NC NC - Madalina Cojocari, 11, reported Missing Dec 2022 three Weeks After Last Seen, Cornelius, *Parents Arrested* #3

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Christopher Palmiter appeared in court Friday and pleaded
not guilty." Trial date has been set for May 20 for charges of not reporting Madalina missing. There was a grand jury indictment on April 15. Diana Cojocari will also have to appear for another arraignment, but date has not yet been set.



CHARLOTTE — Nearly a year and a half since anyone has seen Madalina Cojocari, her stepfather appeared in court to defend himself in Mecklenburg County on Friday morning.

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Palmiter pleaded not guilty to the felony charge of failure to report a child who has disappeared.

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Flanked by a bodyguard and attorney during his walk from the courthouse doors to this car, Palmiter faced questioning from Bruno (WSOC reporter) who demanded answers about Madalina’s whereabouts.

“Your daughter has been missing for months are you worried about her? What do you have to say to all the people following this case? Why nothing to say, your daughter is missing?” Bruno asked as he walked next to Palmiter.

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A superseding indictment for Failure to Report Disappearance of a Child to Law Enforcement was filed on April 15, 2024. Click HERE to read a copy of the indictment.


Palmiter’s jury trial date is slated for May 20. In April, a grand jury gathered for the case.
I don't understand why he is out of jail and she's not.
 
I knew that , but I thought they would take him back in. I would think he would be a flight risk .
Can they just "take him back in" though?
They also might have hoped that he will give them clues as to the location of either Madalina's remains or even alive Madalina's location (abroad?). I'm pretty hopeful he was constantly under surveillance.
 
I assume she has bail but couldn't meet it.

Interesting he didn't bail her out, no?
To me that's even more compelling to believe she did something with her, and he knows it. Or at least, suspects it.
Of course I could be completely wrong, but I've never thought he had anything to do with Madalina's disappearance. I believe that was entirely her mother's doing.
 
To me that's even more compelling to believe she did something with her, and he knows it. Or at least, suspects it.
Of course I could be completely wrong, but I've never thought he had anything to do with Madalina's disappearance. I believe that was entirely her mother's doing.
I think there was tension in the household, the nature of which I don't know. And M is missing on account of it. Hence no love lost between the adults. I'm still in the camp that, for protection, mom squirreled M away. IMO she is convicted in that and will stay on jail, stay silent until M is 18 if she has to.

I can't recall -- is dad hee dad? Stepdad? Did he adopt her?

Because if she's the sole legal parent, she can send her child away freely..... where it gets sticky is if LE comes around wanting proof of life on a wellness check, she probably wouldn't tell, wouldn't trust LE to keep that location hidden.

I'm holding out for M to be alive. In anonymity for now.

JMO
 
I think there was tension in the household, the nature of which I don't know. And M is missing on account of it. Hence no love lost between the adults. I'm still in the camp that, for protection, mom squirreled M away. IMO she is convicted in that and will stay on jail, stay silent until M is 18 if she has to.

I can't recall -- is dad hee dad? Stepdad? Did he adopt her?

Because if she's the sole legal parent, she can send her child away freely..... where it gets sticky is if LE comes around wanting proof of life on a wellness check, she probably wouldn't tell, wouldn't trust LE to keep that location hidden.

I'm holding out for M to be alive. In anonymity for now.

JMO
Palmiter is the step-dad, and I don't think he ever adopted her, since she still has the same last name as her mother.
If memory serves, she is the sole, legal parent.

If her mother sent her away to protect her (from who/what, is unclear), why not divulge that information to LE, instead of continuing to be non-cooperative with LE in an effort to locate her? Palmiter doesn't have any legal right to know the location of his wife's daughter so there's no reason for LE to tell him, even if she did disclose that to them.

I hope M is alive as well, but if past cases are any gauge, my guess is no, and at the hands of her mother.

jmo
 
There's so much hinkiness going on in this story that I could see it going several different ways. Hoping little Madalina is safe and happy with family in Moldova or something like that, but seriously doubting that whole fairy tale. :(
 
Madalina's disappearance is just so sad. I still hold the same theory, but at the same time, I have come to respect and accept the many differing thoughts and opinions of others. It has been a very long 16-months waiting for Madalina to be found. If only one of the parents would tell the truth.
 
I thought they dropped his bail to a nominal amount after his last hearing and that's when he posted bail and was out.

I don't think they dropped her bail. It's still at $250k.
That's correct .
His was lowered , this article shows that . Some other stuff I hadn't read about, who knows what's true anymore with this story. Lots of other articles at inside edition
 
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On the section About the case :
The search warrants said Palmiter told investigators that he had not seen the girl for a week before he left to drive to Michigan.

Ok, so where was he for a whole week before before he left to drive to Michigan ?? A better question , where did he think Madelina was for that whole week ?? What went on for the week before he left ?? Palmiter has no business being out of jail !!
I don’t recall the details of what he did for work, but there are parents who will leave for work before their child gets up and will get home after the child is in bed. And I assume he was disinterested in the child so led an independent life in his free time — he did his thing, and his thing didn’t cross paths with the child’s, by intent. So it may have not been unusual for him to go days without seeing her. All speculation, of course.

Regardless, even murderers sometimes get bail so they’d be hard pressed to make a case to deny him bail. Added to that, he likely has no responsibility to know where Madalina is — I think it will be difficult for prosecutors to make that law apply to a stepparent who wasn’t a caregiver.
 
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May 17, 2024

Computer experts from the FBI are expected to testify next week in the trial of Christopher Palmiter, the stepfather of missing teenager Madalina Cojocari, who vanished from Cornelius on Thanksgiving weekend 2022.

According to documents filed this week in Mecklenburg Superior Court, prosecutors intend to call Jason Whitt and Laura Haller, both digital forensics experts in the agency’s Charlotte-based computer analysis response team.

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Court documents showed that among the items seized were electronic devices, including three cell phones. Cornelius Police also picked up one of Palmiter’s old hard drives from a local computer repair business.

Many of the other items taken by investigators were redacted in public records and remain unknown.

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Failure to report the disappearance of a child to law enforcement, is a Class I felony punishable by up to two years of prison. In addition to the FBI, the State Bureau of Investigation is assisting Cornelius Police in the case.


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The trial is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. Monday, May 20, at the Mecklenburg County courthouse. Since January of 2023, multiple dispositions and in-person arraignment hearings have been held, according to court records.

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The mother, Diana Cojocari, was expected to appear for a bond hearing in February but was a no-show.

“And if it’s being said on part by the defense that the defendant chooses not to come, we can’t force her to be here,” said Superior Court Judge Donald Cureton.

Diana remains behind bars while Palmiter bonded out, and they have both entered not guilty pleas. Last fall Madalina’s grandmother Rodica made some explosive comments outside a courtroom accusing Palmiter of trafficking her granddaughter.
 
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Holy Smokes! Learning of Palmiter's upcoming Monday, May 20 trial leaves me dumbstruck. I'm left with nothing but questions.

Will CP testify? Will we learn DC's role in Madalina's disappearance? What does the FBI know? Can DC be subpoenaed to testify against her husband? Will CP be released on time-served?

Why has there been no media reporting on the multiple dispositions and in-person arraignment hearings that have been held, according to court records?
 
The mother, Diana Cojocari, was expected to appear for a bond hearing in February but was a no-show.

“And if it’s being said on part by the defense that the defendant chooses not to come, we can’t force her to be here,” said Superior Court Judge Donald Cureton.

Diana remains behind bars while Palmiter bonded out, and they have both entered not guilty pleas. Last fall Madalina’s grandmother Rodica made some explosive comments outside a courtroom accusing Palmiter of trafficking her granddaughter.

The last line of this article:
“My children were caught up by child traffickers. My granddaughter is alive. She was sold along with Diana for $5 million,” she said.

Can anyone add anything to what this means, or where the grandmother gets this information??????
 
The last line of this article:
“My children were caught up by child traffickers. My granddaughter is alive. She was sold along with Diana for $5 million,” she said.

Can anyone add anything to what this means, or where the grandmother gets this information??????
Since we have seen no facts to substantiate grandmother's statement on that sensitive subject, I theorized her words were excited utterances. The FBI will have much to add at trial. opinion only.
 
Holy Smokes! Learning of Palmiter's upcoming Monday, May 20 trial leaves me dumbstruck. I'm left with nothing but questions.

Will CP testify? Will we learn DC's role in Madalina's disappearance? What does the FBI know? Can DC be subpoenaed to testify against her husband? Will CP be released on time-served?

Why has there been no media reporting on the multiple dispositions and in-person arraignment hearings that have been held, according to court records?
I have lots of questions as well. I suspect the answers will be coming during trial and I'm hoping if it's not live, someone will be covering all the details.
 

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