Michelle Troconis, the former girlfriend of the late Fotis Dulos, was found guilty on Friday of all six charges related to the disappearance and presumed murder of Jennifer Dulos, Fotis’ estranged wife.
A jury in Stamford, Connecticut, deliberated for less than 3 days before reaching the verdict, which included conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence, and hindering prosecution. Troconis, 49, faces up to 50 years in prison when she is sentenced on May 31. Additionally, her bond is set at $6 million.
Jennifer Dulos, who is a 49-year-old mother of five, vanished after dropping off her children at school in New Canaan sometime in May 2019. Investigators alleged that Fotis had attacked her in her garage and driven away with her body, while Troconis helped him clean up the crime scene and dispose of the evidence.
When speaking to the Jury during her closing statement, the prosecutor in the murder case, Michelle Manning said,
“There’s blood spatter throughout the garage, throughout the undercarriage of two cars, footprints and swipes of blood. Her blood-soaked shirt and bra thrown out … along with zip ties, sponges and duct tape. Make no mistake: This was a deliberate, intentional murder.”
Jennifer’s body has not been found to date, but a judge declared her legally dead on the 24th of October, 2023.
However, Fotis died by suicide in January 2020, shortly after he was charged with his estranged wife’s murder.
During the more than 25-day trial, the prosecution presented a wealth of circumstantial evidence against Michelle Troconis, including surveillance footage, cell phone records, DNA analysis, and her own statements to the police.
According to the Hartford Courant, the police had obtained surveillance videos of her and the late Fotis driving around Hartford on the night of Jennifer Dulos’ disappearance, stopping at various locations to dump items presumably stained with her blood.
The defense argued that Troconis was unaware of Fotis Dulos’ plans and actions, and that she was manipulated and coerced by him. Her attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, said:
“Whatever Fotis Dulos’ role was in the disappearance — and I’ll say the likely death of Jennifer Dulos — Michelle Troconis did not know. She did not know that Fotis Dulos planned to harm her. There’s nothing to suggest that Michelle would even think that Fotis was capable of doing anything like that.” She went further to add, “Jennifer is dead. And Fotis and Michelle Troconis intended that to happen. They agreed to work together to make it happen.”
Family and friends of the late Jennifer Dulos revealed their thoughts about the verdict in a statement to WTNH. They said,
“There can be no victory when five children are growing up without their mother. This verdict represents the meticulous collection, analysis, and presentation of evidence to illuminate an unconscionable series of crimes. That immense body of evidence also serves to highlight the gaps that remain in this case—most important, that Jennifer Farber Dulos still has not been found. We have lost a mother, daughter, sister, cousin, and cherished friend. Jennifer’s loved ones cannot bury her next to her father.”
