A Connecticut judge on Friday sentenced Michelle Troconis to 20 years in prison for helping her boyfriend with the murder of Jennifer Dulos, a mother of 5 who disappeared after dropping the children off at school in 2019.
Judge Kevin Randolph said that Troconis’s sentence would be suspended after she serves 14 1/2 years, and it would be followed by five years probation, WVIT reported.
A jury convicted Troconis, 49, earlier this year of six counts related to the disappearance presumed death of Dulos, as CrimeOnline reported. She was dating Jennifer’s estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, at the time, and prosecutors believe he killed her when she returned from dropping off the children and then disposed of the body.
Prosecutors said Troconis helped Fotis Dulos concoct a timeline of his whereabouts on the day Jennifer vanished, and then watched him put garbage bags with crime evidence into different trash bins. Dulos, who denied killing his wife, committed suicide in January 2020, leaving Troconis to face charges alone.
A probate judge ruled Jennifer Dulos dead last year.
Family and friends of Jennifer Dulos offered emotional statements to the court ahead of Randolph’s sentencing. Jennifer Dulos’s mother, Gloria Farber, and her five children spoke.
Petros Dulos, 18, told the court that his mother’s death left him with “a hole inside of me that I know I will never fill.”
“The defendant’s actions mean that I will never be able to tell my mom how sorry I am for not being a better son when she needed me,” the oldest of the five children said.
“For years, we search for her remains, tracking down every year. This search continues,” Gloria Farber said, according to NBC News. “Jennifer filled her children with love, wisdom and humor. Jennifer would have been very proud of her children’s accomplishments. They will always have their memories of her, as do I.”
Friends and family members of Troconis also spoke, describing the Venezuelan native as an animal lover and a woman of great faith. Troconis, who insists she knew nothing about the death of Jennifer Dulos, also spoke during the hearing.
“Your honor, I am deeply saddened by this tragedy that has affected so many lives,” she said, WVIT reported. “I found out things before and during 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 his life. I am a person of profound faith and I have been praying and will continue to pray for those who suffered and still suffer.”
Earlier this year, the jury found Troconis guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of conspiracy to tamper with evidence, two counts of yampering with physical evidence, and hindering prosecution. The judge on Friday vacated one of the conspiracy charges related to evidence tampering. For each of the remaining charges, she was sentenced to five years in prison, to be suspended after four years. All the sentences are to be served concurrently.
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[Featured image: Michelle Troconis speaks before Judge Kevin Randoph prior to her sentencing on May 31, 2024. (Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, Pool) and Jennifer Dulos/handout]
