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Michelle Troconis has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, suspended after 14.5 years, for helping her ex-boyfriend Fotis Dulos cover up the murder of Connecticut mother-of-five Jennifer Dulos.
“What Michelle Troconis decides to do today, tomorrow and the day after, is up to her,” Judge Kevin Randolph said before imposing the sentence on Friday. “From what the court heard, he had a big offer. The court can’t control what he decides, his life is his.
The court heard emotional victim impact statements from Jennifer’s five children and some of her close friends.
“My mother was everything to me,” her son Petros Dulos, now 17, told the court. “I’ve been left with a hole inside I know I’ll never be able to fill.”
Troconis, 49, faces up to 45 years in prison after being found guilty in March of 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 hindering prosecution. title.
Hours before sentencing, Randolph vacated one count of conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence, which could have resulted in an additional five years in prison.
The sentencing comes five years after his ex-wife Jennifer Dulos went missing on May 24, 2019 after dropping her children off at school in New Canaan, Connecticut.
When Jennifer’s body was found, she was officially declared dead – with the police finding that she died a violent death at the hands of Fotis, the man she had filed for divorce from just two years earlier.
Authorities believe Fotis killed Jennifer at her home after she dropped her children off at school and then dumped the body. In January 2020, Fotis died of suicide after being charged with Jennifer’s murder.
Troconis has long insisted that she didn’t know Fotis was doing anything wrong when she saw him throw a garbage bag into a trash can, or helped her write a timeline of her husband’s disappearance.
After the heartbreaking victim statement of Jennifer Dulos’ child, friends and other family members in court on Friday, Troconis had the opportunity to make a statement.
“I am deeply saddened by this tragedy that has taken so many lives,” she cried as she watched Jennifer’s family and friends sit in the courtroom.
“I discovered things during the trial about people I thought I knew and loved,” she continued.
“I deeply regret having a relationship with Fotis Dulos and bringing my son, myself and my family into his life.”
Her attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, said prosecutors have not proven the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt, including whether Fotis Dulos killed Jennifer Dulos or even if he was in New Canaan that morning.
“She had no idea that Fotis Dulos was planning to harm her,” Schoenhorn told jurors during the trial.
“The state has made, what I believe to be, an unfounded and unfair assumption and has speculated that Michelle Troconis should know what happened because she is in a relationship with Fotis, that she is involved in this evil and murderous plot.
“But that’s not reality,” he said. “It’s more like one of these cable TV movies, a scripted movie. It’s not based on the facts that you hear when you try this.
What started as a missing person case turned into a massive search and investigation that attracted media attention from around the world. Jennifer’s disappearance inspired numerous documentaries, the Lifetime movie “Gone Mom,” and a law expanding the definition of domestic violence in Connecticut.
Jennifer is a member of a wealthy family in New York City and the niece of fashion designer Liz Claiborne. Although the body was never found, the medical examiner concluded that blood spatter in the garage was suspected and other evidence indicated that he did not survive. A state judge declared him officially dead in October.
Gloria Farber, Jennifer Dulos’ mother, told WTNH in a recent interview that she believes Troconis “absolutely” lied to investigators and that she knows where her daughter is.
However, he did not believe that Troconis would tell his family what happened to his body.
“I think they know where Jennifer is,” Ms Farber said.
She told the outlet she still can’t believe what happened to her daughter.
“I don’t know what caused him to really go off the rails,” he continued.
Ms. Farber now has custody of the couple’s five children, who live with her in New York City.
“I think about him every day. He gave all his wisdom and all his joy to his children,” he said.
“His life was cut short, but he, in his short life, was a good man. He amazed me, he always amazed me.
Troconis has been held on $6 million bail since his indictment. His attorney said he would appeal the conviction after his sentencing.
Kent Mawhinney, the second defendant in the case, who is a lawyer and close friend of Fotis Dulos, is also charged with conspiracy to commit murder. His trial date has not been set.
Last Friday marked five years since Jennifer disappeared.
Carrie Luft, Jennifer’s friend who is also a spokeswoman for her family, said the five-year anniversary was “not a milestone but a sign of cumulative loss and longing.”
“Life goes on, but sorrow remains, the shadow, the current, the presence does not exist.”
