[ad_1]
cnn
—
Nearly five years after Connecticut mother Jennifer Dulos disappeared, her husband’s ex-girlfriend was found guilty Friday of conspiring to murder the mother of five.
Michelle Troconis was also found guilty of one count of hindering prosecution, two counts of conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence and two counts of tampering with physical evidence.
Six jurors heard two hours of closing arguments from the state’s attorney and defense attorney in a Stamford Superior Court courtroom Tuesday before reaching a verdict.
Troconis had dated Jennifer’s ex-husband, Fotis Dulos, who was charged with his wife’s death. murder but died of an apparent suicide in January 2020 before going to trial. Troconis was charged with conspiracy to commit murder in 2020, among other charges, and pleaded not guilty.
Jennifer Dulos was last seen in May 2019 after dropping their children off at school. Her friends reported her missing after she didn’t show up for appointments and had no communication with them for 10 hours. She was in the middle of a contentious divorce and custody battle with Fotis Dulos at the time of her disappearance, CNN previously reported.
Although her body was never found, Dulos was officially declared dead in a dying declaration by a Connecticut judge in October 2023, a court document shows. She probably suffered a combination of “traumatic blunt force injuries” according to the state’s chief medical examiner.
Authorities found a blood-like stain in three places on his vehicle, which was parked in his garage in New Canaan. His DNA was found on the stains and on the wall and garage door.
Both Fotis Dulos and Troconis were previously arrested on suspicion of tampering with evidence in the disappearance. They pleaded not guilty to tampering with evidence after investigators found a “blood-like substance” containing Jennifer Dulos’ DNA in a truck she had access to the day she disappeared.
Jennifer Dulos had told officials she was afraid of him before her disappearance, according to court documents obtained by CNN.
“I know that filing for divorce and filing this motion will make you angry,” she said, according to the documents. “I know he will retaliate by trying to hurt me in some way.”
The family hopes to find the body
Troconis was devastated by the verdict, said her attorney, Jon Schoenhorn.
Her family called the verdict “a tremendous injustice,” saying she is innocent and “they will continue to prove it forever.”
“We are here devastated because it has been [a] Tremendous injustice in my daughter’s trial,” Troconis’ father, Carlos Troconis, told reporters.
Jennifer Dulos’ survivors said they hope the verdict will renew public interest in the case and “may generate new, viable leads” that will help find Dulos’ body.
“Today’s verdict is a crucial attribution of responsibility, not a victory,” said a statement from Carrie Luft on behalf of Dulos’ family and friends.
Luft emphasized that more important than the “immense body of evidence” that led to Troconis’ guilty verdict is that Dulos’ body has not yet been found.
“We are hopeful that the resurgence of public interest in this case may generate new and viable leads,” the statement said.
A Connecticut judge set Troconis’ bail at $6 million cash surety on Friday with the condition that he be under house arrest, with electronic monitoring, if he meets the bail amount.
His sentencing is scheduled for May 31.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Nic Anderson and Jay Croft contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link