Ex-girlfriend of Jennifer Dulos’ estranged husband sentenced to 14.5 years in prison for conspiring to murder the mother of 5
By Emma Tucker and Nic F. Anderson, CNN
(CNN) — Five years after Connecticut mother of five Jennifer Dulos went missing, her husband’s ex-girlfriend was sentenced to 14-and-a-half years in prison Friday for conspiring to murder her.
Michelle Troconis, the ex-girlfriend of Fotis Dulos, who was charged with his wife’s murder but died by an apparent suicide in January 2020 before he went to trial, was also sentenced to five years of probation for her involvement in the disappearance and murder of Jennifer Dulos.
Troconis was found guilty in March of one count of conspiracy to commit murder, one count of hindering prosecution, two counts of conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence and two counts of tampering with physical evidence. She had pleaded not guilty.
After Troconis received her sentence, her attorney told the court they intended to appeal. Troconis had dated Fotis Dulos, who was charged with murder, felony murder and kidnapping before he was found dead in January 2020.
Jennifer Dulos was last seen in May 2019 after dropping her children off at school. Friends reported her missing after she failed to show up for appointments and had no communication with them for 10 hours. She was in the middle of a contentious divorce and custody battle with Fotis Dulos at the time of her disappearance, CNN has previously reported.
Despite her body never being found, Dulos was officially pronounced dead through a declaration of death by a Connecticut judge in October 2023, a court document shows. She likely suffered a combination of “traumatic, blunt-force injuries,” according to the state’s chief medical examiner.
Authorities found a bloodlike stain in three places on her vehicle, which was parked in her garage in New Canaan. Her DNA was found in the stains and on the garage wall and door.
Both Fotis Dulos and Troconis were previously arrested on suspicion of evidence tampering in the disappearance. They pleaded not guilty to evidence tampering after investigators found a “bloodlike substance” with Jennifer Dulos’ DNA in a truck he had access to the day she disappeared.
Jennifer Dulos had told officials she was afraid of him before her disappearance, according to court documents obtained by CNN.
“I know that filing for divorce and filing this motion will enrage him,” she said, according to the documents. “I know he will retaliate by trying to harm me in some way.”
‘She was the best mom’
During Troconis’ sentencing Friday, Dulos’ loved ones were present in court and gave emotional victim impact statements.
“The day Jennifer disappeared, I knew something terrible had happened,” Gloria Farber, Jennifer Dulos’ mother, said during her victim impact statement.
“I loved Jennifer since the day she was born,” Melissa Farber, Jennifer Dulos’ sister, said during her victim impact statement. “I miss Jennifer’s intelligence, her soft, sweet voice, and the sound of her laughter. There are really no words to adequately express what losing my sister, Jennifer, has meant to me.”
Troconis appeared to be upset during several of the victim impact statements.
“My mother was the best mom I could ever ask for. She loved me and my siblings unconditionally,” Theodore Dulos, Jennifer Dulos’ son, said during his victim impact statement. “I no longer have my mother, my hero. I’ll never talk to her again… I’ll never ask her for advice again.”
“She will never see me graduate high school. She will never see me graduate college. She’ll never see me get married,” Theodore said. “These are just a few things, and they go for my four siblings as well.”
Before her sentencing, Troconis stood up and addressed the court.
“I am deeply saddened by this tragedy that has affected so many lives. I found out things before and during the trial about a man, Fotis Dulos, I thought I knew and loved.”
“I deeply regret ever being in a relationship with Fotis Dulos and bringing my daughter, my family and myself into our lives, into this life,” Troconis said.
CNN’s Artemis Moshtaghian contributed to this report.
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