The girlfriend of a man suspected of harming his missing, estranged wife was arrested Thursday for the second time in connection with the case.
The Stamford Advocate reports that Michelle Troconis turned herself in after authorities slapped her with another tampering with evidence charge, in connection with missing mother of five, Jennifer Dulos. The arrest happened a day after her boyfriend, Fotis Dulos, was also arrested on additional tampering with evidence charge. Police previously arrested the pair on the same charges in June.
Both Dulos and Troconis have since bailed out jail. They’ve pleaded not guilty.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Dulos was arrested Wednesday after Troconis told investigators about a truck he borrowed from his friend around the time Jennifer vanished from her upscale New Canaan home.
According to the warrant, Troconis told investigators Dulos had the truck cleaned shortly after his estranged wife’s disappearance. When detectives asked her why the truck was cleaned, Jennifer allegedly referenced to blood inside the vehicle.
“You showed me the picture of the blood in the door. It’s because the body of Jennifer at some point was in there.”
Gummienny claimed he held onto the old seats, in the event authorities asked for them.
Investigators obtained the old seats from Gummienny and performed a swab test on a “blood-like substance,” which matched Jennifer’s DNA.
Further, investigators accused Dulos of “lying in wait” for Jennifer to come home on May 24, when security footage captured her walking into her home at around 8:30 a.m.
“At the time this footage was recorded, (Fotis) Dulos is believed to have been lying in wait at 69 Welles Lane for his wife to return home,” the warrant read.
Troconis also admitted she lied to detectives when she gave Dulos an alibi on the morning Jennifer vanished, according to the arrest warrant. Troconis allegedly fessed up that she had no idea where Fotis Dulos was between 6:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. on May 24.
Authorities believe a “serious physical assault” happened to Jennifer, and the “the crime and the cleanup are believed to have occurred between 8:05 a.m. and 10:25 a.m.”
Investigators noted that Jennifer’s SUV left her residence at some point on May 24, but they think Fotis Dulos was behind the wheel.
Authorities with the Western District Major Crimes Squad arrested Dulos at his home in Farmington on Wednesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Jennifer remains missing.
Jennifer was last seen on May 24 around 8 a.m. while dropping her children off at the New Canaan Country School in the prominent New Canaan community in Connecticut. Police later found her vehicle, a black 2017 Chevrolet Suburban, parked off of Lapham Road. Jennifer was nowhere to be found. A cleaning service arrived at her home at noon on Friday but Jennifer was not there.
Jennifer also missed several appointments that day, including one at 11 a.m. and one at 1 p.m. Since she vanished, she has not used her cellphone or her credit cards.
Search dogs and search teams scoured through wooded areas by Jennifer’s home, as well as a 300-acre park, bodies of water and a cornfield. Authorities also spent days searching at a large dump facility and scouring Fotis Dulos’ property in Farmington.
Dulos and Troconis were arrested in June after authorities said the pair tampered with evidence in connection to Jennifer’s disappearance. According to the arrest affidavit, investigators found,
- Bags of blood-stained clothing and sponges that Dulos allegedly dropped into trash cans at businesses in Connecticut
- Stains of blood on Jennifer’s garage floor
- Blood spatter in numerous areas of Jennifer’s home
- Dulos’ DNA mixed in with Jennifer’s blood on her kitchen faucet
- Obvious attempts to clean up the scene
- Altered Connecticut license plates that belonged to Dulos
- Security footage of Dulos driving his Ford pickup to various locations, dropping trash bags into different public trash receptacles
- Security footage of Troconis “leaning out of the passenger seat of the Ford pickup and either placing something on the ground or picking up an item”
Both bailed out of jail shortly after and both are required to wear a GPS monitor on their ankles.
Anyone with information regarding Jennifer’s disappearance is urged to call the New Canaan Police Tip Line at 203-594-3544.
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[Feature Photo: Jennifer Dulos/Handout]
