Michelle Troconis has been found guilty of conspiring to murder Jennifer Dulos in 2019 and five other counts.
A six-member jury returned its verdict Friday in Stamford Superior Court after more than two full days of deliberating.
Troconis sobbed as the guilty verdicts were announced Friday morning.
She was found guilty of the following charges:
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
- Count 1: Conspriacy to commit murder
- Count 2: Conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence (May 24, 2019 events)
- Count 3: Tampering with physical evidence (May 24, 2019 events)
- Count 4: Conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence (May 29, 2019 events)
- Count 5: Tampering with physical evidence (May 29, 2019 events)
- Count 6: Second-degree hindering prosecution
After the verdict was read, state prosecutors asked that Troconis' $2.6 million bond be revoked or raised.
The judge agreed to raise her bond to $6 million. If she makes bond, she will be required to wear an electronic monitoring device and will be subject to home confinement while she appeals the verdict.
She faces a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison. Sentencing is set for May 31.
Judicial marshals then put Troconis in handcuffs and led her from the courtroom.
"I'm truly disappointed in this verdict. I don't believe that this was the correct verdict," Troconis' attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, said outside court Friday. "I'm not going to criticize this jury that sat through six, seven weeks of evidence and reach their determination. I just happen to disagree with their determination."
Schoenhorn told reporters that Troconis would not be able to post bond Friday. He said it was too late for a bail bondsman to get approval of additional surety to cover the $6-million bond. He said he hoped to have her post bond in the next few days.
She was headed to York Correction Institution in Niantic, Schoenhorn said.
Her family said they were devastated by the guilty verdicts.
“This is definitely a devastating day because my sister is innocent of all the charges she has been convicted of. And we are certain that she is innocent, and I know that time will prove it to you guys,” Troconis' sister, Claudia Marmol, said to reporters outside the courthouse. “I know that everyone wanted answers. I know that maybe the state is happy that they finally convicted her, or someone is paying for the price, but she is not the right one.”
After the verdict, Jennifer Dulos' friend, Carrie Luft, released a statement on behalf of Jennifer's family and friends.
"Today’s verdict is a crucial attribution of accountability, not a victory. There can be no victory when five children are growing up without their mother. This verdict represents the meticulous collection, analysis, and presentation of evidence to illuminate an unconscionable series of crimes. That immense body of evidence also serves to highlight the gaps that remain in this case -- most important, that Jennifer Farber Dulos still has not been found. We have lost a mother, daughter, sister, cousin, and cherished friend. Jennifer’s loved ones cannot bury her next to her father."
Jennifer Dulos, 50, went missing on May 24, 2019, and has never been found. Prosecutors told the jury her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, attacked her at her New Canaan home and drove off with her body. They were battling over their divorce and custody of their five children at the time, and Troconis was Fotis Dulos' girlfriend and living with him at another home.
State prosecutors did not speak after court Friday but the State's Attorney for the Stamford/Norwalk Judicial District released a statement:
“First and foremost, I want to offer my deepest condolences to the family of Jennifer Farber Dulos, particularly her five children, who had their mother violently taken from them on May 24, 2019,” State’s Attorney Paul Ferencek said in a statement. “I commend the hard work of everyone involved in this case and express my gratitude to the jury for their thoughtfulness and attention during this trial. While it’s our hope that today’s verdict brings Jennifer’s family and friends some peace, we also hope that someday we can provide resolution to the still unanswered question of where Jennifer rests. I assure you the State of Connecticut and this office will never stop looking.”
What to know about the case
Jennifer Dulos was a member of a wealthy New York City family and a niece by marriage of fashion designer Liz Claiborne. Although her body has never been found, a medical examiner concluded suspected blood spatter in her garage and other evidence indicated she could not have survived. A state judge declared her officially dead in October.
Fotis Dulos was a luxury home builder originally from Greece. He killed himself in January 2020, shortly after being charged with the murder of Jennifer Dulos. He had denied the charge.
Troconis is a dual American and Venezuelan citizen who once had her own TV production company in Argentina and hosted a snow-sports show for ESPN South America.
The Dulos' five children, who ranged from 8 to 13 years old when their mother disappeared and include two sets of twins, have been in the custody of Jennifer Dulos' mother, Gloria Farber, 88, in New York City ever since.
Prosecutors alleged Troconis must have known about the plot beforehand, because she answered Fotis Dulos' cell phone on the morning of May 24 when he allegedly was in New Canaan — suggesting she helped him with an alibi. He had left his phone at their home in Farmington, about 70 miles away near Hartford, prosecutors said.
Later that day, Troconis accompanied Fotis Dulos to Hartford, where he disposed of several garbage bags in random locations — a trip partially recorded by surveillance cameras.
Police found some of the bags and said they contained clothing, zip ties and other items containing Jennifer Dulos’ DNA. Some of the items, including a shirt and bra, had blood-like stains on them. Some items had Fotis Dulos’ DNA on them, and a portion of one bag tested positive for Troconis’ DNA, a state forensics expert testified at the trial.
During the trial, Schoenhorn said Troconis had no idea what Fotis Dulos was doing or what was in the bags. He also said Fotis Dulos could have touched her and spread her DNA to one of the bags.
The prosecutors also said Troconis helped Fotis Dulos write up a timeline of their activities to prepare for potential police questioning. Troconis told police she only did that at the request of Fotis Dulos and his lawyer. And she also went with him when he had the employee’s truck cleaned and detailed at a car wash, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors also said Troconis lied to police during the first of her three interviews with them in 2019 when she said Fotis was at their home the morning of May 24. They say she acknowledged in a subsequent interview that she hadn't seen him.
Schoenhorn said there could have been miscommunications because the interviews were in English instead of Troconis' primary language, Spanish. A defense expert also testified that traumatic events, such as being interviewed by police, can affect people's memory and recall of events.
Watch full episodes of "Inside the Trial of Michelle Troconis" here.
