Michelle Troconis trial: Woman convicted of helping boyfriend cover up Connecticut wife’s murder

Michelle Troconis, who was tried in connection with the disappearance of jennifer dulosher boyfriend’s estranged wife has been found guilty on all charges.

Troconis was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with physical evidence, conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence and hindering prosecution.

“We have lost a mother, a daughter, a sister, a cousin and a dear friend,” Carrie Luft, spokesperson for Jennifer Dulos’ family and friends, said in a statement Friday.

Luft said the “verdict represents the meticulous collection, analysis and presentation of evidence to illuminate a series of unconscionable crimes.”

“That immense body of evidence also serves to highlight the gaps that remain in this case; most importantly, Jennifer Farber Dulos has not yet been found,” Luft said. “We are hopeful that the resurgence of public interest in this case may generate new and viable leads.”

Jennifer Dulos, a mother of five in Connecticut, disappeared on May 24, 2019, during a custody dispute with her ex-husband, Fotis Dulos. Her body has never been found but a judge has declared her legally dead.

Fotis Dulos died by suicide in January 2020, weeks after he was charged with the murder of Jennifer Dulos. Prosecutors allege that Fotis Dulos killed his ex-wife in his garage on May 24, 2019.

At Troconis’ trial, jurors saw a video of the interrogation in which Troconis admitted lying about seeing Fotis Dulos at his home the morning Jennifer Dulos disappeared. New Haven ABC affiliate WTNH reported.

“I have no idea where Jennifer is, and that’s 100%,” Troconis said in the interrogation video, according to WTNH. “I only know that I was like the stupid girlfriend to help him, because he told me, ‘Come clean the house,’ and I did.”

“[Fotis Dulos] “He told me Jennifer is a monster,” Tronocis said in the interrogation video, according to WTNH. “He hated her.”

Police testified that surveillance footage showed Fotis Dulos driving, with Troconis in the passenger seat, in Hartford later on the day Jennifer Dulos disappeared, with Fotis Dulos making stops to throw suspected evidence into dumpsters. reported the Hartford Courant. In court, jurors were shown zip ties, gloves and stained clothing that prosecutors say were taken from trash cans.

Defense attorney Jon Schoenhorn said Troconis never denied being in the car with her boyfriend, but said he denied having any involvement or knowledge of crimes Fotis Dulos may have committed.

In her closing arguments, prosecutor Michelle Manning reminded jurors of the garage where investigators believe Fotis Dulos killed his wife and the blood-soaked items they threw in the trash.

“There’s blood splatter all over the garage, all over the undercarriage of two cars, footprints and blood bumps,” Manning said. “Her blood-soaked shirt and bra lying around…along with zip ties, sponges and duct tape. Make no mistake: this was a deliberate and intentional murder.”

“Jennifer is dead. And Fotis and Michelle Troconis intended for that to happen. They agreed to work together to make this happen,” Manning said. “This trial is very simple: it is about a conspiracy and a cover-up. It is about the actions of Michelle Troconis and how she and Fotis Dulos conspired together to murder the woman who stood in their way. It is about the Fotis’ frustration. Dulos didn’t see her kids… and every time those kids showed up, Michelle Troconis had to leave her house… and we know she was sick of it.”

“Frustration turned to anger and hatred,” Manning told jurors. “Listen to your own words in the [police] interviews, how he describes Jennifer, someone he has never met. She describes her as manipulative, angry and toxic.”

Schoenhorn, the defense attorney, noted in his closing arguments: “Whatever Fotis Dulos’ role was in the disappearance – and I will say the probable death of Jennifer Dulos – Michelle Troconis did not know. She did not know that Fotis Dulos was planning to harm her.”

“There’s nothing to suggest that Michelle even thought Fotis was capable of doing something like that,” Schoenhorn said.

“This is not the trial of Fotis Dulos,” he continued. “Because it’s the trial of Michelle Troconis, [to convict her] “You must discover beyond a reasonable doubt that Michelle conspired with Fotis Duos, not only to harm Jennifer Dulos, but also to murder her.”

To convict her, he told the jury: “You have to find, beyond a reasonable doubt, several elements that Michelle was part of a plot to dispose of evidence – some microscopic, some in opaque garbage bags – but that she knew what “I was in it, I knew its purpose. And what she did was exactly the same intention as what Fotis Dulos had planned.”

After the verdict, Paul Ferencek, state’s attorney for the Stamford/Norwalk Judicial District, said in a statement: “While we are hopeful that today’s verdict will bring some peace to Jennifer’s family and friends, we also hope that one day we can solve the problem that still persists. “Unanswered question about where Jennifer rests. I assure you that the state of Connecticut and this office will never stop searching.”

Schoenhorn said Troconis was “devastated” by the verdict.

“We are sure he is innocent,” added Troconis’ sister, Josie.

Bail was set at $6 million cash surety. The judge granted additional conditions requested by the State: house arrest, electronic monitoring and surrender of his passport.

Troconis’ sentencing is scheduled for May 31.

Jennifer Dulos’ mother now has custody of Dulos’ five children, who ranged in age from 8 to 13 in May 2019, according to The Associated Press.

Kent Mawhinney, a friend and former attorney of Fotis Dulos, is also accused of helping to cover up the crime. He has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and is awaiting trial.

ABC News’ Jason Volack contributed to this report.