Defense for Michelle Troconis calls on memory expert to testify
STAMFORD, Conn. -- A memory expert took the stand for the defense in the trial of Michelle Troconis on Thursday.
Dr. Elizabeth Loftus is considered a foremost expert in the science of false memories.
"People with a lot of life stress are not gonna be, their memory is not gonna be operating optimally," she said.
She was called to the stand to testify for Troconis, who has changed her story repeatedly over a series of interviews with Connecticut State Police as they investigated Fotis Dulos for the murder of his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos.
"This entire case seems to be about whether or not Ms. Troconis said things at different times that contradicted things at another time," defense attorney Jon Schoenhorn said.
"One of the common reasons why we make mistakes is because people feed us misinformation or they tell us things that aren't true or they tell us things that are highly suggestive or biased," Loftus said.
It's not clear how that would explain Troconis falsely telling police she was with Fotis Dulos at his mansion in Farmington the morning Jennifer disappeared.
"Fotis jumps into the shower with me," Troconis told police in an interview.
In 2020, Loftus testified on behalf of disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein at his rape trial, and she said she also worked on Bill Cosby's case.
"It's kind of an unfair thing to try to link the current accused, Michelle, with these people who are unpopular," Loftus said.
Prosecutor Sean McGuinness tripped up the memory expert, asking about the subtitle of her 1991 book "Witness for the Defense: The Accused, the Eyewitness, and the Expert Who Puts Memory on Trial."
"You don't remember the details about the title of a book you wrote?" McGuinness asked.
"I don't remember exactly the subtitle," Loftus said.
She did agree that one possible reason for inconsistencies in a police interview is that people do sometimes lie.
The trial continues Friday.