Michelle Troconis to be sentenced Friday in Jennifer Dulos case

STAMFORD, Conn. — The woman at the center of the criminal investigation into the disappearance of a Connecticut mother of five who disappeared in 2019 will be sentenced Friday.

Michelle Troconis, 49, was convicted of helping her then-boyfriend, Fotis Dulos, who authorities say killed his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos, while they were fighting in a divorce and child custody proceedings.

Jennifer Dulos, 50, disappeared on May 24, 2019, after dropping her five children off at school.

Fotis Dulos committed suicide in January 2020, shortly after being charged with murder. He had denied the allegations. At the time, she lived with the children in New Canaan while Fotis Dulos stayed in the family's spacious home about 70 miles away in Farmington.

READ MORE: How to watch Michelle Troconis' sentencing

READ MORE: Michelle Troconis Found Guilty in Disappearance of Jennifer Dulos

The 49-year-old has dual American and Venezuelan citizenship. She has described herself as a co-founder of equestrian therapy programs in different parts of the world, having once had her own television production company in Argentina and hosting a snow sports show for ESPN South America.

At the time of Jennifer Dulos' disappearance, Troconis and her teenage daughter were living with Fotis Dulos in his Farmington home.

Prosecutors alleged that Troconis must have known about the plot to kill Jennifer Dulos in advance because she answered Fotis Dulos' cell phone on the morning of May 24 while he was allegedly in New Cannan — which suggests she helped him with an alibi. He had left his phone at their home in Farmington, prosecutors said.

• Conspiracy to commit murder
• Conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence
• Tampering with physical evidence
• Conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence
• Tampering with physical evidence
• Obstruction of prosecution

On March 1, 2024, a jury found Troconis guilty of all charges.

Troconis will be sentenced on these charges on Friday, May 31. The sentencing comes a week after Jennifer's disappearance for five years.

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On the day Jennifer Dulos disappeared, Troconis accompanied Fotis Dulos to Hartford, where he dumped several trash bags in random locations — a trip partially recorded by surveillance cameras.

Police found some of the bags and said they contained clothing, zip ties and other items containing Jennifer Dulos' DNA. Some items, including a shirt and bra, had stains resembling blood. Some items contained Fotis Dulos' DNA, and part of one bag tested positive for Troconis' DNA, a state forensic expert testified at trial.

Prosecutors also said Troconis helped Fotis Dulos write a timeline of their activities to prepare for a possible police interrogation. Troconis told police she only did so at the request of Fotis Dulos and his lawyer. And she also accompanied him when he had the employee's truck cleaned and detailed at a car wash, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors also said Troconis lied to police during the first of her three interviews with them in 2019, when she said Fotis was at their home the morning of May 24. They say she admitted in a later interview that she hadn't seen him.

RELATED: Troconis culprit | A look back at the chronology of the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos

His attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, said the prosecution has not proven any of their allegations beyond a reasonable doubt, including whether Fotis Dulos killed Jennifer Dulos or even whether he was in New Canaan that morning- there.

Schoenhorn said Troconis had no idea what Fotis Dulos was doing or what was in the bags. He also said Fotis Dulos could have touched her and passed his DNA to one of the bags.

He added that there could have been communication problems because the interviews were conducted in English instead of Troconis' primary language, Spanish. A defense expert also said traumatic events, such as being questioned by police, can affect memory and recollection of events.

Troconis did not testify during the 27-day trial.

The jury found Troconis guilty of all charges.

She sat with her head bowed and cried as jurors were questioned about whether they agreed with the verdict. She later placed her head on the table and was heard sobbing before commissioners handcuffed her and led her out of the courtroom.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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