A jury in Stamford has convicted Michelle Troconis on six charges she faced, all related to the murder of Jennifer Farber Dulos, the New Canaan mother of five who disappeared in May, 2019.
Troconis, 49, was the live-in girlfriend of the victim's estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, who was charged with murder in the case before he committed suicide in 2020.
In unanimous verdicts read after 11 am on Friday, Troconis was found guilty on a total of six counts, including conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with physical evidence (2 counts), conspiracy to commit tampering (2 counts) and hindering prosecution. Troconis sat with her head down on the table, crying, as the decision was read.
Prosecutors say Jennifer Dulos was fatally attacked in her home by Fotis Dulos as they fought through a contentious divorce and custody battle. The couple has five children, who are now in the custody of Jennifer Dulos' mother in New York. Her body has never been found, but a court has proclaimed her legally dead.
According to prosecutors, Troconis made disparaging statements about Jennifer Dulos before and after her disappearance. They also say Troconis helped Fotis Dulos on the morning of May 24, 2019, when he killed his estranged wife, by answering a prearranged call on his cellphone, which had been left behind at the home the couple shared in Farmington. Troconis initially told police that Fotis was home that morning, before admitting in a subsequent police interview that he wasn't.
Later on the day Jennifer Dulos was killed, Troconis was seen in a pickup truck with Fotis Dulos as he disposed of trash bags full of evidence in city trash bins along Albany Ave. in Hartford. Troconis denied knowing what Dulos was doing, or what was in the bags, in which detectives found a bloodied shirt and bra, along with blood-stained zip-ties. Experts testified that samples from the items were a highly likely match to Jennifer Dulos’ DNA.
Troconis pleaded not guilty to all charges. But the jury of three men and three women convicted her after two full days of deliberation.
Troconis is held on $6 million bond. Judge Kevin Randolph says if she's able to post bail, she'll be under house arrest, with GPS monitoring, until sentencing May 31. Troconis faces up to 50 years in prison.
Disappointed in the verdict, defense attorney Jon Schoenhorn said there are several grounds for appeal and that prosecutors “presented a narrative based on inadmissible hearsay and speculation.”
Relatives of Troconis were seen crying in the gallery as the verdict was read. “She’s innocent,” said her father, Carlos Troconis, “and we will keep proving that, forever.” Michelle is the single mother of a teenage girl.
Carrie Luft, a spokesperson for the family of Jennifer Dulos, wrote, “Today’s verdict is a crucial attribution of accountability, not a victory. 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.”