State police Michelle Troconis.
Michelle Troconis was found guilty on March 1 by a Connecticut jury of conspiring to murder Jennifer Farber Dulos, her former boyfriend’s estranged wife.
Paul J. Ferencek, State’s Attorney for the Stamford/Norwalk Judicial District, announced in a press release “that a jury in Stamford Superior Court today found Michelle Troconis, age 49, formerly of Farmington, guilty of Conspiracy to Commit Murder in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-54a, two counts of Conspiracy to Commit Tampering with Physical Evidence in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53-155, two counts of Tampering with Physical Evidence in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-155, and Hindering Prosecution in the Second Degree in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-166.”
The Honorable Kevin A. Randolph presided over the jury trial, the release says. According to NBC Connecticut, Troconis faces a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison. According to CT Insider, the jury deliberated for three days after an eight-day trial.
According to ABC News, Troconis was the live-in girlfriend of Jennifer Dulos’ estranged husband, Fotis Dulos. According to ABC News, prosecutors believe Fotis Dulos murdered Jennifer Farber Dulos in her garage. He took his own life in 2020 after he was charged with the murder, ABC reported.
Here’s what you need to know:
Michelle Troconis Was Accused of Tampering With Evidence in the Case by ‘Cleaning Up a Vehicle’ & ‘Burning Evidence in the Fireplace’ of a Farmington Home
The DA’s press release says that Troconis “conspired with her former boyfriend, Fotis Dulos, to murder Jennifer Farber Dulos, age 50, of New Canaan, while Dulos and Farber Dulos were in the middle of a contentious divorce and custody battle.”
Farber Dulos “was reported missing on May 24, 2019. Evidence showed that on that same day, clothing and other items with Farber Dulos’ blood were found in trash bins in the same area in Hartford that surveillance cameras located Dulos and Troconis,” the release says. “Police also found two Connecticut license plates that had been altered to cover up a canceled plate number that had previously been attached to a vehicle that Dulos owned.”
Farber Dulos was a mother of five, according to CT Insider.
Evidence at trial “also showed Troconis tampered with evidence in the case, including cleaning up a vehicle police believed was used in the crime and burning evidence in the fireplace of Dulos’ Farmington home. In addition, trial testimony showed Troconis manipulated Dulos’ cellphone the day Farber Dulos was murdered so Dulos could create an alibi,” the release says.
The Family of Michelle Troconis Insisted She Was Innocent After the Verdict Was Read
BREAKING: Michelle Troconis, who stood trial in connection with the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos, her boyfriend’s estranged wife, has been found guilty on all counts.
The prosecutor said he hopes the verdict gives the victim’s family “some peace.” However, Troconis’s father spoke out against the verdict.
“There has been a tremendous injustice in the trial of my daughter,” Carlos Troconis said to CT Insider. “She is innocent and we will keep proving that, forever.” Troconis told CT Insider “the influence of the media had tremendous effects on this case.”
“My sister is innocent of all the charges she was convicted of,” her sister Claudia said to CT Insider, promising the family would appeal. “I know that only time will prove it to you guys.”
“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 the news release.
“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,” he said.
The case “was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Michelle Manning and Assistant State’s Attorney Seán McGuinness, with the assistance of Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth K. Moran and Inspector David Edwards,” the release says.
READ NEXT: Pennsylvania Man, Justin Mohn, Accused in Father’s Murder