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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A North Carolina jury on May 31 found Christopher Palmiter, stepfather of missing Cornelius girl Madalina Cojocari, guilty of failure to report the disappearance of a child to law enforcement.
The Mecklenburg County jury took 15 minutes after Palmiter's weeklong trial to reach a verdict, according to FOX 8 Greensboro.
"He was the person in the role of supervising her, and he failed. That’s why he’s sitting in this seat," Mecklenburg County prosecutor Austin Butler said in his closing arguments on Friday.
Madalina was last seen getting off a school bus in her hometown of Cornelius, just north of Charlotte, on Nov. 21, 2022, when she was 11 years old. Authorities have been unable to locate her since.
NORTH CAROLINA GIRL MADALINA COJOCARI MISSING FOR ONE YEAR: ‘NOT GOING TO STOP UNTIL WE FIND HER’
In December, authorities arrested and charged the 11-year-old's parents, Diana Cojocari and Christopher Palmiter, with failure to report a missing child to law enforcement after Madalina's disappearance from her hometown in Cornelius, which is just north of Charlotte, in November 2022. (Mecklenburg County Detention Center)
Her mother, Diana Cojocari, pleaded guilty last month to the same charge as Palmiter. Diana, a Moldova native, and Pamliter did not report the 11-year-old girl missing to police until weeks later on Dec. 15, 2022, despite telling police the last time they saw their daughter was at home the evening of Nov. 23, 2022.
The Mecklenburg County judge sentenced Palmiter to serve a suspended 30-month supervised probation, FOX 8 reported. Palmiter's lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.
MADALINA COJOCARI: NORTH CAROLINA POLICE RELEASE NEW PHOTO OF 11-YEAR-OLD MISSING SINCE NOVEMBER
Madalina Cojocari of Cornelius, North Carolina, was last seen in 2022. (Cornelius Police Department)
Palmiter's defense attorneys argued that Diana manipulated him and made him believe his stepdaughter was safe at the time of her disappearance. Prosecutors, however, included testimony from an FBI analyst, who presented phone and email evidence that suggested Palmiter knew Madalina was missing yet did not report her disappearance to authorities, according to FOX 8.
"I think Diana took her somewhere with her Moldovan family."
— Christopher Palmiter
"I think Diana took her somewhere with her Moldovan family," Palmiter testified during his trial, FOX 8 reported. "I believe Diana has tucked her away somewhere where she’s not going to be found."
Diana told school officials and Cornelius Police she hadn't seen her daughter, a 6th-grader at Bailey Middle School who was born in Moldova, since she went to her bedroom the night of Nov. 23, 2022, around 10 p.m. after she and Palmiter got into an argument, court documents state.
A photo of missing 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari, who was last seen on Nov. 23, 2022. (Twitter/@FBICharlotte)
Palmiter said that on Nov. 24, 2022, he drove to his relatives' home in Michigan "to recover some items" after an argument with his wife. Diana apparently went into her daughter's room around 11:30 that morning to discover the 11-year-old was gone, according to an affidavit.
When Palmiter returned home to Cornelius on Nov. 26, Diana apparently asked him where their daughter was, and Palmiter asked DIana the same question, the affidavit states.
MISSING NORTH CAROLINA GIRL'S MOTHER WANTED TO SMUGGLE 11-YEAR-OLD FROM HOME: WARRANT
Madalina Cojocari was last seen in Cornelius, North Carolina, in November 2022. (Google Maps/ Charlotte FBI)
Soon after reporting Madalina missing last year, her parents penned a handwritten note expressing their concern for her, which the CPD shared with the public on Dec. 22.
MISSING MADALINA COJOCARI: TIMELINE OF NORTH CAROLINA GIRL'S DISAPPEARANCE THAT WENT UNREPORTED FOR WEEKS
Search warrants unsealed last year suggest Diana and her mother contacted a distant relative asking if he would help in "smuggling" Diana and Madalina from their Cornelius home before Madalina disappeared, according to phone records obtained by the Cornelius Police Department.
Investigators shared a handwritten, personal message from the family of Madalina Cojocari. (FBI Charlotte/Cornelius Police Department)
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"She told him she was in a bad relationship with co-defendant Christopher Palmiter and wanted a divorce," the warrant states.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about Madalina's whereabouts to contact the CPD at 704-892-7773.
