The grandmother of missing North Carolina girl, Madalina Cojocari, says the child’s stepfather, Chris Palmiter, sold her into sex trafficking for millions.
“Chris Palmiter is the instrument,” Madalina’s grandmother, Rodica Cojocari, told WCNC while standing outside of the Mecklenburg County courthouse Thursday.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, police arrested Madalina’s mother and Rodica’s daughter, Diana Cojocari, in December for failing to report 11-year-old Madalina missing.
Madalina hasn’t been seen since November 21, 2022; police learned about her disappearance a month later, when a Cornelius school resource officer contacted Diana Cojocari about the child’s absences.
Cojocari told detectives that she didn’t immediately report Madalina missing because she was concerned that her husband, Palmiter, would put her family in danger and that it “might start a conflict” with him.
“She told him she was in a bad relationship with co-defendant Christopher Palmiter and wanted a divorce,” an arrest warrant read.
Cojocari was subsequently arrested on charges of failure to report her daughter missing. She’s also facing a narcotics charge after police reportedly found her with fentanyl behind bars.
Palmiter was also arrested in December and charged with failure to report the child missing. Last week, Palmiter, who pleaded not guilty, was released from jail after a judge lowered his bond from $200,000 to $25,000, WRAL reports.
Rodica now asserts that Palmiter trafficked Madalina for $5 million, adding that he also trafficked his wife. Police, however, have not confirmed the information.
“He stalked them for two years. [He] had no documents in his home. He stole their documents and held them in the home … like prisoners,” said said, referring to Madalina and her mother.
“He would use narcotics to make them sleep, both Madalina and Diana…He used these narcotics in their juice. Diana and Madalina drank it, and he took Madalina out of the bedroom and gave her over to traffickers. I don’t know to whom.”
“My granddaughter is alive, but she’s been kidnapped.”
Madalina is described as a white female who stands 4-feet-10-inches tall and weighs around 90 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.
In January, the FBI released footage from a school bus security camera, which showed Madalina in a white shirt and backpack as she exited the bus at 4:59 p.m. on November 21 in Cornelius.
Anyone with information on Madalina should call the Cornelius Police Department at 704-892-7773. To remain anonymous, call North Mecklenburg Crime Stoppers at 704-896-7867.
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[Feature Photo: Madalina Cojocari/FBI Charlotte]
