STAMFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A judge has sentenced Michelle Troconis to 20 years in prison, suspended after 14 and 1/2 years, for her role in the death and disappearance of Connecticut mother Jennifer Farber Dulos.
Troconis faced up to 45 years in prison and up to $45,000 in fines. Troconis was found guilty in March of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence, two counts of tampering with physical evidence and one count of hindering prosecution in the second degree.
“What Michelle Troconis decides to do today, tomorrow and the next day is up to her,” Judge Kevin Randolph said. “From what the court has heard, she has a great deal to offer. The court has no control over what her decisions will be. Her life is hers.”
In a written statement, Farber Dulos’ family wrote that while the sentence provides “some relief,” the pain of her loss remains.
Before sentencing, Randolph vacated one of her charges of conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence, which could have lead to an additional five years in prison.
She was sentenced to 20 years, execution suspended after 14.5 years, for the conspiracy to commit murder charge. The sentence will be followed by five years of probation. The maximum prison time for the charge was up to 20 years.
She was sentenced to five years in prison, suspended after four years, for her other four charges. Those sentences will run concurrently.
Her attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, vowed outside of court that he planned to appeal the sentence, challenging the decision to not move the trial out of Stamford, allowing what he called “junk science” into the trial and other “irregularities.”
He said that she had questioned if she’d get a fair trial, and that he’d urged her to trust the judicial system.
“I can no longer say that she didn’t have a good reason to think that this was not a fair process,” he said.
Both he and her family asserted outside of court that she is innocent.
Troconis, 49, was Fotis Dulos’ live-in girlfriend when he allegedly killed his wife in May 2019. He was charged with murder in January 2020 and died by suicide a few weeks later. Farber Dulos’ body has never been found.
“Your honor, I am deeply saddened by this tragedy that has affected so many lives,” Troconis told the court prior to sentencing. “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 our lives, into his life.”
Troconis was accused of conspiring with Dulos to kill Farber Dulos and for being with Dulos when he disposed of evidence, including a bloody bra and shirt, in trash bins around Hartford. She also took a planned phone call from a friend in Greece as part of an attempt to create an alibi, and helped bring a vehicle involved in the killing to a car wash.
Prior to the sentence, the five Dulos children provided emotional statements asking for the full 45 years.
“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,” her oldest son, 18-year-old Petros, said. “I will never be able to tell mom how proud of her courage I am, most importantly how much I love her. This fact haunts me every day.”
Her daughter, Noelle, said that Troconis comforted her when she was afraid to climb down a bunk bed during a ski trip. Now, Noelle said, she’s afraid to trust others and fears that she’ll lose more people in her life.
“Because of that day, I constantly feel like something worse is bound to happen to the people I love, and it could be my last moments with them at any minute,” she said.
Schoenhorn said there were 64 letters submitted to the court on Troconis’ behalf and that 44 people were there in court to support her. Troconis was visibly emotional as her family provided impact statements.
“I am begging you to listen, I need my mom in my life, not just as a parent, but as a source of strength and understanding” her daughter said.
Remarks from family and friends highlighted how she worked with people who have disabilities, how she cooked at a soup kitchen and once organized a human chain to save her sister before she was swept over a waterfall. Schoenhorn said she cooperated with police and went with them to search the woods, showing where she’d go with Dulos and drew maps to help with the investigation.
“The court cannot sentence Michelle for what Fotis Dulos or others did,” Schoenhorn said.
Schoenhorn fought back against the notion that Troconis worked to break up the marriage and replace Farber Dulos. He said that Troconis moved to Connecticut because Dulos claimed his divorce was amicable.
Her sister, Daniela Troconis, said Dulos portrayed himself as “a good man and worthy of my sister.”
“We all feel lied to,” she said. “We all feel betrayed.”
Troconis’ pastor, Rev. Christopher Solimene with Avon Congregational Church, said he trusts Troconis with his life.
“I can honestly say before God and the world, Michelle Troconis is a woman of not only substantive character, but with an ethic and kindheartedness that is almost singular,” he said.
Michelle Manning, the supervisory assistant state’s attorney for the Stamford/Norwalk judicial district, told the court that Troconis wanted to replace Farber Dulos. Manning said that Troconis joined the neighborhood homeowners association and was with the children during Dulos’ visitation — even though she was not allowed to be.
“The defendant thought she could build her life on Jennifer’s death,” Manning said.
Another trial in the case remains. Dulos’ former lawyer, Kent Mawhinney has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder. A date for his trial has not been set.
