STAMFORD, CT — A stunned silence fell over the Courtroom 4A in Stamford Superior Court on Friday, as the guilty verdict was read at the conclusion of the Michelle Troconis trial in connection with the disappearance and death of Jennifer Farber Dulos.
Troconis, 49, was found guilty by the six-member jury of all six counts that she faced:
She bowed her head and sobbed as the verdict was read, and she was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs. At her sentencing on May 31, Troconis faces a maximum of 20 to 50 years in prison, depending on whether the charges run concurrently or separately.
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It has been more than four and a half years, or 1,743 days, since Jennifer Dulos, a 50-year-old mother of five, vanished from her New Canaan home, the victim of a brutal attack at the hands of her estranged husband, the late Fotis Dulos. Troconis was Fotis’ girlfriend at the time; the Duloses were in the midst of a contentious divorce and child custody fight at the time of Jennifer’s disappearance.
Jennifer’s body has not been found, and late last year, a probate judge officially declared her dead.
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“Today we are here, devastated, because this has been a tremendous injustice in the trial of my daughter,” said Dr. Carlos Troconis, Michelle’s father, outside of court following the verdict. “She’s innocent, and we will keep proving that forever.”
Dr. Troconis was surrounded by Michelle’s other family members, who could not hold back tears or their frustration over the verdict.
“I forgive the jury, the judge and the prosecutors, and good will prevail, and the truth,” Dr. Troconis said, adding that he believes the intense media scrutiny on the case played a factor in the jury’s decision.
“This is definitely a devastating day, because my sister is innocent of all the charges that she was convicted of,” said Claudia Troconis. “We are certain that she is innocent, and I know that over time, we will prove it to you guys.”
In a statement, Carrie Luft, a close friend of Jennifer’s and the spokesperson for the Farber family, said the verdict was a sign of accountability for Jennifer’s murder.
“Today’s verdict is a crucial attribution of accountability, not a victory,” Luft 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.”
The case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Michelle Manning and Assistant State’s Attorney Sean McGuinness, with the assistance of Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth K. Moran and Inspector David Edwards.
State’s Attorney Paul Ferencek said in a statement that he hopes Jennifer’s family and friends find a measure of peace by the verdict.
“First and foremost, I want to offer my deepest condolences to the family of Jennifer Farber Dulos, particularly her five children, who had their mother violently taken from them on May 24, 2019,” Ferencek said in a statement. “I commend the hard work of everyone involved in this case and express my gratitude to the jury for their thoughtfulness and attention during this trial. While it’s our hope that today’s verdict brings Jennifer’s family and friends some peace, we also hope that someday we can provide resolution to the still unanswered question of where Jennifer rests. I assure you the State of Connecticut and this office will never stop looking.”
The prosecution was able to successfully tie Troconis to the murder, in part, because surveillance cameras filmed Fotis Dulos discarding bags of blood-stained evidence in several locations along Albany Avenue in Hartford, with Troconis in the vehicle with him.
Additionally, evidence presented at trial also showed that Troconis tampered with evidence in the case, including cleaning up a pickup truck that police believed was used in the crime, and burning evidence in the fireplace of Dulos’ Farmington home.
Trial testimony additionally showed that Troconis manipulated Fotis’ cellphone the day Jennifer was murdered, so he could create an alibi, according to prosecutors.
Fotis Dulos was charged with kidnapping and murdering his estranged wife, but he never stood trial, because he died following a suicide attempt in January 2020.
Another suspect in the case, Kent Mawhinney, a former friend of Fotis’, was also arrested on a conspiracy to commit murder charge, and he is slated to stand trial at a later date. Both Mawhinney and Troconis were accused of helping Fotis create “alibi scripts;” he and Troconis had pleaded not guilty before her trial.
“We want to thank the jury for their commitment and careful deliberation during this lengthy, complex trial and Judge Kevin Randolph for his guidance and authority in the courtroom,” Luft said.
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“We remain deeply indebted to the state’s attorney’s office—in particular, prosecutors Michelle Manning and Sean McGuinness, assistant state’s attorney Elizabeth Moran, and case inspector David Edwards—for their tireless work, expertise, endurance, and dedication in the courtroom and out. We express our unending gratitude and respect to the investigators, analysts, and other law enforcement personnel who have shown an unflagging commitment to Jennifer’s case over a span of nearly five years. We owe a special debt of thanks to those individuals, law enforcement and civilian, who testified at this trial and in its hearings; your courage and integrity inspire us.
“Many questions remain as we approach the five-year marker. It is our hope that the resurgent public interest in this case might spur new, viable leads. In the meantime, Jennifer’s grace, goodness, and light live on through her children and through the honor of her memory.
“We ask that you respect Jennifer’s memory and the privacy of her family and loved ones at this time.”
Troconis’ attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, said that he expects his client will post bond on bail of $6 million by next week. She will be under house arrest until her sentencing, and will again have to wear a GPS monitoring device on her ankle; Troconis wore one for years, but Schoenhorn had successfully argued for its removal months before the trial.
“I’m truly disappointed in this verdict,” Schoenhorn said outside of court. “I don’t believe that this was the correct verdict. I’m not going to criticize this jury that sat through 6 weeks of evidence to reach their determination, but I just happen to disagree with the determination.”
Schoenhorn said he will file post-trial motions, one of which will be for a judgement of acquittal, not withstanding the verdict, during which he will bring up “many, many issues” from the trial, because he does not believe it was fair.
If the judgement of acquittal is denied, Schoenhorn intends to file an appeal.
“People, in my view, should never sit down with the police for interrogation,” Schoenhorn said, referring to three interrogation interviews that Troconis was subjected to. “They should never do it, because people forget, it’s not just things that are bad that can be used against you, it’s anything that can be used against you.”
Schoenhorn was not Troconis’ attorney at the time of her initial arrest and interrogation, but he appeared to lay some of the blame of her conviction on Andrew Bowman, her attorney at the time.
“I have no insight into why any lawyer, without either an immunity agreement or a proffer agreement, would walk their client into a police interrogation without knowing very much about the offense,” Schoenhorn said.
One of the witnesses during the trial, Pawel Gumienny, a former employee of Fotis Dulos’ luxury home building business, received an immunity deal with prosecutors before speaking with them, Schoenhorn said.
“That is the strategy that would have been more appropriate, in my view,” Schoenhorn said.
The Dulos case:
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