STAMFORD, Conn. — For the first time, jurors in the criminal trial against Michelle Troconis heard from the guardian who oversaw Fotis Dulos' interactions with his children during the divorce from Jennifer Dulos and how Troconis and Fotis reacted to developments in the case just before her disappearance.
Attorney Michael Meehan, who was the guardian ad litem appointed to the five Dulos children in 2019, testified Thursday morning about the custody battle between Jennifer and Fotis and how it was impacting the relationship between Fotis and Troconis. He said it was having an "adverse effect" on the couple's relationship.
Meehan testified that the day after Jennifer went missing, he received a phone call from Fotis in which he sounded excited about her disappearance.
"He stated to me, 'Mike have you heard the news?' I replied no. He then stated Jennifer is missing. I noticed the tone was excited,” Meehan testified.
Meehan had worked with Fotis and Jennifer two years prior representing the kids during their divorce. At the time, Fotis had goals involving his then-girlfriend Troconis.
“It was his goal to have everyone living in the house together, that being Ms. Dulos, the children, and Michelle and her daughter as well," testified Meehan.
As time went on, in March 2019, Fotis was only allowed to see his children under supervision, and Troconis as well as her daughter were not allowed to be there, Meehan testified.
“She was down as well. She was frustrated. She expressed disappointment and a lack of understanding as to why the court didn’t allow access between her and the children,” said Meehan during testimony in response to how Troconis sounded.
Jurors also heard from Fotis' Farmington neighbor, Garrison Hudkins, who spoke with Fotis shortly after Jennifer went missing.
"He asked me how long we retained our security video and to make sure it didn’t get deleted because he needed to prove he was there on Friday,” Garrison testified.
Five days after Jennifer went missing, Hudkins checked his surveillance camera, which showed a red Toyota Tacoma with a rental car tailing behind. The footage was handed over to police.
“Based upon that interaction I had with Fotis, based upon the fact of what we learned in the media at that time...I had two cars leaving in tandem which was not consistent with normal vehicle patterns,” Hudkins testified.
When the defense asked Hudkins if he considered Fotis a friend, he said no and confirmed that Fotis was condescending toward women.
Outside the courtroom, Troconis' mom spoke with reporters proclaiming her daughter's innocence.
"It has been a tragedy for us. And I’m sure it’s a tragedy for the Farber family, too," Marisela Arreaza said. "But we want this to end and for my daughter to be OK again and to regain our life.”
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Jennifer Farber Dulos, New Canaan mother of five, was last seen on May 24, 2019, dropping her children off at school. She was reported missing that evening, and an investigation was started.
Troconis is the one-time girlfriend of Jennifer’s estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, who was charged with Jennifer’s murder before he took his life in January 2020.
Troconis faces six charges:
- Conspiracy to commit murder
- Conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence – In connection to May 24, 2019
- Tampering with physical evidence – In connection to May 24, 2019
- Conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence – In connection to May 29, 2019
- Tamping with physical evidence – In connection to May 29, 2019
- Hindering prosecution
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