February 28, 2024 / By mobanmarket
STAMFORD, CT — Closing arguments were completed Tuesday in Michelle Troconis’ trial in connection with the disappearance and death of Jennifer Farber Dulos, with prosecutors and the defense painting two vastly different pictures of Troconis’ alleged role in what happened.
Troconis, 49, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence and hindering a prosecution in the case, accused of assisting her former boyfriend, the late Fotis Dulos, in murdering Jennifer Dulos, his estranged wife.
“Jennifer [Dulos] did not run away from her family, as the defense would have you believe,” said Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Michelle Manning. “Jennifer is dead, and Fotis and Michelle Troconis intended to make that happen. They agreed to work together to make it happen, and unfortunately they were successful in making it happen, but they got caught. This trial is very simple, it’s about a conspiracy and a cover-up.”
Manning and Assistant State’s Attorney Sean McGuinness said Troconis repeatedly lied to investigators about the events leading up to May 24, 2019, the day Jennifer Dulos, 50, vanished from her New Canaan home, and in the days after.
The prosecutors said Troconis lied about being with Fotis Dulos on the 24th, lied about seeing and answering his phone that he had left at his Farmington home to help establish an alibi, and lied about her involvement in cleaning the Farmington home and the pickup truck Fotis allegedly used in the crime.
“Her lies were so profound that the defense brought in two experts to explain them,” McGuinness said. “Why is she so good about details that don’t matter, but so bad at things that incriminate her.”
Whatever happened to Jennifer Dulos, Fotis Dulos was “was ultimately responsible,” attorney Jon Schoenhorn, Troconis’ counsel, argued.
“There’s nothing to suggest that Michelle had any clue of what happened [at 69 Wells Lane in New Canaan],” Schoenhorn said.
Troconis believed that the divorce and child custody fight between the Duloses was heading in a positive direction, Schoenhorn said.
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“Why would Michelle risk her life, risk her daughter’s life, to conspire to kill Jennifer?” Schoenhorn said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
Troconis was in the vehicle when Fotis discarded garbage bags full of evidence of the crime, such as blood-soaked clothing, sponges and other items, but Schoenhorn said that his client did not know what was in the bags.
Outside of Stamford Superior Court Tuesday, Schoenhorn said that he believed the defense presented sufficient evidence that would show “more than just reasonable doubt,” and the prosecution presented insufficient evidence that his client is guilty. Heading into the trial, Troconis had pleaded not guilty.
“I feel relieved that we got the case that we wanted in,” Schoenhorn said. “The jury now has it. I don’t speculate on what the jury’s going to do. I don’t know what they consider important, and to be honest, I don’t know if they’ve begun looking at the exhibits. There are so many, they literally have to be rolled in on a cart.”
Troconis’ family, who has been present in the court during the trial, is “apprehensive,” Schoenhorn said, due to the waiting for the jury to render a verdict.
“This is a stressful time, because there’s nothing else we can do,” Schoenhorn said. “We put on the case that we wanted to put on within the limits that this particular judge put on the case. We hope the jury will see it the way we see it, and we hope for a favorable verdict. But the waiting is the toughest time right now.”
The six-person jury will return to court at 10 a.m. on Wednesday for the first full day of deliberations in the trial.
The Dulos case:
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