Michelle Troconis, convicted for helping her boyfriend murder his wife, claims to be a ‘scapegoat’

In May 2024, Michelle Troconis, a Venezuelan with US citizenship, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring to end the life of Jennifer Dulos, the ex-wife of her partner at the time, Fotis Dulos.

However, Michelle has maintained her innocence. In a recent interview with Spanish newspaper El País, the Troconis family said that she was the “scapegoat of the judicial system” for being a Latino woman. They claim that the trial was plagued by irregularities and that Michelle was deceived by Fotis.

Jennifer Dulos, Fotis Dulos' ex-partner and mother of five, disappeared from her home in New Canaan, Connecticut, on May 24, 2019, after dropping her children off at school. Fotis immediately became the main suspect.

A week later, Fotis and Michelle were arrested on suspicion of attempting to hinder investigations. In 2020 they were implicated in Jennifer's disappearance: Fotis was charged with murder and kidnapping, and Michelle with conspiracy to commit murder. Jennifer was pronounced dead in October 2023, although her body has not been found.

The police recovered a video where Fotis and Michelle are in a car and Fotis stops at different bins to dispose of garbage bags that were later found to have some of Jennifer’s belongings with blood. Michelle, however, claimed that the behavior was common as Fotis worked in construction and she was not aware what he was disposing of.

Weeks later, under house arrest, Fotis took his own life. With this, Michelle faced the trial alone. “Fotis died a coward because he did not want to face the charges and left my sister alone with this tragedy,” says Daniela Troconis, one of Michelle's three sisters, in an interview with El País.

Michelle was born in the United States to Venezuelan parents, but grew up in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. There she studied psychopedagogy and specialized in horse therapy for disabled minors.

After traveling the world and living in Argentina for more than ten years, Michelle, who already had a daughter at the time, decided to return to the United States to be closer to family. "We are a close-knit family and we always support each other in everything," said her sister Daniela to El País.

According to her sisters, Michelle is a mother fully dedicated to her only daughter's sports career. The 17-year-old girl is a skier and this year she was able to be part of a junior Olympic ski team.

Michelle and Fotis met at a water ski club in 2016. At the time, according to Michelle, Fotis had a Greek girlfriend. Their passion for the sport brought them together and they built a relationship after Fotis assured Michelle that he had broken up with his previous girlfriend and was separating from his wife.

According to what her sisters tell El País, Michelle believed that Fotis’s divorce was amicable and had started before her relationship with her. However, according to court documents, divorce proceedings began in June 2017, when the two already knew each other. The process was stormy and both fought for custody of the children.

The Troconis family say they were initially delighted with Fotis. "Physically, he was a handsome guy. He was very polite. Very similar to our customs," Daniela told El País. "But the veil was lifted from our eyes at the trial," said Marisela Troconis, another one of Michelle's sisters.

According to CNN, when beginning the divorce process, Jennifer informed officials that she feared Fotis. “I know that filing for divorce will make him angry,” she said, according to the documents. "I know he will retaliate by trying to hurt me in some way."

Clara Duperron, Michelle's friend, could have been her alibi. The two had spent the morning of Jennifer's disappearance together at the Duperron business, she told El País. However, it was almost two years before the police contacted her to take her statement. In the end, Duperron did not speak to authorities at the guidance of her attorney.

The Troconis family also denounced that the trial was "full of irregularities." They claim that the jury was biased by the months of media coverage they were exposed to and that the police confused Michelle during interrogation and did not offer her an interpreter, since her first language is Spanish.

Michelle is currently incarcerated at the York Correctional Institution in southeastern Connecticut. There, “she is studying and reading a lot, feeding her soul so as not to collapse,” Daniela told El País.

Michelle Troconis must appeal her conviction through a public defender. Her family continues to support her and believes that she was just another victim of Fotis Dulos. “We as a family are not going to stop fighting for her to be exonerated and released,” said sister Marisela Troconis, to El País.

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