Update: Madalina Cojocari

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2:10All parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Some names have been changed or omitted per their request or for safety purposes. Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney and this is Voices for Justice.

2:30Today I'm discussing the disappearance of Madalena Kojikari. I first found Madalena's case at the end of 2022, basically right when it became public, and I was shocked that she hadn't gotten more attention. An 11-year-old girl was missing, and no one reported it to police until weeks after the fact. These are the cases that I find myself picking up and running with. The cases where there seems to be some type of trouble at home, and very few people close to the missing child are coming forward to speak with the media or the police. Back in December 2022, I shared a mini-sode with you guys about Madalena's case.

3:10It was only 11 minutes long. There was really almost nothing out there about her. I just wanted to get the word out here and of course over on my TikTok where I shared what was believed to be the last video taken of Madalena. Then in early 2023, more information came out, and I made a full-length episode about Madalena in March. It's been over a year since that episode, and there have been a lot of new developments in her case that kind of change everything. Even just before this episode was set to air, I ran back to the booth to record the very latest in this case. A new but familiar suspect has been officially named.

3:52This is the case of Madalena Kojikari. In November 2022, 11-year-old Madalena Kojikari was in the 6th grade at Bailey Middle School in Cornelius, North Carolina. This is about 20 miles north of Charlotte. It's a cozy suburban town with a population of around 25 ,000, and it runs along the largest man-made lake in the state, Lake Norman. Madalena lived with her 37-year-old mother, Diana Kojikari, and her 60-year-old stepfather, Christopher Pomader. To this day, almost nothing has been published about Madalena's biological father, and as far as I could find, it's unclear if he's ever been located.

4:34Much of what we now know about how Diana and Christopher met comes directly from Christopher's court testimony. So we really only have this one side of things. but he says they met on a website called Global Ladies in 2008. Christopher was in his late 40s and Diana was in her early 20s. Diana was living in Moldova then, saying that she was a teacher. Moldova is in Eastern Europe. It's between Ukraine and Romania. But after about a year of talking online, Christopher visits Moldova and they have a great time. He comes back a few later with a promise ring for Diana. Christopher hadn't had a serious relationship since college, but things didn't exactly go as planned.

5:19Christopher says that they basically lost contact after this. Once they reconnected, Diana was pregnant with Madalena. The father was someone local that she'd slept with between Christopher's visits. In his court testimony, Christopher has said that Madalena's father wanted nothing to do with Diana, but Christopher still wanted to be with her, so he proposed. After a two-year immigration process, Diana and Madalena came to the U.S., and Christopher and Diana got married on January 9, 2016. Again, outside of the date that they got married, all of this is according to Christopher, so take it for what you will.

6:00But if it's true, I have to imagine that Christopher seems like a catch to Diana. He'd never been married, no kids, he's educated, he's an engineer. He also dabbled in laser engraving on the side for extra cash. He had no criminal background and was ready to take care of her and Madalena. At least financially. While Diana said that she was a teacher back in Moldova, she never worked while living with Christopher. But flash forward about six years to November 2022, and Madalena is now 11. On Monday, November 21st, Madalena attended school like usual. After school, she rides her normal school bus home.

6:43The surveillance video system on the bus shows her exiting the vehicle at 4.59pm at her normal stop. This is the last day Madalena goes to school. According to the Charlotte Mecklenburg School's handbook, a school representative will contact a child's guardian after 3, 6, and 10 unexcused absences. When it hits that 10-day mark, they send out a letter explaining that the parent may be referred for prosecution for truancy. The police have also confirmed that Madalena's school did attempt to reach out to her parents several times beginning on November 23rd. Though, it does appear that somewhere throughout this process, Diana did say that Madalena was sick, and that's why she wasn't at school.

7:27Again, according to the handbook, after five absences, parents are required to provide a note from a medical professional. It's unclear if that ever happened. But these absences are piling up, and on the afternoon of Monday, December 12th, Madalena's school resource officer and 6th grade school counselor went to her home to discuss her absence, but no one answered the door, so they dropped off a truancy packet and left. Two days later, Diana calls the counselor and says that she and Madalena will both be at the school the following day to discuss her absence, And this is really where everything starts to fall apart for Madalena's mom.

8:08On Thursday, December 15th, she shows up for the meeting, without Madalena. She tells the counselor that the last time she saw Madalena was weeks earlier on November 23rd, the day before Thanksgiving. When I covered Madalena's case about a year ago, we didn't have nearly as many details about this meeting. but through court documents, we know a lot more now. Diana first tells the counselor that she last saw Madalena around noon, but when the school resource officer asks her about it, Diana changes her story and says it was actually closer to 10pm. She says she and her husband were fighting and that's when Madalena went to bed.

8:52She says the next morning, on Thanksgiving, she went to go check on Madalena around 11.30am, but she wasn't in her room or anywhere else. Diana explains that Madalena did not have a cell phone, and even though she'd been in North Carolina since she was a toddler and went through most of her schooling here, says she doesn't have any friends because she's from Moldova. When asked why she didn't report Madalena missing, She says she was afraid it would start a conflict with her husband. So they asked Diana to call Christopher and have him come join this conversation at the school. Two detectives from the Cornelius PD are also called out.

9:33They talked to Christopher. When asked when he last saw Madalena, Christopher says it was about a week before her last day of school, putting it around November 14th. Now, as far as I could find, Christopher never really gives an exact date here. Even in his 2024 court testimony, he's unsure of the last day that he saw Madalena. But he says that on the night of the 23rd, so two days after Madalena got off the school bus, Diana asked him to drive to his family's home in Michigan to get some clothing that Diana and Madalena had left there a few months prior. So he made the about 13-hour trip to Lansing.

10:14Throughout his police interviews, Christopher explained that he got back from Michigan on the night of November 26th. It seems that he stayed there for a few days over the Thanksgiving holiday. He says that when he gets back, he asks Diana where Madalena is, and if she's hiding her somewhere. But apparently Diana asks him the same questions. By the end of this meeting at the school, a missing persons report is finally made for Madalena. And two days later, both Diana and Christopher are arrested on felony charges for not reporting a missing child to police. This episode of Voices for Justice is brought to you by Quince.

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12:40At Diana's bond hearing, prosecutors said that she reported Madalena missing begrudgingly and hindered the investigation into her disappearance. They say that they have grave concerns that if Diana is released on bond, she'll continue to hinder the investigation and the search. Diana's bond was set at$250 ,000, and Christopher's bond was set at$200 ,000. That night, the community holds a candlelight vigil for Madalena. From December 16th through the 21st, the Cornelius PD obtains six search warrants. They want the T-Mobile call detail records for both Christopher and Diana, to search Christopher's phone specifically, and to search the family home.

13:29Now, these were originally sealed by a judge, but after some time and a petition from a local journalist to have them unsealed, they were released with redactions. These warrants outline the timeline of the investigation and give us a little more insight into what exactly they were looking for in Madalena's home. They were authorized to search the home, vehicles, and basically anything on the property. It seems that in addition to looking for obviously any evidence of a crime, they were also looking for travel documents, Madalena's clothing, and any possible DNA samples. According to court testimony given by Cornelius police detective Gina Patterson, when she entered Madalena's home, the first thing she noticed was the strong smell of cat urine.

14:18She says there were about a dozen cats living in the home. And as investigators make their way through the house, they find some Western Union receipts. They show that Diana had wired a total of$7 ,000 back to her relatives in Moldova. They also found a handbag of hers with$7 ,500 in cash. We know that Madalena's laptop was taken, along with three cell phones. The owners have not been identified. If you believe Diana Kojikari that Madalena did not have a cell phone, it would appear that either Christopher or Diana had two cell phones. Whether they're new or old, I can't say. It could have been a phone for Madalena.

15:00It also could have been a phone from years prior kept in a drawer. We just don't know. Investigators also find an area in the kitchen that was blocked off with plywood. When asked, Christopher said that they planned to build a separate apartment. They also dug up some areas in the backyard. But as of this recording, it's not clear if they found anything. Now, while the investigation into Madalena's disappearance was greatly focused on her mother and stepfather, there were some searches for Madalena. Team searched the area surrounding Madalena's home, Lake Cornelius, which is about two miles from the home, and Lake Norman, which is adjacent.

15:42Like I told you, it's the largest man-made lake in the entire state. And it's huge. It has 520 miles of shoreline and over 50 miles of surface area. If anything was found, again, authorities have not released that to the media. Then, in January 2023, police announced something huge. Multiple witnesses come forward to say that they saw Diana's light green Toyota Prius in the days after Madalena was last seen. She was spotted in some pretty remote areas in the North Carolina mountains One witness said that she saw Diana's car on Tuesday, November 22nd The day after Madalena was last seen in that footage getting off the school bus According to that witness, they saw her car in Weaverville This was later corroborated by another resident Who says that they saw the same car at a Weaverville IHOP restaurant on November 25th Weaverville is a two-hour drive from Cornelius The next witness says that they saw Diana's car parked near Lonesome Mountain She says it stuck out to her Because later the same vehicle caught up to her and sped past her I think it's worth noting that Diana's Prius is this pretty distinguishable sea foam color It's kinda hard to miss Now, Lonesome Mountain is north of Weaverville You basically run right into it 22 miles up the road The unfortunate part here is we don't know the exact date of this sighting.

17:14So it's hard to say that if this was Diana, if she visited the area several times over a few days, or just stayed in the area, at least from the 22nd to the 25th. But I do think that we have good reason to believe that it was Diana's Prius that was seen. Because law enforcement confirmed to Inside Edition that they made contact with Diana near Lonesome Mountain after Madalena was missing. An officer saw her, pulled over to the side of the road, and asked if she needed help. She didn't, but the officer says that Diana was alone. Of course, these areas were searched as well, but it doesn't appear that anything was found.

17:56Slowly but surely, Madalena's case moved along. Throughout the investigation, a few different agencies worked her case. The Cornelius PD, the State Bureau of Investigation, and the FBI. Not many details were made public until the court proceedings began, statements were made, and documents were released. We find out that in early March 2023, Christopher and his attorney met with the State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI. Reporting from this meeting reveals that audio recordings exist that show Diana had a plan to hide Madalena without Christopher's knowledge. Texts between Diana and Christopher, as well as messages between Diana and an unnamed third party, also reference plans to hide Madalena.

18:46There are also texts to show that Diana planned to leave Christopher without his knowledge. Now, throughout all these court proceedings leading up to the trial, Christopher's court-appointed attorney, Brandon Roseman, requests everything on Madalena's case. He wants all the information they have to show that his client was not complicit with Diana's plan. They want everyone's statements, notes from investigators, all results of all testing and examinations, all the bench notes, everything. But all of their requests were denied. The state argued that the investigation into Madalena's disappearance didn't impact Christopher's charge of failing to report her missing.

19:31then in july 2023 another major bombshell hits the news madalina was seen alive weeks after diana and christopher say they last saw her this episode is brought to you by ebay before all the algorithm fed blah and the endless sea of dupes shopping used to feel more fun find that feeling again on ebay it's not mindless scrolling it's a fashion pursuit and when you score that rare adidas collab or the dior saddlebag you've been manifesting it's a rush ebay has millions of pre-loved finds from hundreds of brands backed by authenticity guarantee ebay things people love close your eyes exhale feel your body relax and let go of whatever you're carrying today well i'm letting go of the worry that i wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class.

20:25I got them delivered free from 1-800-CONTACTS. Oh my gosh, they're so fast. And breathe. Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order. Oh, sorry. Namaste. Visit 1-800-CONTACTS.com today to save on your first order. 1-800-CONTACTS. After more search warrants were unsealed in Madalena's case, it was made public that a child and a man were seen in Sugar Mountain on December 16, 2022. This is the day after the meeting with the school, and these people were quote physically consistent end quote with Madalena and her only known blood relative in the US.

21:07They were also seen at a Lowe's food store in nearby Linville, North Carolina. This is about two hours north of Cornelius. It was also revealed that law enforcement sent an informant to share a cell with Christopher It doesn't seem like much was found here though The informant says that Christopher wrote what he remembered about Madalena's disappearance in a notebook that was later seized by the police But it was really around the same time that representatives on both sides began talking to the media even more Christopher's lawyer said that they believed Madalena is being hidden by someone Diana assigned.

21:48Then Diana's mother, Rodika Kojikari, begins accusing Christopher of a lot. She tells reporters that she thinks he trafficked both Diana and Madalena for$5 million, that he stalked them for two years, and held them captive in their home like prisoners, stealing all their important documents. She also says that Christopher drugged Diana and Madalena, saying that he would use narcotics to make them sleep, and would slip the narcotics in their juice. She says Madalena was kidnapped and is still alive, and that Christopher threatened Diana not to tell police or he would kill her. She thinks Madalena may have been forced to get plastic surgery to change her appearance and evade law enforcement.

22:39Now, during all this time, since December 2022, both Christopher and Diana have been incarcerated on their felony charges of failing to report Madalena missing. But in August 2023, Christopher posts bail at$25 ,000. He did have his fingerprints taken and was made to surrender his passport. He was also placed under a curfew from 6pm to 6am, with exceptions for work and school. Now, one just kind of odd thing I found between Christopher posting bail and his and Diana's trials was in February 2024. Diana apparently refused to attend court. She basically just wouldn't leave her cell. Her court date was rescheduled and all went according to plan, but since the police have discussed her hindering the investigation, this felt important to include.

23:31Even if I don't know what it means yet. Christopher and Diana were tried in May 2024. Diana pleaded guilty, and Christopher pleaded not guilty. Again, this is just for failing to report Madalena missing. Now, Diana's trial was pretty quick. She was found guilty, and after seven months in the Mecklenburg County Detention Center, she was released on time served. Christopher Palmiter's trial was much longer, spanning about two weeks through the end of May. The defense spent a lot of time outlining his relationship with Diana. They discuss how they met, which I told you at the beginning of this episode, and they add that things were just not great from the start.

24:15Christopher says that through getting his marriage license, he found out that Diana lied about her age. He also says that the marriage was never consummated, and Diana withheld all affection aside from the occasional kiss. While the couple did share a bedroom until 2017, he reported that Diana then moved into Madalena's room. She was sleeping on a trundle under her bed all the way up until Madalena went missing. They also outlined Diana's odd behavior. It's explained by one of Christopher's friends that once while on vacation, people began taking pictures of this rainbow above a cloud, and this upset Diana.

24:56She asked them to stop, saying that they were seeing an angel getting its crown, and taking pictures was sacrilegious. Christopher says that Diana's behavior changed greatly in 2021. While she'd always been spiritual, she began to follow a woman named Elizabeth Clare Prophet, who the defense said was the leader of a cult-like church. After this, Diana would spend hours screaming chants, manifestations, and prayers at the top of her lungs at all hours of the night. She also burned various items as a part of this ritual, and had Madalena follow. In the summer of 2022, so not long before Madalena went missing, Diana told Christopher that she was being stalked by Vladimir Putin and Michael Jackson.

25:47She says they wanted to marry her because she had Russian nobility titles that they coveted. She also said that they wanted her land. While Christopher said that he did not believe any of this was true, he did accommodate Diana's feelings. She was scared, she wanted to get away. So Christopher sends Diana and Madalena to stay with his relatives in Michigan. But that didn't appear to help. Christopher also reports that one time Madalena's school sent back proofs of her school pictures, and across the top was a message about ending child trafficking. Christopher tried to explain that this was probably something that was on every single proof sent home with every kid, but Diana took this as a targeted threat to Madalena specifically, and began to feel that the school was indoctrinating children.

26:38She also quickly became concerned about phones being nearby as she discussed hiding Madalena. It was also revealed that, according to Christopher, he had basically no input on Madalena's upbringing. He would do things like take her to the park, buy her things, spend time with her in the house, but her education, her care, was all controlled by Diana. His lawyer laid out a timeline of Madalena's disappearance, and argued that Christopher had been manipulated and dominated by Diana. They say that sending Christopher on that trip to Michigan to grab the clothes was premeditated, They believe Diana left that clothing there intentionally, but he says that he packed immediately, basically within 45 minutes he was ready to make this 12 plus hour trip.

27:27He maintained that he did not see Madalena that morning, but Diana said that she was asleep upstairs. They argue that through Diana's communication, she was trying to portray an image that she was with Madalena. During this time, Diana told him that she and Madalena were taking trips to the mountains, that she was in her room sick, and she sent him text messages that indicated she and Madalena were together. The defense argued that Christopher worked long hours to provide for his family. On top of this, Diana began to send him on this series of prolonged errands to distract him from Madalena being missing.

28:05They also provided documentation about the internet being fixed. It appears that the week after Madalena was last seen, the internet cable in their home had been cut. This made it impossible for Christopher to work from home, so he made the three-hour round-trip commute each day to his job in Greensboro. Now, normally he would only go into the office on Monday and Tuesday. Then Wednesday through Friday, he was able to work from home. But with the internet being out, he obviously had to make the 90-minute drive to work and back each day. He says he usually got home after Madalena's bedtime, and he didn't see her at all that week, but he remembers that her bedroom light was on, so he assumed she was in there.