Michelle Troconis to appear in court on contempt of court charges

Michelle Troconis will appear in court Wednesday in Stamford for a hearing on a contempt of court charge filed during her trial in connection with the disappearance and suspected murder of Jennifer Dulos.

Jennifer Dulos, a mother of five who lived in New Canaan, disappeared on May 24, 2019, amid a bitter divorce and custody battle with her then-estranged husband, Fotis Dulos. She is presumed dead and her body has never been found.

Michelle Troconis was in a relationship with Fotis Dulos when Jennifer disappeared.

In June 2019, Fotis Dulos and Michelle Troconis were charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and hindering prosecution in the first degree.

On January 7, 2020, state police charged Fotis Dulos with felony murder and kidnapping and charged Troconis with conspiracy to commit murder. Both denied the allegations.

Three weeks later, police say Fotis died after attempting to kill himself.

Troconis’ trial began in January this year and a jury found her guilty on March 1.

She is now serving a fourteen and a half year prison sentence after a jury found her guilty conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with physical evidence, hindering prosecution and additional charges.

She was held in contempt of court during her February trial after allegedly showing a sealed custody report related to Dulo’s contentious divorce on her laptop.

Troconis’ attorney said he is seeking clarification on the allegations and expects the state to file a response.

Troconis has pleaded not guilty to this contempt charge.

She has also filed a petition for habeas corpus, alleging that her first attorney, Andrew Bowman, made numerous errors in counsel, including failing to explain the pros and cons of speaking to police about Jennifer’s disappearance , and claims he has failed to understand the events. around May 24, 2019, the day Jennifer disappeared, along with her then-relationship with Fotis.

Troconis also claims that Bowman told her that then-chief prosecutor Richard Colangelo had threatened that if she did not speak to police, she would be charged with accessory to murder and never see her child again, among other claims.

In a brief telephone conversation in September, attorney Bowman said he cannot comment on the substance of the habeas claims because to do so would violate attorney-client privilege.

“I absolutely refute the claims made in that habeas petition,” he said.

No decision has yet been made on this.

Troconis spoke out about the case in a letter she wrote in July, while at York Correctional Institution, to NBC Connecticut’s Shannon Miller.

The four-page letter details in part how Troconis claims Fotis Dulos deceived her and other people who were part of his ongoing divorce and custody case. It also addresses what is at the heart of the criminal contempt case: the sealed custody investigation report of Fotis and his estranged wife, which investigators say Troconis illegally displayed on her laptop during her criminal trial.

You can read more about that here.

The Troconis family continues to maintain Michelle’s innocence.