STAMFORD, Conn. — The woman who helped her boyfriend plan and hide the murder of his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos, during a contentious divorce case in Connecticut was given more than 14 years in jail on Friday after Dulos’s mother and children spoke about how sad they were.
Michelle Troconis, 49, was found guilty in March of plot to murder, obstructing prosecution, tampering with evidence, and other crimes related to the disappearance of Dulos in 2019. Her body has never been found. Last year, a probate judge said she was officially dead.
Police say Fotis Dulos killed Jennifer Dulos at her home in New Canaan and then took her body with him. He killed himself in 2020, not long after being charged with murder. He said he didn’t kill his wife.
The wife of Fotis Dulos went missing while Troconis was living with him. Her lawyer and she both said she wasn’t involved in the plan.
On Friday, Judge Kevin Randolph in Stamford gave the man a 20-year prison term that will be suspended after 14 1/2 years. After that, Troconis has to go on probation for five years. There was a chance she would get 45 years in prison.
Friends and family of Jennifer Dulos said the term wasn’t even close to long enough.
The lawyer for Troconis asked the judge to let her out on bond while they filed an appeal. Randolph said no to the idea.
There were about 80 people in the courtroom for the sentence. On one side were family and friends of Jennifer Dulos, and on the other were people who supported Troconis. Dulos’s five children and her mother, Gloria Farber, all went.
She hasn’t been seen since May 24, 2019, when she dropped her kids off at school.
Fiber told the judge that when her daughter didn’t answer her calls or texts that day, she knew “something terrible had happened.” She told him that her daughter “only wanted to love and be loved and be a good mother.”
The 18-year-old son of Dulos said that the death of his mother left him with “a hole inside of me that I know I will never fill.”
He said that he was close to his mother but had a hard time when they got divorced.
He said, “I will never be able to tell my mom how sorry I am that I wasn’t a better son when she needed me.”
“Where is she, Michelle?” asked Lauren Almeida, who was the Dulos family’s babysitter.
There were films and a made-for-TV movie called “Gone Mom” about Jennifer Dulos’s disappearance.
She came from a rich family in New York City. She started the business Hilliard Farber & Co. with her late father, Hilliard Farber, who had been in charge of dealing bonds at Chase Manhattan Bank. Also, she was Liz Claiborne’s niece through her marriage.
Troconis said she co-founded a therapy program using horseback riding, owned a TV production company in Argentina, and led a snow sports show for ESPN South America. She is a citizen of both the United States and Venezuela. Fotis Dulos was a Greek builder of high-end homes.
Troconis’s family and friends begged the judge to be kind to her on Friday, saying she was honest and loving.
Marisela Arreaza, her mother, said Traconis was a loving mother to her teenage daughter and not the housewife that Dulos’ friends made her out to be.
Arreaza said, “When Michelle met Fotis Dulos, he seemed like a family-oriented man who was going through a friendly divorce.” Michelle had no reason to doubt Fotis, so she did.
Nicole Troconis, who is 17 years old, told the judge, “Michelle is more than just my mom.” “She’s my rock, my best friend, and my true north.”
Troconis was the last person to speak. He said, “I have a deep faith, and I have been praying and will continue to pray for those who have suffered and are suffering.” She said she felt bad about being with Fotis Dulos.
The lawyer for Troconis, Jon Schoenhorn, said that she will challenge the convictions.
He said outside of court, “I still think there wasn’t enough evidence to show that Michelle knew anything about what Fotis Dulos was planning.”
The police think Fotis Dulos killed his wife because he was angry about their divorce and the battle over who would have custody of their children.
Jennifer Dulos lived with the kids in New Canaan, while Fotis Dulos stayed in a different house in Farmington, which is about 70 miles (115 km) away.
Hours after Jennifer Dulos was last seen living, Troconis was seen on surveillance video going to Hartford with Fotis Dulos to throw away trash bags from his pickup truck. Police later found some of the bags by using Fotis Dulos’ cellphone to find out where it was.
Attorneys for the state and Troconis’ defense showed a shirt, bra, and zip ties that had what looked like blood on them that were found in a trash bag. The items were linked to Jennifer Dulos through DNA tests.
She told the cops that she had no idea what was in the bags or why Fotis Dulos dumped them.
Also, prosecutors said Fotis Dulos left his cell phone at home the day Jennifer Dulos went missing, and Troconis picked up a call from a friend that same morning. That, they say, proves Troconis knew about the plan and tried to help him make an excuse. She denied what was said.
Friends of Fotis Dulos and a former lawyer of his, Kent Mawhinney, is waiting to go to trial on a murder plot charge in the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos. He said he wasn’t guilty.
