiter telling him the school is trying to reach you guys. He said Diana had also asked him once if he had a 401k. She asked if he had ever invested in silver. David said it was a very awkward conversation.
The Next person to take the stand was Matthew Palmiter, Christopher’s other brother.
His brother said he follows the law and is truthful.
Matthews says he met Cojocari a couple dozen times. Matthew said the dynamic between Cojocari and Chris was that Diana was the controlling one, and Chris would listen to her.
Matthew said he went to the house after Christopher was arrested to take care of things. When he first arrived, the back door was unlocked and everything inside was a mess and torn up inside from the police’s investigation. He had installed security cameras, and on March 20th of 2023 he saw three people in the house. He was about to say who it was on the camera, but then the state objected for hearsay before he could finish.
The defense rested, and court concluded for the day. Court will resume Friday morning at 10am for closing arguments.
Day 3 of Trial: Wednesday, May 29th:
First half of the day:
Palmiter took the stand for a second day of testimony in his own trial. The defense started the morning off looking at family photos of vacations, birthdays and holidays, making Palmiter emotional.
Palmiter claims that things changed in 2022 as Diana’s spiritual practices got more intense. He said that Diana did not work, but when people ask what she did for work, she would say she “saved souls.”
Palmiter claims Diana was afraid of Russian entities, Michael Jackson and Vladimir Putin, and needed a safe place to hide her and Madalina. Palmiter set something up with his family in Wisconsin to keep them safe, but the plan fell through.
Palmiter says Diana forced him to write a letter to a silver company that Palmiter had purchased silver bars from to confirm that their contract with them did not have custodial privileges over their flesh and blood.
He claims Diana would put things in front of the front door in the fall months of 2022, like Madalina’s desk or dresser, because she was paranoid.
Palmiter says he was having problems with his WiFi, and found out the fiber optics wire on the router had been cut. He took a picture of the cut wire on November 29th of 2022. That picture was shown to the court.
Palmiter says AT&T was supposed to come fix the router, but Palmiter was at work at 9am on December 2nd when they came by. Palmiter says Diana was home at that time, but no one answered the door for the appointment.
On December 1st, Plamiter sent a text to Diana to say that AT&T was coming by. Her reply was, “We are already in town today, can they come tomorrow?” Palmiter believed the “we” in that text meant her and Madalina.
Palmiter says when Diana would talk to him, she would say things as if Madalina was still in the house. He claims he made pizza and was going to bring Madalina three pieces to her room, but Diana said that Madalina wouldn’t eat that much and took a piece off Madalina’s plate.
Recess is was taken at 12:32pm. Court will resume at 2pm.
Second half of the day:
Palmiter said that for a while in 2022, Diana would not answer the phone when it rang.
Palmiter got a text on December 1st, 2022 from his friend Sandy regarding Madalina’s attendance at school. The text said to call Mrs. Lampkin at school, and that she was trying to reach him. He replied “ok”. He says he was leaving work, so he was going to let Diana know the school was trying to get a hold of her when he got home. He told Diana, and she said she would “take care of it in the morning.”
Palmiter asked about why Madalina’s attendance was in question, Diana said that she was sick and in her room. Palmiter says he did not go into Madalina’s room to check on her when he was told she was sick.
The defense played an audio clip of Diana Cojocari from Friday December 2nd, 2022, saying her wallet was taken from the shelf under the stairs. She is questioning Palmiter in the video about her wallet and Madalina’s computer, claiming he took both of them.
In the video, Diana mentions Madalina multiple times, leading Palmiter to believe she was still in the home. Palmiter said he never touched her stuff except once when it was to get her a new green card after she lost the first one.
Another audio clip was played from December 5th, Diana asked Palmiter if he called the police to tell them that he was worried about her. Says a policeman came to her car and asked if she was ok when she was in the mountains. She asked Palmiter if he called the police concerned about her, and he said no. She continued to ask him if she did something to upset him or hurt him or if he ever complained to a person or policeman about her, and he said no.
She continued to ask in the audio clip if she or Madalina had done anything against Palmiter, he said they have done nothing to upset or hurt him. She said in March and April of 2022, her woman intuition told her “something is coming that is a threat to our family”. She asked Palmiter in the clip if Palmiter can take her and Madalina to members of his family for safety, but says in the clip that he ignored her pleas for help. Palmiter says he had no idea that Diana was making those recordings.
Palmiter did not see Madalina on the 5th when he was recorded. He said Diana approached him recording him as he was getting ready to head out the door for work.
A photo shown of a note from December 6th that said “gone for two days. – Diana” There was reportedly a note prior to this one from days earlier saying they were going hiking in the mountains. He says he thought Madalina was hiking with Diana, like they had done multiple times before.
The defense showing a picture of the living room, taken December 9th. In the picture there were blue container bins in the living room. Palmiter said those bins on the left side were full of Madalina’s belongings that he brought back from Michigan. On the right side were bins full of Tupperware and plates, and he assumed they were moving out. He says he took this picture to see if any of those bins were being removed or added from the living room.
Palmiter said he wasn’t concerned about Madalina’s wellbeing, but concerned that Diana had left him and that she and Madalina were moving out. Diana returned on December 11th, but he didnt see if Madalina came in the house with her or not.
Palmiter said once the pieces fell together, he did ask Diana where she took her because he wanted to see her. He said she would change the subject, not answer, or say it’s none of his business. When he would speak with Diana asking where she was, she would say “it doesn’t matter”. He said asked to see her once near Christmas, and Diana said to him that “he needs to create his own family.” He replied, “You are my family.” She said “You need to create a family with someone else.”
The defense asked “Where do you think Madalina is?” Palmiter replied, “I think Diana took her somewhere with her Moldovan family, I don’t know, I think she tucked her away somewhere where no one would find her.”
The state objected several times for leading, and the Judge agreed, calling it “textbook leading”.
The state began their questioning with only 45 minutes left in the day. The Assistant D.A. asked, “Why did you not tell the police about everything you just told your attorney here in court today?” Palmiter said “My memory is sketchy, I don’t remember everything.”
The state says that the first time Palmiter went to the Cornelius PD after the school interview, he first asked to get his phone and computer back, not about Madalina. Palmiter said he can’t remember what he said, that it was a long time ago.
The State asked Palmiter if he had communicated in the past week, and he answered yes. The State asked Palmiter if Diana had slept at his house following her release, and he said yes.
The state asked if he remembers telling the Dep. Chief Jennifer Thompson that Diana had burned photos of Madalina. Palmiter said he doesn’t remember that, and that he barely remembers talking to Thompson.
The judge called recess for the evening at 4:55pm and will continue tomorrow at 9:30am.
Day 2 of Trial: Tuesday, May 28th:
An emotional day for Christopher Palmiter as he wiped away tears while in the court room.
Christopher Palmiter
Detective Bradley Nichols took the stand and body cam footage was shown of officers talking to Palmiter. Detective Nichols interviewed Palmiter for two hours at Bailey Middle School.
Three different video clips were played from the body worn camera. When asked about the whereabouts of Madaline Cojocari, Palmiter said she could be in her room, at a friends, or kidnapped, according to court testimony.
Body cam video also showed Palmiter tell officers that his wife, Diana, said, “I’m not happy here,” after officers asked Palmiter if they ever talked about separating.
Palmiter also shared that Diana did not work and she stayed home. He also stated that the couple had a joint bank account.
More body cam footage shows Palmiter mention that Diana is very close with a cousin and spoke with her parents daily. The detective noted that Palmiter never asked for help to find Madalina and that his story wasn’t making sense.
The detective then told the court that they couldn’t find any close friends of Madalina’s, only acquaintances. Police then went to Palmiter’s house after interviewing him at the school to look for any signs of the child.
Evidence shown in court today included:
- Photos of phones collected at Palmiter’s home on Dec. 15, 2022.
- Photos of floor plans of the residence
- Photos taken inside and outside Palmiter’s home from Dec. 15th, 2022 from every room.
WCCB Charlotte’s Emma Mondo has provided court room updates via X:
📍12:17 pm -Body cam video showed Palmiter tell officers that Diana said “I’m not happy here” after officers asked him if they ever talked about separating. Palmiter also shared that Diana did not work and she stayed home.
📍12:45 pm Detective Nichols said he left Bailey Middle School and went to Palmiter’s house to see if he could find any clues to where Madalina was. Showed evidence: – photos of phones collected at Palmiters home on Dec. 15 2022. – photos of floor plans of the residence. – Photos taken inside and outside Palmiters home from Dec. 15 2022, from every room including inside Madalina’s room.
📍12:52 pm – Detective Bradley Nichols took the stand while body cam video was shown of officers talking to Palmiter. Three different video clips are being played from body worn camera. I see Palmiter wiping tears away as he watches these videos.
Follow @emmmondoTV for the full thread.
The last man to take the stand Tuesday was Christopher Palmiter himself.
Body cam video shown in court Tuesday show Palmiter’s first interaction with police at Bailey Middle School back on December 15th, 2022.
“I asked her where Madalina is and she said she didn’t know,” said Palmiter on body cam footage.
Palmiter told the jury he met Diana Cojocari on a dating website around 2008. He says she lied and said she was six years older than she really is. He says he and Diana communicated for a year or two before he flew to meet her in Moldova.
Palmiter says that after that meeting, Diana became pregnant by another man in Moldova, but Palmiter still wanted her to come to America. He says they got married within 90 days so Diana could get a visa.
Once in Cornelius, Palmiter testified that Diana followed the spiritual teachings of a woman in Utah which included screaming prayer and rituals all hours of the day.
“Her mother seemed to be doing her prayers a lot, and Madalina would always ask me to play with her, and I never turned her down,” he said through tears. “I would take her for bike rides, walks in the neighborhood, take her to the park.”
Palmiter also says that Diana would use a real knife to cut away imaginary strings that she said demons had attached to her. He said she would do the same “string removal” to Madalina.
Court will resume Wednesday morning at 9:30am.
Day 1 of Trial: Friday, May 24th:
The trial more than a year in the making is finally underway. The jury has been picked in the case of Madalina Cojocari’s stepfather. Christopher Palmiter had his day in court as the prosecution called its first witness.
The trial is to determine if Palmiter failed to report Madalina missing back in November 2022. The child has still not been found.
Tina Rorie was Madalina’s bus driver and the prosecution’s first witness. Rorie told the jury she didn’t see the 11-year-old talk to the other kids much and Madalina would run straight home every day after getting off the bus.
Rorie was asked to look at the video many of us have seen dozens, if not hundreds of times. The last time Madalina was seen in public. That image became too much for Rorie to bear as tears ran down her face.
Madalina’s guidance counselor at Bailey Middle School was next to take the stand. Like Rorie, Danice Lampkin’s emotions became overwhelming as she looked over Madalina’s class schedule. Lampkin testified that when Madalina’s absences started piling up from November into December, she reached out several times to both Palmiter and Madalina’s mother Diana. Sending emails and leaving voicemails.
After not hearing back, Lampkin said she stopped by the home on December 13th. She finally received a call from Diana the next day. Diana showed up to the school on December 15th alone. Lampkin said that’s when she knew something was wrong. When asked if Madalina was ever back at school after November 21, 2022, an emotional Lampkin answered, no, she has not.
The prosecution did say it plans to call Diana Cojocari to the stand. It’s unclear when. The jury trial continues Tuesday morning.
Jury Selection Complete:
The jury selection is complete for the trial of Madalina Cojocari’s stepfather. The trial will begin at 1:30 p.m.
Jury Selection:
Jury selection for the trial of Christopher Palmiter will continue Thursday. So far, ten jurors have been seated, they need two more. The problem, is that this case has gotten so much attention over the past couple years, it’s been challenging to find people who haven’t already formed an opinion about the people involved.
When Palmiter left court today, WCCB’s Emma Mondo walked with him and his attorney toward their car and asked him about the jurors who’ve been chosen so far. He was also asked about the possibility of his wife, Diana Cojocari, testifying during the trial. Palmiter didn’t say word.
WCCB found out Wednesday that Cojocari has been subpoenaed by Palmiter’s attorneys to testify in this trial. Her attorney says he will advise Diana to plead the 5th because any answers she gives could be potentially incriminating, since she is still being investigated by police over the disappearance of her daughter. The judge has not made a final decision on whether Diana will be required to testify, but says it’s likely she will.
Jury selection will pick up again Thursday morning at 9:30. The judge says he’s hoping a jury will be seated by the end of the day tomorrow.
