Mother fears missing daughter, 27, killed; boyfriend arrested with facial injuries

Joseph Porter, left, was arrested in Arkansas on a theft charge days after Cristina Prodan was reported missing. (Pulaski County Sheriff's Office/Facebook)

A grief-stricken Minnesota mom is holding out little hope her 27-year-old daughter will be found alive after the girl's boyfriend, Joseph Porter, was arrested in the wake of Cristina Prodan's disappearance.

“The deputies told me that they are looking for the body, but I don’t know if they find it or not,” Livia Prodan, of Richfield, Minn., told FOX9 Minneapolis on Monday.

Cristina Prodan lives in Edina and was reported missing there Jan. 5. Five days later her boyfriend Joseph Porter, 25, was arrested in Arkansas on a theft charge. His booking photo shows several apparent injuries to his face.

An Edina Police spokeswoman told Fox News on Tuesday that charges have been brought in connection with Prodan’s disappearance but declined to say what they were.

“Since this is an active investigation, all we’re releasing at this time is that we’re working with multiple agencies on a missing person report that came in at 3:15 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5,” spokeswoman Kaylin Eidsness said.

She said the charges had been submitted to prosecutors and could be filed this week.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Monday that Edina police anticipate charging Porter, perhaps as early as Tuesday. He was arrested Jan. 10 in Jacksonville, Ark., and was being held without bail at the request of Edina police and U.S. Marshals, according to the paper, which did not identify Porter by name.

Prodan invited Porter to move in with her after they met on Facebook in October, FOX9 reported.

In early December, Porter allegedly became abusive and was the subject of a court order barring him from having contact with Prodan, the station reported.

Records show on Dec. 28, Porter pleaded guilty to violating the order and was sentenced to time served.

Soon after that, Prodan reportedly took him back only to be reported missing days later.

Prodan’s mother told FOX9 her daughter “loved people” and had a nice personality. She said she also told her daughter Porter was just using her.

“She felt in love with him -- she wanted to get married," the mother said. "I told her, 'He doesn’t love you, he just came to you to steal from you -- he's homeless, he doesn’t work.'"

She accused Porter of killing her daughter, according to the station.

Porter’s rap sheet includes arrests in the past few years for battery, burglary and property damage in Arkansas, where he also lived, FOX9 reported.

WCCO-TV reported last week that in one case a girlfriend said in court papers that Porter “beat her unconscious…and killed her dog violently.”

The Star Tribune also reported that Porter was the subject of a no-contact order involving another woman in Hennepin County in 2014. He was sentenced in that case to probation and ordered to undergo anger management treatment.