Closing arguments in Michelle Troconis’ trial in Stamford are scheduled for Tuesday and the jury deliberations could begin as early as tomorrow as well.
Before that happens, state prosecutors and defense attorneys were in court on Monday to lay out what needs to be included in jury instructions. The jury was not present for that.
The case centers around what happened to Jennifer Dulos, a mother of five, who has been missing since May 24, 2019, and is presumed dead. She vanished after dropping her children off at school that morning.
Police believe Jennifer’s estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, attacked and killed her at her New Canaan home.
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Fotis Dulos died by suicide in January 2020, weeks after being charged with murdering Jennifer Dulos. He denied the allegations.
At the time of her disappearance, they were battling each other in contentious divorce and child custody proceedings.
Troconis was dating Fotis Dulos and living with him in Farmington after Jennifer Dulos and the children had moved out.
She has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, hindering prosecution, two counts of tampering with physical evidence and two counts of conspiracy to commit tampering of physical evidence.
She denies allegations that she helped Fotis Dulos cover up the killing of Jennifer Dulos.
Her attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, said throughout the trial that the defendant’s decision to testify is one made in consultation with him and his co-council at the end of the defense case.
The defense rested its case after Troconis’ close friend, Clara “Petu” Duperron, testified.
She spoke about her close relationship with Troconis since 2017.
She also spoke about interactions when Troconis visited her at her business the morning that Jennifer disappeared and called them normal and typical.
She also described Fotis Dulos’ reaction to a custody report that was brought up several times in the trial.
The defense claims that the report negates a motive for the presumed murder of Jennifer Dulos because Fotis wouldn’t have done anything to jeopardize his chance to have his children back.
“He told that there was a report that came favorable to him,” Duperron said on the stand.
The state took the opportunity during cross-examination to question Duperron about Troconis’ apparent plans to leave Connecticut leading up to Jennifer's disappearance and go to Colorado to support her daughter's skiing.
They also pressed her on her unwillingness to talk to state police investigators when contacted in May 2021 though she claimed she had important information that would help Troconis.
“In three years since you’ve been contacted by the police, you kept that to yourself?” Assistant State's Attorney Michelle Manning asked.
“Yes, because I didn’t trust the police,” Duperron replied.
The defense also presented more memory testimony and a Northwestern professor described how bilingualism impacts memory.
After the defense rested, Troconis and her family spoke outside court and maintained her innocence.
“The state still did not prove my sister was connected in any of this, and my sister’s attorneys did prove that she had nothing to do with any of this,” Michelle’s sister, Claudia Troconis, said.
On Monday, a hearing was held on charge instructions for the jury.
The closing arguments will be held on Tuesday and the jury could receive the case as early as Tuesday afternoon.
Earlier this month, state prosecutors told the judge that someone in the courtroom gallery raised a concern that Troconis potentially had part of a sealed custody report on display on her laptop, in the court’s views.
The jury heard limited testimony about the custody report, which was sealed because it contained confidential health information and information about the five Dulos children.
The state told the judge that the report itself remains under seal and no one is supposed to have access to it, including the defendant.
How to watch the trial
Our daily special, airing weekdays at 9 a.m. on the NBC Connecticut free streaming channel is available on Roku, Samsung TV plus, Freevee, and a number of other platforms. Here is more on how to watch.
Watch full episodes of "Inside the Trial of Michelle Troconis"
Watch the full episodes of "Inside the Trial of Michelle Troconis" here.
