5 human hairs found among evidence in Dulos case, expert testifies in Troconis trial

STAMFORD — A forensic scientist confirmed there were five human hairs among evidence collected in the Jennifer Dulos case, according to testimony Friday in the Michelle Troconis trial.

Anita Vailonis, a retired forensic science examiner who worked in the state lab’s forensic biology unit, said she helped examine various items of evidence found on Albany Avenue in Hartford and in Pawel Gumienny’s Toyota Tacoma.

In her testimony, Vailonis said she analyzed hairlike fibers that were found on a white towel, a clear plastic bag with a bloodlike substance, a sponge found inside a plastic bag and one entangled in a knot of a plastic bag. All of these items were seized from the trash at the corner of Albany Avenue and Green Street, one of the intersections where Fotis Dulos was seen discarding trash the evening his estranged wife disappeared. Police believe Michelle Troconis, his then-girlfriend, was sitting in the passenger seat of his Ford Raptor while he made at least three stops.

Another hair-like fiber was discovered on the interior door panel from the right door of Gumienny’s Tacoma.

Vailonis testified that she learned how to identify human hairs from the FBI and used this training to analyze the five fibers. Through this analysis, she confirmed they were human hairs and sent them to the lab’s DNA unit for further testing.

In her examination of evidence, Vailonis also said she performed several screening tests for blood on various items, many of which came up positive. However, confirmatory tests were not performed.

Troconis’ attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, has objected to the blood screening test results being introduced in the case. The Kastle-Meyer test, which was used by law enforcement and forensic scientists to see whether blood is possibly present in asa mple, can give a potential result to other items such as animal blood and horseradish.

“It shouldn’t have come in at all,” Schoenhorn told reporters after court concluded for the day, adding that the test results could confuse the jury.

Former Connecticut State Forensic Laboratory forensic analyst Christine Roy testified on Thursday that testing confirmed that three items — a Vineyard Vines shirt, a bra and material from a poncho — found in the trash in Hartford contained human blood. According to arrest warrants in the case, the blood belonged to Jennifer Dulos.

Schoenhorn has conceded that there are “obviously certain items that were tested that clearly had blood, including those item s of clothing.”

But other items found in the trash could’ve been cross-contaminated and manipulated by others, so the screening tests are “pure speculation,” Schoenhorn suggested.

“It was all just displayed and splayed out in that trash barrel,” he said. “So, everything contaminated everything else.”

Roy said she opted to send many samples to the DNA unit, instead of conducting tests to confirm the presence of human blood, since DNA analysis would be more individualized. Additionally, the confirmatory blood test could diminish the sample provided to the DNA unit, she said.

“If I’m sending them less sample, then potentially I’m reducing the amount of DNA that’s in that sample,” she said. “And I don’t know how that’s going to affect their overall result or interpretation.” In the 16 days of Troconis’ trial, the state has meticulously presented the evidence law enforcement collected while investigating Jennifer Dulos’ disappearance, including surveillance footage, DNA evidence, fingerprint analyses and videos of Troconis’ first two interviews with police.

Aside from the police interrogations and some other evidence presented in the case, Troconis’ name has not often been mentioned and was not uttered during testimony Friday.

“As I’ve said all along, this is really the trial of Fotis Dulos and I’m not either keen to be defending him, nor is it my job,” Schoenhorn told reporters. “In order to prove the charge, some of these charges, the state has taken upon itself, the obligation to prove that Fotis Duos didn’t just hurt his wife, didn’t even cause her death, but he murdered her, that he intended to kill her.”

“And, you know, that’s a choice they made,” he said. “That’s something they have to prove to this jury.”

Troconis, 49, is facing charges of conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution. She is accused of trying to create an alibi for Fotis Dulos the morning his estranged wife went missing and helping to clean a pickup truck that police believe was used in the crime.

Fotis Dulos died by suicide in January 2020 while facing murder and other charges in the case. Jennifer Dulos has never been found, but she has been declared legally dead.

Judge Kevin Randolph adjourned court just before 1 p. m. Friday after prosecutors said they had no more witnesses for the day. The trial is expected to resume at 10 a.m. Monday.