The warrants allege that key evidence may have been destroyed in the days after Madalina Cojocari was last seen alive.
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Clothing, mattress and photos of Madalina Cojocari burned in fire pit after she disappeared, warrants show
Newly obtained search warrants connected to
the disappearance of Madalina Cojocari reveal that, at least early on, the investigation centered around "believed sexual exploitation" of a minor child victim.
The warrants, obtained by WCNC Charlotte, also reveal, that in the days after Madalina Cojocari was last seen, her mattress, clothing, Halloween costume and family photos were burned in a fire pit outside a Cornelius home.
The warrants say a carpet from the home's upstairs spare bedroom was also burned. Madalina’s stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, said during his trial in May of last year that Madalina’s mother Diana Cojocari was burning things more often during that time.
"I would go up to the fire pit and I saw that there were things that were unburnable like stainless steel mugs and closet racks, all kind of metal things being burned in the fire pit," Palmiter said on the stand. "There was quite a few items in there, it was sort of smoldering and I believe I went up there the next day and all those items were gone, even the ashes were cleaned out."
The warrants also reveal that Diana Cojocari paid a priest in Moldova a combined $4,000 in the weeks after Madalina's disappearance before and after talking with him by phone for more than 10 minutes. During the trial for Palmiter, Cornelius Police detective Gina Patterson
testified that Western Union money was sent to Diana Cojocari's mother and a priest in Moldova.
A
State Bureau of Investigation warrant shows investigators seized a phone in late December 2022. Analysis of that device identified a Discord account with 37 unread messages, the warrant said.
"Investigators believe this account belongs to the missing minor child," the warrant said. That same warrant, filed in January 2023, noted, "This investigation involves the believed sexual exploitation of minor child victim."
Search warrants show what police were searching for at Madalina Cojocari’s house
More than 30 search warrants were executed in relation to the arrest of Diana Cojocari and Christopher Palmiter, court records show.
They were carried out in December 2022, when
the couple’s then-11-year-old daughter Madalina was reported missing, and throughout 2023. Items seized included a notebook, folder, jail belongings and communication on a phone app. But the records indicate a startling revelation about the family’s property.
When the Cornelius detective arrived at the home the day of missing-persons report — Dec. 15, 2022 – he spoke to Diana’s husband and Madalina’s stepfather, Christopher Palmiter. The warrant says that Palmiter told him multiple items had been burned in a fire pit on the property, including Madalina’s mattress, clothing, a Halloween costume and family photos. Carpet also had been removed from the home and burned in the pit.
The warrant states that officers located where dirt had been dug up and recently removed.
In October 2023, a warrant was issued for the WhatsApp app used by Diana Cojocari. It states that through phone records, officers determined that she recieved a WhatsApp message from a number based in St. Cloud, Florida, where Cojocari has an associate. The person reportedly asked her for assistance in helping Diana and Madalina Cojocari leave North Carolina.
Both Palmiter and and Cojocari were charged with failure to report a missing person, and a week later, another warrant was issued to seize the contents of bags the couple had taken with them to the Mecklenburg County jail. The warrant noted that upon their arrest, both Palmiter and Cojocari had personal belongings including wallets, credit cards and jewelry that were not previously seized.
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