Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
On May 24, 2019, Jennifer Dulos mysteriously vanished after dropping her children at school. After an extensive search, authorities found her vehicle near Waveny Park in New Canaan, Connecticut, and initiated an investigation. Several reports suggested that police found blood stains in the garage of her home, which indicated that someone had assaulted her. Months after her vanishing, investigators arrested Dulos’ husband, Fotis Dulos, and his live-in girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, for Dulos’ murder. Although police dismissed all charges against Fotis after his suicide, Troconis went to trial and received a guilty verdict.
According to ABC News, Jennifer Dulos dropped off her children at school and was never seen again. The outlet mentioned that the authorities searched her house and found blood stains and blood splatter in Dulos’ garage. Almost a month later, police apprehended Fotis Dulos and Michelle Troconis for tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution. At the time, they pleaded not guilty. However, court documents showed that police found blood on Fotis’ clothes that were dumped in a trash can.
In January 2020, police charged Fotis Dulos with capital murder, murder, and kidnapping. Meanwhile, ABC News stated that the authorities charged Michelle Troconis with conspiracy to murder. They also charged one more person with similar charges. However, the case became even more bizarre when Fotis died from suicide in January 2020. As a result, all criminal charges against Fotis were dropped, but Troconis still went to trial. Her trial lasted for 27 days, and after three days of deliberation, the court found her guilty.
According to NBC News, in June 2024, the court sentenced her to 20 years in prison. The publication mentioned that Michelle Troconis will spend 14-and-a-half years in jail. After that, she will serve five years of probation. As of now, Troconis is waiting to be transferred to a prison.
Did they ever find Jennifer Dulos?
Police initiated a search operation after Jennifer Dulos’ friends contacted police and filed a missing report. According to FOX61 News, her friends filed a complaint after they hadn’t heard from her for almost 10 hours. Moreover, she missed most of her appointments on that day. The outlet stated that investigators went to Dulos’ house to check on her. However, they couldn’t find her. A few moments later, police discovered her car near Waveny Park in New Canaan. Subsequently, they found a surveillance video that allegedly showed Fotis Dulos and Michelle Troconis stuffing garbage bags in different trash cans.
The discovery of blood in Jennifer Dulos’ vehicle prompted authorities to initiate a thorough investigation. Almost a week later, in June 2019, police arrested Fotis and Troconis for tampering with the evidence and hindering prosecution. However, the court released both on $500,000 bond each. A few months later, police arrested Fotis Dulos and Michelle Troconis again and charged them in the murder case of Jennifer Dulos. Per NBC News, they denied all the charges against them.
According to the arrest warrant obtained by ABC News, Fotis Dulos killed her and bound her with zip ties, placing her inside her car before cleaning the garage. He was later charged with capital murder, murder, and kidnapping. Three weeks later, authorities found Fotis’ unresponsive body at his residence in Farmington, Connecticut. The police went to check on him after he didn’t show up for a court appearance. The accused was brought to a hospital for treatment and then flown to a medical center in New York, where he died on January 30, 2020.
Reports then suggested that Fotis Dulos wrote a suicide note, claiming that he didn’t kill his wife, Jennifer Dulos. Citing the note, ABC News stated, “I refuse to spend even an hour more in jail for something I had NOTHING to do with.” He also claimed that Michelle Troconis had nothing to do with the murder as well. Although the court dismissed all charges against Fotis, Troconis went to trial in January 2024. At the trial’s start, the prosecution showed bodycam footage of police visiting Dulos’ home. In the same month, a Connecticut court declared Jennifer Dulos dead four years after her disappearance, per People Magazine. Police never found Jennifer Dulos or her remains.
During the trial, the surveillance videos were shown to the jury to prove how Fotis Dulos and Michelle Troconis were responsible for Jennifer Dulos’ murder. CBS News reported that investigators also showed Jennifer Dulos’ clothing dumped by Fotis after the slaying. Moreover, they showed the conversation that took place between Troconis and the police during the interrogation. During the interrogation, Troconis said, “I have no idea where Jennifer is, and that’s 100%. I just know that I went as the stupid girlfriend to help him out, because he told me, ‘Come and clean the house,’ and I did.”
In their closing arguments, the prosecution noted that Troconis’ involvement in the murder was not a “coincidence.” The prosecution added, “Is it just a coincidence that the defendant travels with Dulos to Hartford as he disposes of the evidence on the same day?” Meanwhile, the defense claimed that the prosecution based their entire case on “speculation.” After seeing a lot of evidence and listening to witnesses, the jury deliberated for more than 2-and-a-half-days before delivering a guilty verdict.
In June 2024, Michelle Troconis received a 20-year sentence on the charges of committing murder, tampering with evidence, and hindering prosecution.
Lifetime released a movie based on Jennifer Dulos’ case in 2021. Titled Gone Mom, the film starred Annabeth Gish, Warren Christie, and Michelle Morgan in pivotal roles.
