Police in North Carolina on Monday named Diana Cojocari a suspect in the 2022 disappearance of her daughter ,Madalina Cojocari.
The Cornelius Police Department made the announcement in a Facebook post on Monday.
Cojocari and her husband, Christopher Palmiter, were both arrested in December 2022 and charged with failing to report the disappearance of the then-11-year-old girl, as CrimeOnline reported. Cojocari was released from jail in May after entering a guilty plea and being sentenced to time served. Palmiter, who was released on bond months ago, was found guilty at trial on the same charge and sentenced to 30 months supervised probation.
Mecklenburg County records indicate that Palmiter filed for divorce from Diana last week, but locals reportedly have seen the couple together.
Madalina was last seen at Bailey Middle School in Cornelius in late November 2022. Her mother didn’t report her missing until December 15, when a school resource officer came asking about the girl’s whereabouts.
At his trial, Palmiter, Madalina’s stepfather, said he believed his wife had spirited the girl into hiding.
“I think Diana took her somewhere with her Moldovan family,” he said. “I believe Diana has tucked her away somewhere where she’s not going to be found.”
Cojocari told investigators in December 2022 that she hadn’t told anyone about her daughter’s disappearance because she was in a bad relationship with Palmiter and didn’t want to upset him. She also told investigators she wanted a divorce.
A year ago, Cornelius police obtained photographs of a girl resembling Madalina and an unidentified man in western North Carolina.
Cornelius Police told WCNC that Diana Cojocari, who is Moldovan and not an American citizen, is not facing any new charges although she is now a suspect in her daughter’s disappearance. When she entered her guilty plea in May, the judge in the case told her it meant she would likely be deported, but it’s not clear if that would still happened now that she’s been named a suspect. In any case, deportation proceedings could take years.
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[Featured image: Madalina Cojocari/Cornelius Police Department and Diana Cojocari/Mecklenburg County Jail]
