Woman sentenced to more than 14 years in prison for plotting murder of Connecticut mother

Michelle Troconis appears in Connecticut Superior Court at the start of her sentencing hearing in Stamford, Conn., Friday, May 31, 2024. Troconis, convicted of helping her boyfriend plot and cover up the murder of his ex-wife, Jennifer Dulos, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. (Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, Pool)

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — A woman convicted of helping her boyfriend plot and cover up the murder of his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos, during a contentious Connecticut divorce proceeding was sentenced Friday to more than 14 years in prison, after Dulos' mother and children spoke of their grief.

Michelle Troconis, 49, was convicted in March of conspiracy to commit murder, hindering prosecution, tampering with evidence and other charges in connection with the 2019 disappearance of Dulos, whose body was never found. A probate judge declared her legally dead last year.

Prosecutors say Fotis Dulos killed Jennifer Dulos at her New Canaan home and left with her body. He committed suicide in 2020, shortly after being charged with murder. He had denied killing his wife.

Troconis was living with Fotis Dulos when his wife disappeared. She and her lawyer said she had nothing to do with the plot.

Judge Kevin Randolph of Stamford imposed a 20-year prison sentence Friday, suspended after 14 1/2 years. Troconis must then serve five years probation. She could have been sentenced to up to 45 years.

Some of Jennifer Dulos' family and friends said the sentence wasn't long enough.

Troconis' attorney asked the judge to release her on bail pending appeal. Randolph denied the request.

About 80 people filled the courtroom for the sentencing, with Jennifer Dulos' family and friends on one side and Troconis' supporters on the other. Dulos' five children and his mother Gloria Farber were in attendance.

Jennifer Dulos hasn't been seen since dropping her kids off at school on May 24, 2019.

Farber told the court she knew “something terrible had happened” when her daughter did not respond to her calls or text messages that day. She said her daughter “just wanted to give and receive love and be a loving mother.”

Dulos' eldest child, Petros Dulos, 18, said his mother's death left him with “a hole in me that I know I will never fill.”

He said he had been close to his mother but had difficulties during the divorce.

“I will never be able to tell my mother how sorry I am for not being a better son when she needed me,” he said.

Lauren Almeida, the Dulos family's nanny, asked Troconis, “Where is Michelle?”

The disappearance of Jennifer Dulos has been the subject of documentaries and a TV movie, Lifetime's “Gone Mom.”

She belonged to a wealthy New York family. His father, the late Hilliard Farber, founded the brokerage firm Hilliard Farber & Co. after running the bond trading desk at Chase Manhattan Bank. She was also the niece-in-law of fashion designer Liz Claiborne.

Troconis, who has dual American and Venezuelan citizenship, said she co-founded a horseback riding therapy program, owned a television production company in Argentina and hosted a television show. snow sports for ESPN South America. Fotis Dulos was a luxury home builder from Greece.

Troconis' family and friends asked the judge for mercy Friday, describing her as honest and caring.

Her mother, Marisela Arreaza, said Traconis was a loving mother to her teenage daughter and not the homewrecker portrayed by Dulos' friends.

“When Michelle met Fotis Dulos, he presented himself as a man who cared about his family and was going through an amicable divorce,” Arreaza said. “Michelle believed Fotis and had no reason to doubt him.”

Troconis’ daughter, Nicole, 17, told the judge: “Michelle is not just my mother. She is my best friend, my rock and my lighthouse.

Troconis spoke last, saying: “I am a person of deep faith and I have prayed and continue to pray for those who have suffered and continue to suffer. » She said she regretted her relationship with Fotis Dulos.

Jon Schoenhorn, Troconis' lawyer, said she would appeal the convictions.

“I still think there was not enough evidence presented to prove that Michelle knew anything about what Fotis Dulos was planning,” he said in court.

Authorities believe Fotis Dulos killed his wife because he was frustrated with their divorce and child custody proceedings.

Jennifer Dulos lived with the children in New Canaan while Fotis Dulos lived in another house about 70 miles away in Farmington.

Hours after Jennifer Dulos was last seen alive, surveillance video recorded Troconis accompanying Fotis Dulos on a trip to Hartford, where he threw trash bags out of his pickup truck. Police later found some of the bags using location data from Fotis Dulos' cellphone.

At Troconis' trial, the prosecution and state forensic experts showed a shirt, bra and clips with blood-like stains that were found in one of the trash bags. DNA testing linked the items to Jennifer Dulos.

Troconis told police she did not know what was in the bags or why Fotis Dulos threw them away.

Prosecutors also said Fotis Dulos left his cell phone at home the day Jennifer Dulos disappeared and that Troconis answered a call from his friend that morning. They say this shows Troconis was involved in the plot and tried to help create an alibi. She denied the allegation.

Kent Mawhinney, friend and former lawyer of Fotis Dulos, is awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy to commit murder in the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos. He pleaded not guilty.

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Associated Press journalists Karen Matthews and Philip Marcelo contributed from New York.

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This story has been corrected to show that Troconis was sentenced to 14 1/2 years in prison, not 20 years.