Michelle Troconis appeared in court in Stamford on Wednesday for a pre-trial hearing on a contempt of court charge that was filed during her trial in connection with the disappearance and presumed murder of Jennifer Dulos.
Jennifer Dulos, a mother of five who was living in New Canaan, disappeared on May 24, 2019, amid a bitter divorce and custody battle with her estranged husband at the time, Fotis Dulos. She is presumed dead and her body has never been found.
Michelle Troconis was dating Fotis Dulos when Jennifer disappeared.
In June 2019, Fotis Dulos and Michelle Troconis were charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and hindering prosecution in the first degree.
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On Jan. 7, 2020, state police charged Fotis Dulos with felony murder, murder and kidnapping and they charged Troconis with conspiracy to commit murder. Both denied the charges.
Three weeks later, Fotis died after attempting to take his own life, according to police.
Troconis’ trial started in January of this year and a jury found her guilty on March 1.
She is now serving a 14-and-a-half-year sentence after a jury found her guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with physical evidence, hindering prosecution and additional charges.
She was held in contempt of court during her trial in February after she allegedly showed a sealed custody report related to the contentious Dulos divorce on her laptop.
In court Wednesday, lawyers and the judge clarified that Troconis is facing two separate contempt charges -- one for possessing the custody report, and the second for distributing it.
Troconis has pleaded not guilty to the contempt charges.
Her attorney also was granted a motion to subpoena the videographer who was in court for her trial and captured what the state says was the custody report on Troconis' laptop. Her attorney wants the videographer to testify at trial on the contempt charges.
As of now, the trial is scheduled for March 11, 2025.
In addition to Wednesday's proceedings, Troconis has also filed a petition for habeas corpus, claiming her first attorney, Andrew Bowman, made numerous failures in counsel, including failing to explain the advantages and disadvantages in speaking with police about Jennifer’s disappearance, and claims he failed to attempt to understand the events surrounding May 24, 2019, the day Jennifer disappeared, along with her relationship with Fotis at the time.
Troconis also claims Bowman told her that then Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo threatened that if she didn't speak with police, that she would be charged with accessory to murder, and would never see her child again, among other claims.
In a brief phone conversation in September, Attorney Bowman said he can’t speak to the substance of the claims in the habeas, because it would violate attorney client privilege.
“I absolutely refute the claims that are made in that Habeas petition,” he said.
No decision has been made on that yet.
Troconis has spoken out about the case in a letter she wrote in July, while in York Correctional Institution, to NBC Connecticut’s Shannon Miller.
The four-page letter details in part how Troconis claims Fotis Dulos deceived her and other people who were a part of his ongoing divorce and custody case. It also addresses what’s at the center of the criminal contempt case -- the sealed custody study report involving Fotis and his estranged wife, which investigators said Troconis had illegally displayed on her laptop during her criminal trial.
You can read more about that here.
The Troconis family continues to maintain Michelle’s innocence.
