New details are being uncovered in the case of missing Connecticut mother of five Jennifer Dulos, now presumed dead, as a suspect in her death, Michelle Troconis, stands trial.
Troconis is accused of conspiring to murder Jennifer, the estranged wife of her boyfriend, Fotis Dulos, in May 2019. Fotis was charged with murdering Jennifer and died by suicide in January 2020, after leaving a note insisting he was innocent.
Ten days into Troconis’ trial, here are some of the most crucial moments that have played out:
Alibi scripts
Connecticut State Police (CSP) Ret. Sgt. Matthew Reilly on Wednesday shared testimony about so-called “alibi scripts” authorities discovered after Jennifer’s disappearance.
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Jennifer Dulos’ estranged 52-year-old husband, Fotis Dulos, and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, were charged in her death in 2019. Fotis died by suicide shortly after he was charged, and Troconis is now facing criminal trial. (Patrick Raycraft/Hartford Courant/TNS/Sipa USA and FOX News)
Three scripts presented in court appear to show written details outlining what Troconis and Fotis Dulos were doing when Jennifer vanished from her New Canaan home after dropping her children off at school May 24, 2019.
Troconis has told police she and Fotis wrote the notes at the advice of his divorce attorney, according to the Stamford Advocate.
Retired state police evidence officer Matthew Reilly speaks about a document depicting a timeline found in Fotis Dulos’ Farmington home on day nine of Michelle Troconis’ criminal trial in Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn., Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP)
Two different timelines presented in court indicate Fotis and Troconis showered with each other before 7 a.m., separated for different morning activities and then had lunch together around noon that day.
Another timeline included emails to “Michelle” and “Jennifer.” A third script showed numerous phone calls and the times at which they were answered or missed.
Matthew Reilly, a retired state police evidence officer, speaks about a document depicting a timeline found in Fotis Dulos’ Farmington home during Michelle Troconis’ criminal trial in Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn., Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP)
Prosecutors have said Hartford surveillance camera footage shows Fotis and Troconis driving around the state’s capital together in Fotis’ truck disposing of evidence in trash bins after Jennifer’s disappearance.
Police suspect Fotis Dulos violently attacked Jennifer in her New Canaan garage and then drove away with her body.
Clothing evidence
On Tuesday, prosecutors presented physical evidence recovered from those Hartford trash bins.
Connecticut State Police Sgt. Kevin Duggan shows a blood-like stain found on a bra seized from a trash can on Albany Avenue in Hartford on day eight of Michelle Troconis’ criminal trial in Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn., Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. (Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP)
The evidence included a blood-soaked shirt and bra, zip ties, gloves, plastic ponchos, a box cutter and other items that CSP Sgt. Kevin Duggan said had a “blood-like” substance on them.
While Jennifer’s remains have never been located, a judge declared the mother of five dead just days before Troconis’ trial began.
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Connecticut State Police Sgt. Kevin Duggan shows a blood-like stain found on a women’s long-sleeve shirt seized from a trash can on Albany Avenue in Hartford on day eight of Michelle Troconis’ criminal trial in Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn., Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. (Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP)
Nanny testimony
Jennifer’s nanny, Lauren Almeida, testified Jan. 18 about Jennifer and Fotis’ divorce proceedings. Almeida was watching four of Jennifer’s children when she vanished May 24, 2019, after dropping her children off at school.
Jennifer had been married to Fotis 13 years when she filed for divorce. Almeida said she knew about the divorce and Fotis’ affair with Troconis in 2017.
Fotis Dulos died by suicide in 2019, shortly after he was charged with murdering his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos. (Kassi Jackson/Hartford Courant/TNS/Sipa USA)
“We told the police that a mother of five was missing and that she was in a very contentious divorce,” Almeida testified. “And I knew that [Fotis] had purchased a gun, and so I was afraid.”
Possible blood on car
Connecticut police body camera footage from May 24, 2019, presented in court Jan. 11 — the first day of Troconis’ trial — appeared to show blood in Jennifer Dulos’ New Canaan garage the day she disappeared.
New Canaan Police Department Lt. Aaron LaTourette was the first to testify Thursday and recounted seeing what appeared to be blood splatter in Dulos’ garage and on her Range Rover while conducting a welfare check at her home around 7 p.m. May 24, 2019, after she did not show up for a doctor’s appointment earlier that day.
New Canaan Police officers suspected the Range Rover in Dulos’ garage may have had blood splatter on it due to a deer collision. (New Canaan PD)
“There was a red mark on the grill area of the vehicle,” LaTourette testified Friday, adding that it drew his “attention because it didn’t match the color of the grill or the vehicle.”
“I thought it could possibly be a deer strike,” LaTourette testified, noting, however, that there was no damage to the vehicle.
Body camera footage played in court shows officers photographing the Range Rover and pointing out possible blood splatter on and around the vehicle. One officer reports seeing “blood splatter on the lower portion of the car, and it looks like it’s been buffed or scraped” in the video. They also found what looked like a bloody shoe print on the floor of the garage.
Officers found what looks like a bloody shoe print on the floor of Jennifer Dulos’ garage. (New Canaan PD)
Another officer can be heard saying, “Usually if you hit a deer with your car, you take it to the car wash. Especially if it’s a Range Rover.”
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Two responding officers say the sight of apparent blood is “strange” in light of the missing persons case.
Juror drama
On Jan. 17, Judge Kevin Randolph dismissed an alternate juror in the trial after the juror apparently told an assistant state’s attorney, “We love you,” in passing.
Justice Randolph presides over the second day of Michelle Troconis’ trial in Stamford Superior Court in Stamford, Conn., Jan. 12, 2024. (Umar Abassi for Daily Mail/Pool)
Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Moran and Supervisory State’s Attorney Michelle Manning were waiting for an elevator when it opened, revealing a court marshal and two alternate jurors assigned to the case. Both attorneys turned around, and Juror No. 420 apparently said, “Thanks, Liz. We love you.”
“The court explained to the juror that the appearance that there was a favorable opinion of the state’s case indicates to the court at this time that it would be difficult to proceed with him seated as a juror because of the impartiality and fairness of that juror can reasonably be questioned,” Randolph told the court after an investigation, adding that juror No. 420 had been dismissed.
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On Jan. 16, Judge Rudolph dismissed Juror 186, who compared the case to the Gillian Flynn novel “Gone Girl,” according to an unsigned note shared with the judge from another juror.
Michelle Troconis, right, consults with her defense attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, on day nine of her criminal trial in Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn., Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP)
The juror “discussed something about the case, and it was all over social media,” Randolph said of the note. “Said it was like ‘Gone Girl’ — a brief mention. Several other jurors said, ’Don’t discuss this.'”
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Troconis’ trial continues into its third week Monday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
