OAN’s Abril Elfi
1:45 PM – Saturday, March 2, 2024
Michelle Troconis has been found guilty in connection with the murder of her ex-boyfriend’s estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos.
On Friday, she was found guilty of conspiring to murder the mother of five, as well as one count of hindering prosecution, two counts of conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence, and two counts of tampering with physical evidence.
On Tuesday, a group of six jurors listened to the state prosecutor and defense lawyer’s two hours of closing arguments in a Stamford Superior Courtroom.
Troconis dated Fotis Dulos, the estranged husband of Jennifer, who was accused of killing his wife but passed away in January 2020, seemingly by suicide, before he could face charges. In 2020, among other offenses, Troconis was accused of plotting to commit murder and entered a not-guilty plea.
After dropping her kids off at school in May 2019, Jennifer Dulos was last seen. After she neglected to show up for appointments and went ten hours without speaking to them, friends filed a missing person’s report. She and Fotis Dulos were embroiled in a bitter divorce and custody dispute at the time of her disappearance.
A Connecticut judge declared Dulos dead in October 2023, despite the fact that her body was never discovered, according to a court file. Probably a combination of “traumatic, blunt-force injuries,” the state’s chief medical examiner concluded.
Her car, which was parked in her New Canaan garage, had three spots where authorities discovered a stain resembling blood. Her DNA was discovered on the garage door and wall, as well as in the stains.
On suspicion of tampering with evidence related to the disappearance, Fotis Dulos and Troconis were previously placed under arrest. After investigators discovered a “blood-like substance” containing Jennifer Dulos’ DNA in a truck he had access to on the day she vanished, they entered a not guilty plea to evidence tampering.
According to court records, Jennifer Dulos admitted to authorities that she was terrified of him prior to her disappearance.
“I know that filing for divorce and filing this motion will enrage him,” she said, according to the documents. “I know he will retaliate by trying to harm me in some way.”
Survivors of Jennifer Dulos said they hope the verdict renews public interest in the case and “might spur new, viable leads” that will help lead to finding Dulos’ body.
“Today’s verdict is a crucial attribution of accountability, not a victory,” said a statement from Carrie Luft on behalf of family and friends of Dulos.
Luft emphasized that more important than the “immense body of evidence” that led to Troconis’ guilty verdict is that Dulos’ body has still not been found.
“It is our hope that the resurgent public interest in this case might spur new, viable leads,” the statement said.
On Friday, a Connecticut judge set Troconis’ bail at $6 million in cash as surety. Should she post the required amount, she would be subject to electronic monitoring and house arrest.
The date of her sentencing is set for May 31st.
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