Thursday is day 22 in Michelle Troconis’ trial.
On Wednesday, the defense team won a motion to exclude testimony from Connecticut’s Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. James Gill, when Judge Kevin Randolph ruled in favor of the defense.
Jennifer Dulos, a mom of five, vanished on May 24, 2019.
She and her husband, Fotis Dulos, were going through a divorce when she disappeared and police believe he killed her in the garage of her home in New Canaan after she dropped their children off at school and then cleaned up the crime scene.
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The state planned to have Dr. Gill testify about his determination that Jennifer Dulos was likely dead based on information he had been given from investigators on the case.
It's largely the same evidence jurors saw during the first four weeks of the trial, including the bloody clothing pulled from Albany Avenue in Hartford, DNA, and photographs taken from Jennifer Dulos’ garage.
Fotis Dulos died in January 2020 by suicide after he was charged with his wife’s murder.
In August 2019, Dr. Gill determined that, based on the evidence, Jennifer Dulos sustained injuries that were “non-survivable” without medical intervention.
But because he made that determination based on evidence the jury has also been presented, and a body was never recovered for him to conduct an autopsy on, Judge Randolph ruled in favor of the defense's motion.
“The jury has heard more than Dr. Gill could testify to. The motion is granted,” Randolph said.
That decision followed a day of quick testimony, including new surveillance footage of Jennifer’s husband, Fotis Dulos, dropping off and picking up Pawel Gumienny’s Toyota Tacoma from a car wash and detail in Avon.
Cederic Candiotti, the manager of the car wash, described various cleaning agents used in the detailing process, including shampoo and all-purpose cleaners. Video surveillance from inside the business showed Fotis Dulos paying cash for the service.
According to court documents, Fotis Dulos left no name for the car, and listed the wrong model Toyota and left Michelle Troconis’ phone number as the number to call when the detailing was complete.
“A customer didn’t provide a name?” Attorney Michelle Manning asked.
“Correct,” Candiotti said.
Troconis' attorney clarified that information outside court on Thursday.
He said his client's number was listed next to the Sienna in error, but that error was on the part of the car wash employee.
The time the Sienna arrived didn't line up with the time the Tacoma was seen on surveillance video arriving.
He speculated that the employee put down the number in the wrong line on the service log and it was not Fotis Dulos offering false information.
Troconis, 49, was dating Fotis Dulos when Jennifer disappeared and she is accused of helping Fotis cover up the killing of his wife, whose body has never been found.
She has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution and has pleaded not guilty and denied any involvement.
The jury also saw new surveillance footage from a home on Weed Street in New Canaan that showed a person who investigators believe is Fotis Dulos riding a bicycle in the direction of Jennifer Dulos’ home the morning she disappeared.
A little while later, the same camera picked up what investigators believe to be Jennifer Dulos’ Chevy Suburban headed back in the opposite direction, toward Lapham Road, where her Suburban was ultimately found later that evening.
Before the trial started on Wednesday, two motions also offered insight into what else the state intends to present before they rest their case.
One is testimony from another lawyer deeply involved in the divorce proceedings between Jennifer and Fotis Dulos.
The judge also ruled cell phone data seized from AT&T could be brought into the trial after the state submitted an appropriate warrant for the data back at the end of 2023.
Troconis’ defense attorney Jon Schoenhorn attempted to have that evidence suppressed, but the judge decided to deny that motion.
You can read about what happened on Wednesday here.
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.
