Nearly five years after Jennifer Farber Dulos vanished without a trace, a socialite who dated the Connecticut mother’s estranged husband is standing trial.
Michelle Troconis, 45, has pleaded not guilty to several charges, including conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence, in connection with Jennifer Dulos’ 2019 disappearance and presumed murder. Prosecutors allege that Troconis conspired with her former boyfriend, Fotis Dulos, and then took steps to cover up the crime.
The trial marks the first legal proceeding in the case that drew international attention and intense scrutiny for Troconis.
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“For us, it’s a very important day,” her father, Carlos Troconis, said outside of court on Thursday. “We have been waiting for this opportunity for more than four years We know that she’s innocent.”
Farber Dulos, 50, was last seen on May 24, 2019, after dropping her five kids off at school. Her abandoned car was later found on a New Canaan road, and her body has never been recovered, but a judge declared her dead before trial.
At the time of the murder, Troconis was Fotis Dulos’ live-in girlfriend, as he and Farber Dulos were in the middle of a bitter divorce and custody battle over their children. (Fotis Dulos, who was facing charges in connection with the crime, died in a New York City hospital after attempting suicide at his home in January 2020.)
Prosecutors allege Fotis Dulos, a luxury home builder, was “lying in wait” near his estranged wife’s New Canaan home the day she vanished. An arrest warrant affidavit for Dulos states investigators found “multiple stains” at Farber Dulos’ home that tested positive for blood, as well as zip ties that were believed to “secure and incapacitate” the mother while she was still alive.
Jurors on Thursday watched body camera footage of two officers searching Farber Dulos’ home, where they noted “strange” stains on a car in the garage. New Canaan Police Lt. Aaron LaTourette testified that during the search, officers also found a partial footprint in what they believed to be blood. Farber Dulos’ purse was also found at the house, which contained a key fob for her abandoned SUV.
Connecticut State Police Trooper Corey Clabby also walked jurors through videos and pictures taken of Farber Dulos’ home the night she went missing. In one video, a maroon footprint is seen on the concrete floor and droplets are seen near the trash cans.
“Investigators came to the consensus that a serious physical assault had occurred at the scene, and Jennifer Dulos was the suspected victim,’’ the June court affidavit said.
After the attack, prosecutors allege, Dulos put his estranged wife in her SUV and drove away before dumping it on a nearby road. Hours later, surveillance footage shows Dulos and Troconis stopping at several locations around Hartford. In the video, Farber Dulos’ estranged husband is seen disposing of trash bags as his girlfriend sits in the car. Prosecutors say the bags contained zip ties, clothing, blood, and Farber Dulos’ DNA.
Evidence at the Dulos’ home also suggests attempts to “clean the crime scheme,” authorities said.
Troconis, however, has long insisted she is innocent. According to the Stamford Advocate, Troconis is a mother who was deeply involved in a luxury world-renowned ski resort in Argentina.
Farber Dulos’ divorce filings state that Troconis had “significant ties to Argentina” and that the father of her child owns a ski resort.
The Advocate reported that at the resort, she was in charge of hosting high-profile guests, attended board meetings, and traveled across the world to woo potential investors in the company. Troconis also briefly worked for ESPN South America as a producer and host of “Snow Time” in 2004, where she interviewed World Cup athletes and celebrities.
Prosecutors say that after the crime, Troconis met with investigators several times, including one Aug. 13 interview where she admitted “she had not been truthful” in her prior statements. She said Dulos had the truck washed because “Jennifer at some point was in there” and that she saw a “stained towel he had been using to clean the truck,” according to his arrest warrant.
Troconis also told police that she did not see her boyfriend when she woke up around 6:40 a.m. the day Farber Dulos went missing. Previously, she said the couple shared a shower that morning.
Despite the admission of withholding information, however, Troconis has long insisted she did not know her boyfriend was doing anything criminal when she watched him throw away the garbage bags. She previously said she also did not suspect any wrongdoing when she helped him write a timeline of their whereabouts the day Farber Dulos went missing.
“It's been 4 1/2 years since I was wrongly accused,” Troconis said in an October post on X, formally known as Twitter. “I have faith in Justice and the jury system. And I'm ready to finally move forward with this trial. Gracias.”
