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Michelle Troconis to be sentenced in case of missing Connecticut mom Jennifer Dulos

Written by ABC Audio ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on May 31, 2024

(STAMFORD, Conn.) — Michelle Troconis, who was convicted of helping her boyfriend cover up the murder of his estranged wife, faces up to 50 years in prison at her sentencing Friday.

The case began on May 24, 2019, when Jennifer Dulos, a Connecticut mother of five, disappeared amid a contentious custody dispute with her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos.

Prosecutors alleged Fotis Dulos killed his estranged wife in her garage, and Troconis, his live-in girlfriend, helped him cover up evidence.

On March 1, Troconis was found guilty of all counts against her: conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with physical evidence, conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence and hindering prosecution.

Troconis faces between one and 20 years in prison if the judge orders the sentences to run concurrently, and up to 50 years in prison if the sentences run consecutively, according to The Stamford Advocate.

At trial, police testified that surveillance footage showed Fotis Dulos driving, with Troconis in the passenger seat, in Hartford later on the day Jennifer Dulos vanished, with Fotis Dulos making stops to throw out alleged evidence in trash cans, the Hartford Courant reported. In court, jurors were shown zip ties, gloves and stained clothing prosecutors said were pulled from the trash cans.

Prosecutors said Troconis also helped her boyfriend with an alibi and helped him clean a truck believed to have been used in the crime, according to The Stamford Advocate.

Troconis maintained her innocence, with the defense arguing Troconis never denied being in the car with her boyfriend, but she did deny having any involvement in or any knowledge of crimes Fotis Dulos may have committed.

Fotis Dulos died by suicide in January 2020, weeks after he was charged in Jennifer Dulos’ murder.

Jennifer Dulos’ body has never been found but a judge has declared her legally dead.

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