Michelle Troconis trial – live: Nanny reveals Jennifer Dulos hired armed bodyguard during Fotis’ divorce
Michelle Troconis is accused of helping then-boyfriend Fotis Dulos cover up the murder of his estranged wife Jennifer Dulos in Connecticut in 2019
Michelle Troconis defended by her family at Jennifer Dulos murder conspiracy trial
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Jennifer Dulos suspected her husband Fotis Dulos was involved in an extra-marital affair years before he killed her, the slain mother-of-five’s nanny told Michelle Troconis’ trial.
At the time of her disappearance in May 2019, Jennifer – whose remains have never been found – was in the midst of a bitter divorce and custody battle with her estranged husband Fotis Dulos.
Investigators believe Fotis killed her in the garage of her home and that Ms Troconis, Fotis’ then-girlfriend, helped him cover up the murder.
On Tuesday, the Dulos’ nanny Lauren Almeida, told a Stamford, Connecticut jury that Jennifer had first voiced suspicions about her husband’s affair on a trip to Miami in 2017, two years before she vanished.
“At the time I believed Fotis was an honest man, and that he couldn’t have been having an affair with five kids and a wife,” Ms Almeida said. “I told her, ‘I don’t think that’s true.”
Fotis killed himself in 2020 after being charged with murder. He continued to claim his innocence, with his attorney bizarrely claiming Jennifer staged her disappearance in a Gone Girl-style plot.
Ms Troconis is charged with conspiracy to murder, tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution.
Full timeline of Jennifer Dulos’ disappearance as her love rival faces trial over murder
After almost five years, the tragic case of Jennifer Dulos has finally made its way into a courtroom in Connecticut as the trial of her dead husband Fotis Dulos’ lover Michelle Troconis gets underway.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp reports:
Timeline of Jennifer Dulos’ case as love rival faces trial over murder
After almost five years, the tragic case of Jennifer Dulos has finally made its way into a courtroom in Connecticut as the trial of her dead husband Fotis Dulos’ lover Michelle Troconis gets under way. Rachel Sharp reports
WATCH: Nanny describes day Connecticut mother Jennifer Dulos disappeared
Michelle Troconis defended by her family at Jennifer Dulos murder conspiracy trial
“We know that she’s innocent. We trust that this is a fair trial and that the result is favourable for everybody,” Ms Troconis’ father Carlos Troconis told reporters outside the courtroom in Stamford, Connecticut, on Thursday.
Michelle Troconis defended by her family at Jennifer Dulos murder conspiracy trial
Ms Troconis is accused of helping Fotis Dulos – her then-boyfriend – cover up the murder, but her family says she’s innocent
Mom-of-five murdered, husband dead by suicide and his lover on trial: The Jennifer Dulos case
“I am afraid of my husband,” Jennifer Dulos wrote in 2017 court documents as she filed for divorce from husband Fotis Dulos.
“I know that filing for divorce and filing this motion will enrage him. I know he will retaliate by trying to harm me in some way.”
Two years later, the mother-of-five’s ominous prediction appeared to come true.
The Independent’s Andrea Cavallier reports:
The Jennifer Dulos case: Murder, suicide and Michelle Troconis on trial
It’s been almost five years since Jennifer Dulos was last seen alive. Her estranged husband and accused killer Fotis Dulos took what happened to the grave – but will the truth come out now his lover Michelle Troconis is going on trial? Andrea Cavallier reports
Court ends for the day
Proceedings will resume tomorrow.
Ms Madel will return to the stand
Forensic scientist under cross-examination by defence
Under cross-examination by defence attorney Jon Schoenhorn, Ms Madel admits that presumptive blood testing can come back positive for substances other than human blood. Ms Madel also admits that many of the swabbings from “blood-like” stains taken from the scene were not tested for confirmation in the lab.
Madel says Fotis Dulos’ DNA found in crime scene
Michelle Troconis has been eliminated from the swabbings presented in court so far.
A blood-like stain in the garage had DNA from Fotis Dulos and Jennifer Dulos.
Michelle Troconis’ DNA was not found in crime scene
Ms Madel tells the court that Michelle Troconis was eliminated for DNA taken from the handle of a door in the mudroom of Jennifer Dulos’ home.
Results for Fotis Dulos came back inconclusive, meaning neither positive nor negative.
Forensic examiner Kristen Madel takes the stand
Ms Madel processed DNA sambples from Jennifer Dulos, Fotis Dulos, their five children and Michelle Troconis.
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