Michelle Troconis sentenced to 14.5 years in prison for conspiracy to murder Jennifer Dulos

CNN
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Five years after Jennifer Dulos, a Connecticut mother of five, disappeared, her husband's ex-girlfriend was sentenced Friday to 14 and a half years in prison for conspiring to murder her.

Michelle Troconis, the ex-girlfriend of Fotis Dulos, who was accused of murdering his wife but apparently committed suicide in January 2020 before going to trial, was also sentenced to five years of probation for her involvement in the disappearance and murder of Jennifer Dulos.

Troconis was convicted in March of one count of conspiracy to commit murder, one count of hindering prosecution, two counts of conspiracy to tamper with evidence material evidence and two counts of tampering with physical evidence. She had pleaded not guilty.

After Troconis received his sentence, his lawyer told the court he intended to appeal. Troconis had dated Fotis Dulos, who was charged with murder, murder and kidnapping before being found dead in January 2020.

Jennifer Dulos was last seen in May 2019 after dropping her children off at school. Friends reported her missing after she failed to 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 through a pronouncement of death by a Connecticut judge in October 2023, according to a court document. She likely suffered a combination of “traumatic and blunt force injuries,” according to the state's chief medical examiner.

Authorities found a bloody stain in three places on his vehicle, which was parked in his garage in New Canaan. His DNA was found in the stains and on the wall and garage door.

Fotis Dulos and Troconis had previously been 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 he had access to on the day she disappeared.

Jennifer Dulos told authorities she was afraid of him before he disappeared, according to court documents obtained by CNN.

“I know that filing for divorce and filing this petition will make him angry,” she said, according to the documents. “I know he will retaliate by trying to harm me in some way.”

During Troconis' sentencing Friday, Dulos' relatives were present in court and gave emotional victim impact statements.

“The day Jennifer disappeared, I knew something terrible had happened,” Gloria Farber, Jennifer Dulos’ mother, said in her victim impact statement.

“I've loved Jennifer since the day she was born,” Melissa Farber, Jennifer Dulos' sister, said in her victim impact statement. “I miss Jennifer’s intelligence, her sweet, gentle voice, and the sound of her laughter. There are truly no words to adequately express what the loss of my sister, Jennifer, means to me. »

Troconis appeared upset during several victim impact statements.

“My mother was the best mother I could hope for. She loved me and my siblings unconditionally,” Theodore Dulos, Jennifer Dulos’ son, said during his victim impact statement. “I no longer have my mother, my hero. I will never speak to him again… I will never ask him for advice again.

“She will never see me graduate from high school. She will never see me graduate from college. She’ll never see me get married,” Theodore said. “These are just a few things, and they apply to my four siblings equally.”

Before her sentencing, Troconis stood and addressed the court.

“I am deeply saddened by this tragedy which has touched so many lives. I discovered things before and during the trial about a man, Fotis Dulos, who I thought I knew and loved.

“I deeply regret having a relationship with Fotis Dulos and bringing my daughter, my family and myself into our lives, into this life,” Troconis said.

CNN's Artemis Moshtaghian contributed to this report.