CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The trial of Christopher Palmiter, the stepfather of Madalina Cojocari, began Friday after lawyers from both sides agreed to seat a jury earlier in the morning.
A total of 12 jurors and two alternates were selected. The 12-member jury is made up of 11 men and one woman, WCNC Charlotte's Jesse Pierre learned. The two alternates are women.
Palmiter is the stepfather of missing Cornelius girl Madalina Cojocari, who was 11 years old when she was last seen getting off a school bus in November 2022. In court Friday, jurors heard from the school bus driver and a Bailey Middle School counselor who notified the girl's excessive absences.
Even as the girl remains missing for a year and a half, Palmiter is only charged with failing to report the disappearance of his stepdaughter. Ahead of the trial, Palmiter continued to maintain he does not know the location of Madalina.
What follows below is a blog of updates from inside the courtroom Friday:
4:22 p.m.
Judge calls for the trial to break for the extended holiday weekend. The trial is expected to resume at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
4:20 p.m.
Jurors heard about a video that shows Danice Lampkin, a guidance counselor at Bailey Middle School, delivering the truancy packet to the family home in Cornelius on Dec. 13. The prosecutor explained the video was recorded by a camera worn by the school resource officer. The video was not yet shown in court.
4:10 p.m.
Lampkin continues to answer procedural questions related to her timeline of events. She is also answering questions about the inner workings of the school system that documents who and how to contact a student's parent or legal guardian.
3:50 p.m.
Palmiter's defense attorney begins questioning Lampkin.
3:45 p.m.
Once Diana Cojocari, Madalina's mother, finally made contact with Lampkin, Lampkin said she told Cojocari to bring her daughter to school for a Dec. 15 meeting. When Diana Cojocari showed up to the meeting without her daughter, Lampkin said she notified the principal and the school resource office. Lampkin said she also notified North Carolina's Division of Social Services (DSS).
3:28 p.m.
Lampkin testified Madalina Cojocari had exceeded her maximum number of absences and the school notified her parents that documentation would be needed if she was to be absent for an "excessive" number of days. Lampkin testified she delivered a truancy packet to the family home in Cornelius on Dec. 13.
3:22 p.m
The trial has resumed after a 12-minute break. Lampkin, a guidance counselor at Bailey Middle School, remains on the stand.
3:10 p.m.
The trial is taking an "extended break," the first such break since the trial began at 1:30 p.m.
2:57 p.m.
Lampkin testifies she made "three or four" calls to Madalina's parents after Nov. 21, her last known day at school. She claims despite multiple attempts to call Christopher Palmiter, he never answered the phone. Lampkin says she also sent multiple emails to Palmiter about Madalina's absences. Voicemail messages will be played for the jury to hear.
The messages were pulled from Palmiter's Apple iPhone XR by an FBI forensics expert, along with text messages, emails, internet searches and other data.
2:52 p.m.
Lampkin says she noticed Madalina had unexcused absences. Lampkin said she started to reach out to Madalina's family about this due to her being a first-year middle school student. She testified that she made a home visit on Dec. 13, 2022.
"I didn't want a pattern to develop," Lampkin said.
Lampkin said she starts contacting parents and guardians once a child misses two days of school. Lampkin said she emailed Madalina's parents on Oct. 26, attempting to find out why she was missing school and how it could be rectified.
2:48 p.m.
Lampkin testifies that Palmiter is listed as Madalina's father on an emergency contact form and says he had permission to pick her up from school. Another emergency contact named "Sandy" did not have authorization to pick up Madalina at school, according to Lampkin.
2:41 p.m.
Lampkin gets choked up while discussing Madalina's school records. Lampkin explains what a student enrollment form is, including the data captured and what information school administrators are familiar with. Lampkin says Palmiter was a confirmed guardian of Madalina as he was listed as her father on the enrollment form.
2:31 p.m.
Danice Lampkin, a guidance counselor at Bailey Middle School, takes the stand. Lampkin contacted Cojocari's family about her absences from school prior to her being reported missing. Lampkin testified that Madalina was one of "400-plus" students she was responsible for, but said she didn't know her personally.
Lampkin told prosecutors that Madalina first came on her radar due to her mounting absences from school.
2:29 p.m.
Rorie says she saw Palmiter doing yard work at the house approximately one week before Madalina's disappearance. She told the defense that she rarely saw him at the home and identified him in the courtroom.
2:27 p.m.
Bus driver Tina Rorie identifies Madalina in a surveillance video from Nov. 21, 2022. She told prosecutors that Madalina didn't have any behavior issues on the bus and she "didn't smile much." Rorie also testified that Madalina was the last stop on her route in the afternoons. She saw her run into the house each day and assumed the home was where Madalina lived.
2:10 p.m.
Bus driver Tina Rorie takes the stand. Rorie was the school bus driver who last saw Madalina on Nov. 21, 2022. Rorie said she remembered Madalina's name easily because it rhymed with hers. She also told prosecutors that she saw Madalina with a man she assumed was her father about a week before she disappeared. Rorie identified that man at Palmiter.
1:53 p.m.
Open statements began with Assistant District Attorney Austin Butler, with the prosecution. Butler provided a preview of some of the witnesses that would be a part of the trial, and repeatedly referenced the span of time before Madalina was reported missing. He said the jury will hear voicemails left by one of the witnesses, checking in when Madalina hadn't been seen at school.
1:30 p.m.
The trial of Palmiter has begun. The judge began by providing legal instructions to jurors, including noting that opening statements are not evidence. Evidence will be offered through witnesses, documents, and more.
Background information on the case:
Cojocari was last seen getting off a school bus in Cornelius in November 2022. Palmiter pleaded not guilty to failing to report Madalina missing and has been out of jail since his release last August. Palmiter is the husband of Diana Cojocari, Madalina's mother, who was released from jail on Tuesday after pleading guilty to failing to report the girl's disappearance.
Court filings suggest new evidence related to Madalina's school records will be included in the trial.
Records appear to show that an expert witness — a computer forensics expert with the FBI — is set to testify. Jurors are also expected to hear from the counselor and school resource officers at Bailey Middle School, where Madalina was a student.
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Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.