CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Diana Cojocari, the mother of missing Cornelius girl Madalina Cojocari, pleaded guilty Monday to not reporting her daughter missing back in 2022.
Diana Cojocari has been in jail since December 2022, about a month after Madalina was last seen leaving her school bus in Cornelius, North Carolina, which is about 20 miles north of Charlotte in northern Mecklenburg County. Diana Cojocari initially pleaded not guilty to the charge of failing to report her daughter's disappearance, which is a Class 1 felony. Monday, in court she changed that plea to guilty without a plea agreement.
The judge told Diana Cojocari, who is not an American citizen and is originally from Moldova, that she was likely to be deported if she changed her plea. Cojocari said she understood that and continued to plead guilty. The maximum sentence for the charge is 24 months minus time served. Cojocari has spent the past 520 days in jail since being arrested, according to her attorneys, and the maximum time she would have received. She is expected to be released soon.
Madalina was last seen publicly on Nov. 21, 2022, when she was 11 years old. She was reported missing on Dec. 15, one day after Diana met with Bailey Middle School administrators about her daughter's extended absence from school.
The trial for Madalina Cojocari's stepfather Christopher Palmiter was supposed to begin on Monday, but it has since been delayed to Tuesday afternoon. He previously pleaded not guilty on the charge of failing to report a child who disappeared.
The defense argues that the state failed to disclose key evidence from the initial investigation into Madalina's disappearance.
Recent court filings suggest new evidence related to Madalina's school records will be introduced in Palmiter's trial. Records also appear to show that an expert witness, a computer forensics expert with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, is set to testify.
WCNC Charlotte obtained a copy of an addendum to the "Renewed Motion to Compel Motion to Continue" filed by Palmiter's defense team. The document records over a dozen items seized by a search warrant that were not provided to the defense. This includes the results of the search and examination of Diana and Palmiter’s cars and GPS data, their phone records, jail calls and any investigative work done after Dec. 17, 2023.
The court record also documents a seven-page summary of an interview with Diana's cousin, which the defense received on May 14, 2024. The interview was done by the FBI with the assistance of an FBI language specialist. The summary notes that Diana told her cousin she was in danger, not from Palmiter but from a third party, and that she and Madalina needed to get to a safe place. Diana told her cousin she needed help leaving Palmiter and that a medical excuse she gave Madalina's school to excuse her absence was expiring.
According to the interview summary, Diana's cousin had been in contact with her mother, "who apparently is engaged in a conspiracy with Diana to help Diana and Madalina flee the country."
Diana also told him that plans made with Palmiter to arrange for her and Madalina to stay with his family in Michigan fell through. The document notes that Diana's cousin asked her to call the police but she refused. Diana said she had enough funds to live off of for two to three months. It also notes that Diana was sending large sums of money out of the country.
On May 14, 2024, the state provided the defense with text messages and call logs from Diana's phone calls with her cousin which included extensive conversation around the timeframe that Madalina does not return to school.
The state notes that it does not believe that the summary was relevant nor does it serve to clear Palmiter from alleged fault or guilt. The defense argues that the state has not made important key evidence available.
According to the defense, "What the State feels is relevant to the narrow view they take of what they need to prove to prosecute a charge under N.C.G.S. §14-318.5 is not the determining factor of what may be relevant to presenting an adequate defense. The recent production of discovery highlights the need for complete discovery and time for the defense to review it and prepare for trial."
The state continually references that there was a prior hearing where the court made a ruling on additional discoverable evidence. During that hearing, the defense noted that the conversations involving Diana, her mother and cousin, as well as the plans for her to flee the country and Palmiter, weren't known. They don't believe the state intentionally withheld that evidence to not compromise the search and investigation into Madalina's disappearance.
"The defense fails to understand how providing the entire file could compromise information that is now a year-and-a-half stale."
The state argued that the information was not relevant to the crime charged. Palmiter's defense disagreed with that assessment.
"The defense needs to know whom Diana was in contact with, where and when she went and what contacts and calls she had in order to bolster Palmiter's defense regarding his reasonable belief," the document reads.
Meanwhile, Palmiter maintains he doesn't know where Madalina is.
Palmiter has been out of jail since he was released in August 2023 after his bond was lowered from $200,000 to $25,000. Diana Cojocari remained behind bars under a $250,000 bond.
Both Palmiter and Diana Cojocari were arrested on Dec. 17, 2022.
Detectives say they're not giving up on finding Madalina.
If you have any information concerning the whereabouts of Madalina Cojocari, please contact the Cornelius Police Department at 704-892-7773. You may also contact your local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or you can submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
Note: A previous version of this story included an incorrect date referencing when Madalina was reported missing. This has since been corrected.
WCNC Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at WCNC Charlotte.
SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Pandora || TuneIn || Google Podcasts || iHeart
All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.