Madalina Cojocari update: Step-dad left NC home after fight | Charlotte Observer

On the night 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari was last seen, her mother and step-father were fighting in their Cornelius home, according to newly-released police records. Her mother later told police she didn’t initially tell anyone her daughter was missing because she was afraid of “conflict” with her husband.

The documents — related to the arrests of Madalina’s step-father, Christopher Palmiter, 60, and mother Diana Cojocari, 37 — shed new light on what the 6th grader’s parents say happened.

The new records contain puzzling information about why no one reported the child missing for nearly three weeks. Notably, Palmiter claimed to police he last saw Madalina nearly a week before the timeframe police have established she may have gone missing: Nov. 21 to 23.

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The morning Madalina’s mother noticed she was missing, Nov. 23, Palmiter drove to a family home in Michigan, the parents told police. Public records show Palmiter had multiple addresses in Michigan before moving to the Charlotte area.

According to police, both Palmiter and Cojocari say they discussed with each other “several” times Madalina being missing but did not alert police — and “were adamant that they did not know where Madalina could be.”

Madalina’s mother says she contacted family members in Moldova — the Eastern European country where she’s from — who urged her to call police after the child went missing. But she didn’t do so.

When was Madalina last seen?

Police released video footage from Madalina’s school bus on Dec. 20. It shows her leaving the bus at her stop on Nov. 21. This is the last time investigators were able to independently confirm her whereabouts, officials said this week.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg School officials previously told the Charlotte Observer Madalina’s last day at school was Nov. 22.

Her mother claims to have seen Madalina go into her bedroom to sleep around 10 on the night of Nov. 23, a Wednesday.

On two “arrest sheets” released by Mecklenburg County court officials, police officers wrote that Diana Cojocari noticed her daughter was gone the next morning, Nov. 24, a Thursday. She told police officers she waited until several days later, Saturday, to ask Palmiter if he knew where Madalina was. According to Cojocari, when Palmiter returned from Michigan, he said he didn’t know where Madalina was — and he asked her mother where the child was.

Police interview Madalina’s parents

The arrest sheets detail conversations between the parents, police and school officials at Bailey Middle, where Madalina attends.

Police first interviewed Madalina’s mother at the school on Dec. 15. When asked why she didn’t report her daughter missing earlier, she told police “she was worried it might start a conflict between her and Christopher.”

Another police document filed with the court quotes Cojocari saying her husband, Madalina’s step-father, “put her family in danger.” No further details about what was meant by “danger” are included in the document.

In one passage from the arrest sheet, police officers wrote that Palmiter recalled asking Cojocari if “she had hidden Madalina.” And he said his wife asked him whether “he had hidden Madalina and they both said no.” It’s unclear if the word “hidden” was the exact word used by Palmiter or Cojocari or if the officer is paraphrasing what was said in the interview.

Later, police say they searched Madalina’s room and found an area in the family’s home, near the kitchen, “blocked with plywood.” Palmiter told police, according to the arrest sheet, that the family was planning to build a separate apartment there.

Madalina Cojocari reported missing

Madalina’s mother did not report her daughter missing from school until a truancy notice was left at their house on Dec. 12, according to school and police officials.

On that day, a Bailey Middle School counselor and school resource officer visited Cojocari’s home. They knocked at the door but there was no answer.

Two days later, in response to the truancy — excessive school absence — notice, police say Cojocari called the school counselor and requested a meeting. The counselor told police Cojocari said she’d bring Madalina to the meeting at the school.

But, she arrived the next day, Dec. 15, without Madalina.

The school counselor contacted the school resource officer when Cojocari arrived without Madalina. The school resource officer called police detectives, the records show.

FBI search for missing girl

Cornelius Police Department, the FBI, and the State Bureau of Investigation, have so far been unable to locate Madalina.

On Monday, investigators searched Lake Cornelius as a “precaution,” according to police officials.

Cojocari was last seen wearing jeans, pink, purple and white Adidas shoes, and a white T-shirt and jacket. She is 4 feet, 10 inches, has dark brown hair and weighs about 90 pounds.

Madalina does not have a phone, according to her mother, who also told police her bookbag and some clothing was missing from her room.

Officers ask anyone with information on Madalina’s whereabouts to call the Cornelius Police Department at 704-892-7773 or the FBI at 1-800-CALL FBI. To remain anonymous, call North Mecklenburg Crime Stoppers at 704-896-7867.

This story was originally published December 21, 2022 6:58 PM.