Cojocari Facebook page

July 9. By Mark Washburn. Is Diana Cojocari returning to Moldova? A post on a Facebook account for the mother of the missing Madalina Cojocari, suggested that she was returning to her native Eastern Europe.

“On the way from New York JFK to Frankfurt then to Bucharest … after 9 years of absence from the country,” said the Sunday post. It’s since been taken down.

According to the Moldovan news website UniMedia, the Facebook photo shows Diana Cojocari and her mother.

“For now, it is not clear how it was possible for her to leave the US, being a suspect in the case of her daughter’s disappearance.”

Cojocari had a Romanian passport; Madalina had passports for Moldova and Romania. They were found by Cornelius detectives in a search of Cojocari’s car early in the investigation.

But it is possible that Cojocari may have obtained a replacement passport through the Romanian embassy or consulate office in the United States.

Cojocari Facebook post that was taken down

Cornelius police have not yet responded to a request for comment. But as of late June, Deputy Chief Jennifer Thompson said the department was retaining the passports.

Background

Cojocari, 39, a native of Moldova who pleaded guilty in May to failing to report the disappearance of her daughter, then 11, around Thanksgiving 2022, was sentenced to time served after 17 months in the Mecklenburg County Jail and has been free since early June.

She returned to the Cornelius home she shared with her husband, Christopher Palmiter, and Madalina in the Victoria Bay neighborhood and has been staying in the area since. Palmiter has had her served with divorce papers.

Two weeks ago, Cornelius Police named Cojocari an official suspect in the case. No other person has been so designated by police.

Free to leave

But with no other charges facing her, Cojocari was free to leave the United States at will.

Cojocari is not a United States citizen. Moldova and the U.S. do not have an extradition agreement at present.

Cojocari came to the United States in December 2015 to marry Palmiter. They had met online. They married in January 2016 when Madalina was 3. The marriage was never consummated, Palmiter testified, and Cojocari slept in a separate room.

Authorities say the search for Madalina, who would be 13 years old now, has been international in scope and remains a top priority.

When Cojocari pleaded guilty, Judge J. Thomas Davis waived court fees and jail costs, but ordered her to pay $5,525 in attorney fees. She has not paid that and as of Tuesday, $60.38 has been added for interest costs, according to court records.

FBI poster for Madalina