Michelle Troconis was convicted on all counts Friday in the murder of Jennifer Dulos.
After 14 hours of deliberation, the jury of three men and three women convicted Michelle Troconis guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence, and obstructing the prosecution.
The jury found that she collaborated with Fotis Dulos to murder his estranged wife, lied to give an alibi, and assisted him in disposing of bloody evidence. Troconis hung her head and began to sob, her parents and sisters seated right behind her in the courtroom. As soon as the final verdict was given, she collapsed into her chair and rested her head on the table.
INSIDE COURTROOM NEWS
Michelle Troconis hung her head and began to sob, her parents and sisters seated right behind her in the courtroom. As soon as the final verdict was given, she collapsed into her chair and rested her head on the table.
As Troconis was escorted out of the courthouse, she requested to say farewell to her family, but was only allowed to say a few words in Spanish.
Prosecutors claimed Michelle Troconis grew to despise Jennifer Dulos, who was involved in a lengthy divorce and custody fight with Fotis Dulos.
Defense counsel Jon Schoenhorn claimed the case was based on assumption and guessing.
“I truly just don’t see how the jury could have reached this verdict,” said Schoenhorn. “We’re going to challenge whether or not the trial had errors that should be reconsidered, and if not reconsidered in this court then we’ll go to the appellate or supreme court.”
Lauren Almeida, a longtime nanny who is now like a mom to the five Dulos children, left court smiling.
Michelle Troconis’ distraught parents and sisters addressed reporters outside the courthouse, insisting she is innocent.
“I came many years ago to this country looking for opportunities, freedom and justice. And I moved my whole family here, I have eight grandchildren [who are] American. And today we are here, devastated, because there has been a tremendous injustice in the trial of my daughter,” said Dr. Carlos Michelle Troconis, her father. “She is innocent, and we will keep proving that forever.”
“I know that everyone wanted answers, I know that maybe this day is happy that they finally convicted her, or someone is paying for the price. But she is not the right one,” said Troconis’ sister Claudia Troconis, fighting back tears.
A spokesperson for the friends and family of Jennifer Dulos shared a statement, calling the verdict 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,” the statement continued. “We have lost a mother, daughter, sister, cousin, and cherished friend. Jennifer’s loved ones cannot bury her next to her father.”
WHAT WAS MICHELLE TROCONIS CRIME??
Michelle Troconis was accused of helping her boyfriend, Fotis Dulos, kill his estranged wife in 2019 and covering up the crime. Fotis Dulos was charged with murder in the case but later died by suicide.
Over the course of the month-long trial, jurors heard from dozens of witnesses and from Michelle Troconis herself in three separate interviews with Connecticut State Police.
In those interviews, Michelle Troconis changed her story first saying she was home with Fotis Dulos on the day of Jennifer Dulos’ disappearance, before eventually admitting that was not true.
Another surveillance video showed Fotis Dulos dispose of bloody evidence, and Michelle Troconis could be seen wiping her hand on the ground. She claimed she was wiping gum off her hand, but prosecutors made the case that she knew what was going on and helped with the disposal.
DISAPEARENCE OFÂ JENNIFER DULOS
The guilty verdict against Troconis came 1,743 days after Jennifer Dulos vanished from her New Canaan home.
The 50-year-old was reported missing in May 2019 after dropping her kids off at school. She and Fotis Dulos were in the midst of a bitter and expensive divorce and custody battle.
Proseuctors walked the jury through a complicated timeline — with Fotis Dulos taking an employee’s truck and parking it in New Canaan, then riding a bike to Jennifer Dulos’ home and killing her in the garage, disposing of the body in an unknown location using her SUV, and then abandoning that vehicle and returning to his mansion in Farmington.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Dulos’ body has never been found, but she is presumed dead. Police said there was enough evidence of bloodshed in her garage to suggest she did not survive, as well as evidence suggesting a potential attempt to clean up the scene.
Jennifer Dulos left behind five children, who are now in the care of their 88-year-old grandmother. For more information click.
