CHARLOTTE — A little over a week after a jury found Christopher Palmiter guilty of failing to report Madalina Cojocari’s disappearance, Palmiter has filed for divorce from Cojocari’s mother.
Channel 9 obtained the divorce documents after they were filed on Monday in Mecklenburg County. Palmiter says he separated from his spouse, Diana Cojocari, on Dec. 17, 2022.
Palmiter and Cojocari were arrested on Dec. 17, 2022, on charges of failure to report the disappearance of a child. Madalina Cojocari, 11, was last seen in November 2022.
Cojocari had been in jail since her arrest, so the two were physically separated for more than a year.
During Palmiter’s trial, evidence showed that Diana Cojocari told a cousin that she wanted to leave and divorce Palmiter.
According to the court documents filed on Monday, Palmiter is the plaintiff in the divorce proceedings. The couple had been married since Jan. 9, 2016, and they didn’t have any children together.
The divorce filing doesn’t reveal any information about Madalina, and it doesn’t specify why Palmiter is seeking the divorce.
Both Palmiter and Cojocari were found guilty of failure to report Madalina’s disappearance. Cojocari was sentenced to prison but received credit for the time she had served, and she was released from jail.
Palmiter was sentenced to at least six months and no more than 17 months in prison, and he had 244 days of credit for time served. His sentence was suspended for a 30-month supervised probation term.
Madalina’s current whereabouts aren’t known. The Cornelius Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are still looking into her disappearance.
MADALINA COJOCARI COVERAGE:
- Madalina Cojocari’s mother pleads guilty to failing to report her disappearance
- Jury finds Madalina Cojocari’s stepfather guilty of failing to report her missing
- 515 days after Madalina Cojocari’s disappearance, her stepfather pleads not guilty
- Parents of Madalina Cojocari not telling investigators everything, Cornelius police say
- Find Madalina: Mom didn’t contact police despite family’s urging, court documents say
- Chief: Cornelius police putting ‘heart and soul’ into finding Madalina Cojocari
- Records show why judge sealed search warrants in Madalina Cojocari case, what authorities seek
- Warrants: Madalina Cojocari’s mom asked relative to help ‘smuggle’ them
(WATCH >> Chief: Cornelius police putting ‘heart and soul’ into finding Madalina Cojocari)
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