The mom of missing child Madalina Cojocari sent bizarre texts shortly before her daughter’s disappearance, adding a further twist to the story.
Madalina’s mother, Diana Cojocari, reportedly demanded cash from Madalina’s friends in return for playdates, according to someone who knew her well.
Cojocari family friend Leanne Stefan said her granddaughter played with Madalina for almost three years before her disappearance.
Madalina, an 11-year-old schoolgirl, vanished from her home in Cornelius, North Carolina, two years ago.
She was last seen getting off a school bus outside her home in November 2022.
The Cornelius Police Department gave an update last month on the occasion of the second anniversary of Madalina’s disappearance.
Following her disappearance, both Madalina’s mother and her stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, were charged with failing to report her missing.
Both have denied the charges against them, and the case remains unsolved.
In September 2024, cops confirmed Diana had left the US and returned to her native Moldova after being released from jail.
Palmiter remains on probation.
In a fresh insight into the case, Leanne Stefan spoke about her interactions with Madalina and her mother before her disappearance.
Leanne’s granddaughter played with Madalina at least once a week when the two girls were between the ages of 8 and 10.
The pair met at school and lived down the street from each other.
Leanne visited Madalina’s house several times to drop off and pick up her granddaughter, describing the house as full of toys and doll houses.
“Never once did I suspect anything,” she told local CBS affiliate WBTV.
But there was one odd characteristic about Madalina’s family that made her suspicious.
Timeline of Madalina Cojocari’s disappearance
Madalina, 13, has been missing since November 2022, when her school grew worried that she hadn’t shown up for class. Her parents waited to report her missing for 21 days and they were eventually arrested.
- November 21, 2022 – Madalina, then 11 years old, is seen in surveillance footage getting off her school bus in her last confirmed sighting.
- November 23, 2022 – The day Madalina’s mother, Diana Cojocari, claims she last saw her daughter. She said she put her to bed and she vanished the next morning.
- November 26, 2022 – Diana confronts her husband, Chris Palmiter, when he returns from an out-of-town trip and asks if he knows where Madalina was. Both parents say they hadn’t seen her.
- December 2, 2022 – Diana tells someone in a text message that she is with Madalina.
- December 12, 2022 – A counselor from Bailey Middle School visits the Cojocari household after Madalina didn’t show up for class since November 21. No one answers the door.
- December 15, 2022 – Diana comes to the school without Madalina and tells officials her daughter has been missing since November 23. This is 21 days after she allegedly last saw her daughter.
- December 17, 2022 – Madalina’s mom and stepdad Chris Palmiter are arrested on Failure to Report a Child Disappearance charges.
- May 21, 2024 – Diana is released from jail after changing her plea to guilty.
- May 24, 2024 – The trial for Chris Palmiter begins.
- May 31, 2024 – Palmiter was found guilty of failing to report Madalina missing.
- June 25, 2024 – Diana Cojocari has been named a suspect in Madalina’s disappearance.
Leanne’s granddaughter was allowed to go over to Madalina’s house for playdates, but Madalina could never visit her house.
She said Diana told her she didn’t “trust” the situation, adding that she seemed “very protective.”
Leanne chalked it up to the parents being “overly cautious” but said that they seemed like the perfect family otherwise.
But almost three years into the girls’ friendship, Diana brought things to a sudden halt.
Leanne received a text from Diana accusing her of taking advantage of the couple.
She said the text “said something along the lines of, ‘I feel like you’re taking advantage of me because you don’t pay me.'”
Leanne thought there must be a misunderstanding. So when she went to Diana’s house to pick up her granddaughter, she spoke to her face-to-face.
“I said, ‘Diana, you know… we don’t need you as a babysitter. I thought the girls were just playing.'”
But Diana responded that Leanne was “‘taking advantage of me because I’m from another country,'” she said.
Leanne was left with the heartwrenching task of explaining to her stepdaughter why she couldn’t play with her friend anymore.
They have since moved out of the neighborhood, but Leanne says her stepdaughter still asks her about Madalina sometimes.
A $25,000 reward is still being offered for any information that leads to an arrest and conviction in connection with the disappearance.
The Cornelius Police Department did not respond immediately to The U.S. Sun’s requests for comment.
