STAMFORD, Conn. — Testimony continued Tuesday morning in the trial against Michelle Troconis, who is accused of being involved in the events that led up to the disappearance and presumed death of New Canaan mom Jennifer Dulos.
Retired State Police Sgt. Matthew Reilly returned to the stand Tuesday morning to walk the court through Jennifer’s kitchen, garage, and two SUVs and what he and investigators seized for state police investigations in the days after Jennifer went missing.
Using the Kastle-Meyer test (KM), Reilly testified that he found a “presence of blood” on the kitchen sink handle and nozzle, kitchen counter, paper towels, and sink cabinet handles on May 25, 2019.
Reilly seized these items, as well as a pair of latex dishwashing gloves and a box of trash bags found in the cabinet under the sink. Patterned stains on Jennifer’s garage floor and the kitchen counter both appeared similar to the textured pattern on the dish gloves, Reilly testified, so he seized those gloves.
Reilly noted that the KM test is a “presumptive blood test” that does not decipher whether a positive blood sample is animal or human blood. This is a test that Reilly said he has conducted "thousands of times" during his career.
Back in the garage, Reilly described the grid that sections of the garage into zones, reviewing the renderings Sgt. Jamie Pearston, who testified Friday, had designed for the investigation. On May 27, 2019, he also used the KM test on one marked area in each zone to get a representative DNA from that region of the garage, Reilly testified. Reilly also seized paper towel fragments from multiple garage zones for evidence, he testified.
Evidence collection at Jennifer's house wrapped up with collecting fingerprints using the latent print test. Fingerprints were found using a fine powder, then the prints were lifted for evidence using a gel adhesive, Reilly testified. Investigators found fingerprints on the mudroom door leading from the garage to the kitchen, the kitchen sink cabinet doors, and a set of French doors that led to the backyard.
Reilly testified that he was one of many investigators collecting fingerprints around the house.
On May 28, 2019, Reilly processed evidence found in Jennifer's Chevy Suburban that was found abandoned on Lapham Ave., near Waveny Park on the day she went missing. Reilly testified that stains on the steering wheel and parts of the rear cargo area tested positive for blood.
The luminol test, which reacts with iron found in blood, was conducted on the Chevy's rear cargo area, Reilly testified. The solution was sprayed to show spots of blue in the cargo area, indicating iron was found. The defense challenged the test's relevance and legitimacy in the investigation.
Reilly went back to the Chevy in June 2019 to collect swabs of the undercarriage, and again in October 2019 to collect more swab samples of the interior, he testified.
The exterior, interior and undercarriage of the Range Rover parked in Jennifer's garage were also processed in May, June, and October of 2019, Reilly testified.
As testimony was wrapping up on Tuesday, the nanny of the Dulos children took the stand.
Lauren Almeida spoke about working for both Jennifer and her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos.
Almeida had been nannying for the five Dulos children since September 2012, spending typically six days a week with the family in their Farmington home on 4 Jefferson Crossing. She currently lives with the five children, now all teenagers, in New York City.
"Overall they seemed to get along just fine," Almeida said of Jennifer and Fotis when she first started working for them in 2012.
While working as a nanny for Jennifer, Fotis hired Almeida to work for Fore Group, his home construction group.
Almeida testified that she got close to both Jennifer and Fotis, saying she and Jennifer "just connected really well" and that she saw Fotis as a "role model" and "mentor" when he introduced her to the real estate industry.
A dynamic change happened in Jennifer's marriage in 2017, during a vacation she accompanied, Almeida testified.
According to Almeida, Jennifer told her she "believed that Fotis was having an affair." At first, Almeida did not believe Jennifer, she testified.
During the trip, Almeida met Michelle Troconis. The circumstances as to how the two met are set to unfold when Almeida continues witness testimony on Wednesday.
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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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