The mother of an 12-year-old North Carolina girl missing since 2022 refused to appear in court on Friday, and the judge n the case said he can’t force her to appear.
Diana Cojocari, who has been in jail on a $250,000 bond since December 2022, declined to appear for an arraignment, and her defense asked for a later date, the Charlotte Observer reported.
She and her husband, Christopher Palmiter — Madalina Cojocari’s stepfather — were charged with failing to report the girl missing, as CrimeOnline has reported. Palmiter was initially given a $200,000, but he was released last August when a judge lowered his bond to $25,000.
Madalina Cojocari was last seen on November 21, 2022, but her mother and Palmiter didn’t report her missing until December 15, after school officials reported she hadn’t attended in some time.
Cojocari told detectives that she didn’t immediately report Madalina missing because she was concerned that Palmiter would put her family in danger and that it “might start a conflict” with him.
“She told him she was in a bad relationship with co-defendant Christopher Palmiter and wanted a divorce,” an arrest warrant read.
In July, Cornelius police obtained photographs of a girl resembling Madalina and an unidentified man in western North Carolina.
Diana Cojocari and Palmiter have both implied that the other was involved in the girl’s disappearance, but so far no solid information about her whereabouts has been uncovered.
During Friday’s hearing, without Cojocari, Superior Court Judge Donald Ray Cureton Jr. said he will set a new court date.
“If she chooses not to come, we can’t force her to be here. So this is the outcome today,” Cureton said, according to the Observer.
