Michelle Troconis found guilty on six counts in Jennifer Dulos murder case
Michelle Troconis, 49, pleaded not guilty and denies any involvement in Jennifer Dulos’ disappearance and death
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Michelle Troconis has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder.
After 12 hours of deliberation over the past three days, the jury found Ms Troconis guilty on all six counts Friday.
Jurors were tasked with deciding whether the 49-year-old conspired with her former boyfriend Fotis Dulos to kill his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos, in Connecticut on 24 May 2019, and cover up the crime.
During closing arguments, prosecutors described Jennifer’s murder as “deliberate and intentional” and said that Troconis and Dulos “worked to make this happen”.
Jennifer’s body has never been found, but she has been officially declared dead – with police finding that she died a violent death at the hands of Dulos.
In January 2020, Fotis died by suicide after being charged with her murder.
Troconis pleaded not guilty and insisted she did not know Fotis was doing anything nefarious as she watched him toss garbage bags into random bins, or as she helped him write up a timeline of their whereabouts on the day Jennifer disappeared.
Michelle Troconis’ trial is almost over. A jury will decide if she conspired to kill her lover’s ex-wife
Michelle Troconis may be held in contempt of court in Jennifer Dulos conspiracy to murder case
Michelle Troconis’ alleged comments about wanting ‘to kill’ and ‘bury’ Jennifer Dulos revealed at trial
‘Justice for Jennifer Dulos’ supporters come out in force at Michelle Troconis trial
As spectators packed a Connecticut courtroom for closing arguments in the Michelle Troconis murder conspiracy trial this week, there was a noticeable common theme – many of them wore purple.
Some wore purple hats or scarves while others were fully decked out in the colour. It was intentional, they said: it was all for Jennifer.
Andrea Cavallier reports:
Women fighting for ‘Justice for Jennifer’ show up at Michelle Troconis trial
Jennifer Dulos, 50, disappeared in 2019 and has since been declared dead. Andrea Cavallier talked to a team of supporters — many of whom never met Jennifer — who have been attending the trial of the woman accused of covering up her murder daily
Will there be a verdict in Michelle Troconis’ trial today?
As of 3pm on Thursday, jurors have been deliberating for nine hours and 20 minutes across three days since closing arguments finished on Tuesday.
The time does not include lunch breaks, the 38-minute playback of testimony they listened to or the time they spent in the courtroom to clarify two questions.
The jury sent this note:
“Your Honor, can we please receive clarification as to the verbiage of count 3? Specifically, in order to constitute tampering, does the defendant need to have physically altered, destroyed, concealed or removed an item or thing, i.e. physical contact?
“Further the information never mentions the term accessory or accessorial liability. Following the juror instructions would lead one to believe having accessorial liability is enough to prove a defendant guilty of tampering with physical evidence.”
“Is that the case or is the section titled "accessorial liability" from page 44 of the jury instructions misleading?”
The judge explained accessorial liability does not require physical contact.
Accessorial liability is when a person intentionally aids another person to engage in conduct which constitutes an offense.
Jurors ask judge to clarify tampering with evidence
The jury deciding Michelle Troconis’ fate sent a note just before lunchtime with two questions for Judge Kevin Randolph.
The questions were read aloud in court with the jury present.
Judge Kevin Randolph read the questions in court.
“In order to constitute tampering, does the defendant need to have physically altered, destroyed, concealed, or removed an item or thing, i.e. physical contact?” the first question read.
They also had questions about the term accessory or accessorial liability and said the information never mentions those terms.
The judge told them accessorial liability does not require physical contact.
Verdict Watch: Day three of deliberations nears end
Another day of deliberations is nearly over as the time ticks closer to 4.45pm.
Judge Randolph typically releases the jury at that time and the courthouse closes at 5pm.
There is still no verdict in Michelle Troconis’ case.
Jury is back in court
The jury is being brought back into court.
The judge usually dismisses court at 4.45pm.
No verdict today
Court was adjourned at 4.47 pm Thursday and the jury was sent home for the day. They have not yet reached a verdict in the Michelle Troconis trial.
So far, jurors have deliberated for 11 hours since closing arguments concluded on Tuesday afternoon.
The jury will return to the courthouse in Stamford tomorrow at 10am to continue deliberations.
What is Michelle Troconis charged with?
Ms Troconis, 49, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence, two counts of tampering with physical evidence and one count of second-degree hindering prosecution.
The jury could find her guilty on all counts, not guilty on all counts, or a combination. If the jury is deadlocked and cannot come to a unanimous decision, it would result in a mistrial.
Who else is charged in connection to Jennifer Dulos’ murder?
Kent Mawhinney, another defendant in the case and Fotis’ longtime friend, was expected to testify for the state, but Assistant State’s Attorney Sean McGuinness ended the state’s case without him.
“Kent Mawhinney of course is a co-conspirator in this matter, he’s been arrested, the charges remain pending,” Mr McGuninness told the court. “He undoubtedly has Fifth Amendment privilege, therefore, is unavailable to both parties. Given that we are going to be resting, I just wanted to indicate that for the record, obviously, there shouldn’t be any sort of missing witness arguments during closing arguments ... in light of that fact, he’s unavailable.”
Mr Mawhinney’s attorney, Jeffrey Kestenband, later said his client had not invoked his Fifth Amendment right to not testify, so the reason as to why he didn’t testify remains unclear.
Mr Mawhinney will stand trial on his own conspiracy to commit murder charge in the case. He’s accused of trying to create an alibi for Fotis on the morning of Jennifer’s disappearance.
WATCH: Michelle Troconis and Fotis Dulos seen dumping trash bags after alleged murder
Jurors are combing through more than 200 exhibits as they deliberate the fate of Michelle Troconis.
One major exhibit is the video that shows Ms Troconis in Fotis Dulos’ truck as he dumps bags of evidence in various trash cans in Hartford.
They’ve never met Jennifer Dulos, but these women were in court every day to support her family
Caroline Rutenberg, who grew up in Farmington, close to where Fotis and Jennifer lived, is one of the admins of the Facebook group Justice for Jennifer Dulos.
She was in high school in 2019 when Jennifer disappeared.
“It was the first time I heard of ‘domestic violence,’” she told The Independent.
“Jennifer’s story touched my heart and seeing all the people that came out to support yesterday wearing purple brought me to tears,” she said of the dozens of women who showed up for closing arguments on Tuesday.
“I wore a purple ribbon around my neck that was the same ribbon we used at the memorial our group created honoring Jennifer,” she added.
