MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — Diana Cojocari, the mother of missing girl Madalina Cojocari, "refused" to show up for a scheduled court appearance on Friday, a judge told the courtroom.
Cojocari's daughter remains missing more than a year after she was first reported missing.
Court records showed Diana Cojocari was scheduled for an in-person arraignment at 9:30 a.m. However, the judge said she "refused to be brought up," and her attorneys asked for no action to be taken. A new court date hasn't yet been announced.
Attorney Mark Jetton who is not connected to the case said although it is not common, a defendant refusing to show up does happen. He said usually during an arraignment a defendant hears the charges brought up against them and enters a plea.
“An individual will go up there and take responsibility or plead guilty and accept whatever plea agreement the district attorney has offered, or they will plead not guilty, we will not accept an offer and then it will go to trial,” Jetton said
Cornelius police were in the courtroom.
“There have not been any additional or new charges filed against Diana Cojocari. We do not have an update to provide at this time, but the Madalina case remains an active investigation," the agency said.
Cojocari has now been in jail for about 14 months.
“Anytime you serve in jail while you are waiting for your court hearing is time that you get credit for,” Jetton said.
He added that Cojocari's time spent in jail could play in her favor.
“There are some situations, and it happens, where some have done enough time that they have maxed out their time,” Jetton said. “And if they went into that court and said 'I plead guilty,' they would be let out, they would be gone.”
Jetton said none of these factors would prevent more charges from being brought up against Cojocari.
“Now she couldn’t be charged again with that same charge, but it doesn’t prevent them from charging her under new crimes under that same situation,” Jetton said.
Madalina Cojocari was reported missing on Nov. 22, 2022, at the age of 11. She had not been seen publicly since the evening of Nov. 21, 2022, when she was leaving her school bus in Cornelius, North Carolina.
Photos of Madalina remain outside of the Cornelius Police Department and on billboards around the city as a reminder the young girl is still missing. Cornelius Police Department Chief David Baucom said it's not giving up on finding Madalina.
Her mother, Diana, later told police she last saw Madalina on Nov. 22, 2022, around noon. She later changed her testimony, saying she last saw Madalina on Nov. 23, 2022, around 10 p.m. instead. On Nov. 23, 2022, Diana Cojocari told investigators she and Christopher Palmiter, Madalina's stepfather, fought.
Records show Palmiter told police he left town that evening and drove to Michigan to "pick up items." He told police he hadn't seen Madalina for a week before his departure.
Both Palmiter and Diana Cojocari were arrested on Dec. 17, 2022, for failing to report Madalina's disappearance. Their arrests came after Madalna's school began to question the parents about the girl's whereabouts.
Records released after the couple was taken into custody stated Diana Cojocari contacted family in Moldova about her daughter's disappearance. When asked by detectives why she hesitated to contact police, Diana Cojocari said she feared her husband "put her family in danger." She also stated a backpack and clothes belonging to Madalina were gone from their home. That led police to search their home again on Dec. 21, 2022.
On Jan. 3, 2023, Diana Cojocari and Palmiter were indicted for failing to report Madalina missing. On Aug. 18, 2023, Palmiter posted bond after his bond was lowered from $200,000 to $25,000. He must wear an ankle monitor. Diana Cojocari remains in jail.
Cojocari temporarily had her bond reduced to $100,000 amid confusion in the eCourt system, the Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Office told WCNC Charlotte. Her bond was reset in November 2023 for $250,000.