Michelle Troconis' reaction to guilty verdict, as witnessed by CBS New York's Tony Aiello
STAMFORD, Conn. -- The sense of expectation was strong Friday morning, March 1, at the glass and brick courthouse in Stamford.
It felt like verdict day in the trial of Michelle Troconis. And it was.
A jury of three women and three men had deliberated about 14 hours over three days. Charges against Troconis included evidence tampering, hindering prosecution, and murder conspiracy in the death of Jennifer Farber Dulos.
I was among the dozen or so reporters who had covered every phase of the trial since its start on Jan. 11.
It was a story I had covered since 2019: Jennifer's disappearance. Charges against her estranged husband Fotis Dulos and his girlfriend, Troconis. Fotis Dulos's death by suicide in 2020.
His name was mentioned more often during the Troconis trial than hers. She was charged with murder conspiracy, so prosecutors had to prove to the jury a murder took place and Dulos was the guilty party.
It's always difficult to surmise what is happening during the deliberation phase of a trial. You observe the jurors, trying to read body language and facial expressions.
The Troconis jurors dressed casually but always looked serious about their work.
The expectation of a verdict on Friday hinged on a couple of points, one legal and one anecdotal.
Jurors submitted a question the day before about the treatment of "accessorial liability" under Connecticut law. In essence, does someone have to physically handle a piece of evidence in order to be guilty of tampering with it?
The answer from Judge Kevin Randolph was "no." Intentionally aiding another person involved in evidence tampering can make you as guilty as the principal offender.
This question seemed to indicate the jury was making steady progress working its way through the list of charges.
Anecdotally, many lawyers have noted juries often return verdicts on Fridays, especially if deliberations have gone on for several days.
So at 10:50 a.m. on that Friday, when the quiet outside Courtroom 4A was broken by a rush of marshals in the hallway, it seemed likely a verdict was at hand.
I sat three rows behind Troconis as the jury filed in. All six avoided looking at her.
The foreman, a man with a buzz cut who looked to be in his late 20s, answered with a strong voice as the clerk asked for the verdict on each count, starting with the most serious, murder conspiracy.
"Guilty."
Troconis raised her hand to her mouth and her body began to shake.
Four counts related to evidence tampering.
"Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty."
Troconis leaned over and put her head on her lawyer's shoulder.
One count of hindering prosecution.
"Guilty."
Troconis dropped down into her chair and put her head on the table.
Members of her family began to cry softly.
To my right, friends of Jennifer Farber Dulos held hands and looked relieved.
Before the trial, many in the press corps believed there was a good chance of a split verdict. It wasn't clear the prosecution had enough evidence to prove the class B felony, murder conspiracy.
After closing arguments on Tuesday, with a strong presentation by prosecutors Michelle Manning and Sean McGuinness, a conviction on the top count seemed like more of a possibility.
The verdict brought finality to the trial, but not to the legal proceedings.
The defense will file a motion to set aside the verdict, prelude to a certain appeal. Sources tell me the Troconis family is looking for a new lawyer to handle the appeal. That is not a reflection on defense attorney Jon Schoenhorn; Defendants often hire new counsel for the appeals process.
One likely ground for appeal will be Judge Randolph's exclusion of a custody report from the Dulos divorce case. The defense believes that report was favorable to Fotis Dulos, bolstering Troconis' claim that she had no motive for helping her boyfriend murder his wife.
That custody report also is at the center of Troconis' next court appearance, on March 21. She's accused of contempt for displaying the confidential report on her laptop during the trial.
Immediately after the verdict, Randolph tripled Troconis's bail to $6 million, and she was led off in handcuffs.
Sources tell me her family is debating whether to post that bail now, with a non-refundable fee of several hundred thousand dollars, or wait until after sentencing on May 31 and seek an "appeal bond" that would put her on house arrest during the appeals process.
The setting of the sentencing date was an effecting moment on verdict day. The court clerk suggested sentencing on May 24.
Defense attorney Schoenhorn paused for a moment before saying, "May I suggest that date may be inappropriate." And for many, it would have been.
May 24 will be the fifth anniversary of the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos.
