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Michelle Troconis was found guilty on all six charges Friday, including conspiracy to commit murder, in the disappearance and alleged death of New Canaan mother Jennifer Dulos.
The 49-year-old now faces the possibility of spending the rest of her life behind bars. She was the girlfriend of Dulos’ ex-husband, Fotis Dulos.
News 12 Connecticut’s Tom Krosnowski spoke with legal experts to get answers about Troconis’ bond, sentencing and chances for a successful appeal.
After Troconis left the courtroom in handcuffs Friday morning on $6 million bail, legal experts say nearly tripling her original bail has more to do with the severity of the charges than her potential risk. of escape.
“I don’t think that was a consideration here, although she has ties to countries outside the U.S. She no longer enjoys that presumption of innocence, especially for a class B felony, which is one of the highest felonies.” rank that we have in our country. state,” said attorney Mark Sherman, managing partner of Mark Sherman Law.
Troconis’ attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, said he expects Troconis to post bail in the coming days. If she does, she will be subject to house arrest and GPS tracking. Troconis has dual citizenship in Venezuela and lives in Colorado, but experts say she would likely serve her house arrest in Connecticut.
“I imagine they would put non-financial conditions on her release, being that she can’t leave the state,” said Kevin Black, founding attorney at Black’s Law Group.
Troconis will be sentenced on May 31. Had the jury found “not guilty” on the conspiracy charge, Sherman said her sentence likely would have been less than 10 years. Instead, she faces a maximum of 50 years in prison.
“I think he’s in for 15 to 20 years,” Sherman said.
Sherman said there is a way Troconis could lighten his sentence.
“I would have to tell the judge: ‘Judge, I did this, I accept the jury’s conclusions. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I did this, I’m sorry I didn’t do better, I’m sorry I didn’t cooperate with the police,’” Sherman said. “But I don’t think that’s happening. First, because I really believe that she and her team believe that she is innocent, and that’s fair… second, because it would really ruin her right to appeal.”
Sherman said the next big question will be whether he will be allowed out of prison on an appeal bond.
“If the charges were lesser, or if the charges were anything but that conspiracy to murder charge, she would have a very good chance of getting an appeal bond,” Sherman said.
As for his chances of success on appeal, Sherman said he will likely focus on the large amount of evidence presented.
“They let a lot of the divorce case slide into the criminal case. “I don’t know how appropriate that was,” Sherman said. “I think that might have clouded the jury’s perception of why this murder took place.”
Before his final sentencing, Troconis will return to court on March 21 on a charge of contempt of court for a misdemeanor charge. Judge Kevin Randolph ordered the hearing after she appeared to have sealed open court records on her computer monitor, violating a court order.
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