The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Attorney objects to consolidating cases in Jennifer Dulos homicide
STAMFORD — The attorney for Michelle Troconis is objecting to the prosecution’s request to consolidate his client’s cases in the death and disappearance of Jennifer Dulos, while continuing his pursuit to move the proceedings to Hartford County.
Chief State’s Attorney Richard J. Colangelo Jr. contends that the three separate cases filed against Michelle Troconis have “crossadmissible” evidence and it would serve “judicial economy” to consolidate the cases.
However, defense attorney Jon Schoenhorn says it’s too early in the pretrial process and there are too many outstanding motions to consolidate the cases, which he says could prejudice his client at trial.
“Until the state discloses what evidence it claims is ‘cross-admissible’ at separate trials then such a motion for joinder is premature,” Schoenhorn wrote in a tightly worded objection filed late last week. “To date, it has refused to provide even a particularized version of the allegations against the defendant.”
Schoenhorn fired off his own motion, reiterating his drive to have the cases moved to Hartford from Stamford Superior Court.
The motions are likely to be discussed Tuesday when Troconis appears via video conference in state Superior Court in Stamford.
Troconis has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution in connection with the death and disappearance of Jennifer Dulos, who vanished on May 24, 2019.
Jennifer Dulos was last seen on a neighbor’s security video returning to her New Canaan home after dropping off her five children at school, police said. Police said her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, was “lying in wait” and attacked the 50-year
old in the garage of her Welles Lane home, according to arrest warrants. Police said Jennifer Dulos is presumed dead based on blood and other evidence found in the garage, but her body has never been found.
Fotis Dulos faced murder, kidnapping and other charges when he died in January from an apparent suicide.
Troconis, his ex-girlfriend, and his former attorney, Kent Mawhinney, who has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, are the remaining defendants in the case.
Colangelo has prosecuted the charges against Troconis as three separate cases that have appeared on the docket on the same date. In August, he added two counts
of conspiracy to commit tampering with evidence.
Schoenhorn contends the crimes his client is accused of committing occurred in Hartford County. The first tampering and hindering prosecution charges stem from videos that show Troconis in a black pickup truck with Fotis Dulos as he stopped along Albany Avenue in Hartford to dump bags in trash bins on the night of the disappearance, according to arrest warrants. The bags contained Jennifer Dulos’ blood and clothing, the warrants stated.
The second tampering charge is related to Troconis helping to clean a red pickup truck that police say was involved in the Jennifer Dulos homicide, accord
ing to the arrest warrants.
The conspiracy to commit murder charge largely stems from Troconis trying to fabricate an alibi for Fotis Dulos the morning his estranged wife disappeared, arrest warrants state. Troconis was at his Farmington home with Mawhinney that morning, police said.
Troconis initially contended she saw Fotis Dulos that morning in his home, but later admitted to state police that she hadn’t seen him until the afternoon, according to arrest warrants.
Schoenhorn has several other motions that have not yet been heard. It’s unknown whether the judge on Tuesday will hear all of the pending motions in the case.