Troconis verdict brings sense of ‘justice’ to Dulos’ hometown

NEW CANAAN — For the community that Jennifer Dulos called home for the last year of her life and where investigators descended for days, scouring Waveny Park in 2019 looking for her, “justice was served” Friday when Michelle Troconis was convicted on all counts in the death and disappearance of the mother of five.

“I’m just happy justice was served, and I’m happy we have answers for her family,” Jenny Wellenius, a former New Canaan resident now living in Darien, said as she walked down Elm Street on Friday afternoon, hours after the jury returned the guilty verdict.

Sitting on a bench just down the street, Judy Gilroy said hearing the outcome brought “all that sadness up again,” having followed along as details emerged during the twomonth trial.

Gilroy said when Jennifer Dulos was discovered missing, the community tried to rally together.

“Everybody wanted to help,” the New Canaan resident said. “None of us could, but everybody wanted to.”

Gilroy said she had faith in the justice system and the “jury of (Troconis’) peers who listened to all of the evidence.”

The six-person jury deliberated for more than three days — after hearing eight weeks worth of evidence and testimony — and delivered the verdict Friday. They found Troconis,

49, guilty of all six counts: Conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence, two counts of tampering with physical evidence and one count of second-degree hindering prosecution.

Troconis faces up to 50 years in prison if a judge decides to sentence her to consecutive terms. The conspiracy to commit murder charge carries a sentence up to 20 years in prison.

What started as a missing person case ballooned into a massive investigation that brought in several law enforcement agencies and thrust the New Canaan community into the media spotlight around the world.

The disappearance also inspired numerous documentaries, a Lifetime movie and a law that broadened the definition of domestic violence in Connecticut. In the hours after the verdict, Dateline NBC aired on Friday night a two-hour special report on the case, detailing the five years leading up to the trial and interviewing some of Jennifer Dulos’ closest friends.

Jennifer Dulos, 50, vanished in May 2019 amid a contentious two-year divorce and custody dispute with her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, who quickly became a prime suspect in her disappearance.

Troconis was accused of trying to create an alibi for her then-boyfriend, Fotis Dulos, on the morning of May 24, 2019 when police said he was attacking his estranged wife in the garage of her Welles Lane home in New Canaan. Troconis was also accused of helping to clean a pickup truck that police said Fotis Dulos used to drive to and from New Canaan that day.

Fotis Dulos died by suicide in January 2020 while facing murder and other charges in the case. Jennifer Dulos has never been found and a judge declared her legally dead last year.

While not as large as the one at the West Hartford Reservoir, a memorial for Jennifer Dulos sits at the west entrance to Waveny Park off Lapham Road near where her Chevrolet Suburban was found abandoned the night of her disappearance. The memorial includes signs calling to end domestic violence, artificial flowers and painted stones planted along the wall calling for “Justice for Jennifer.”

While there isn’t space to pull over close to the memorial, one woman paused her drive down Lapham Road shortly after the verdict’s announcement to take a photo of the display. Others slowed down and glanced over as they turned into the park.

Among the array of artificial flowers planted into the ground, a fresh bouquet of yellow tulips was left in the hours following the verdict.

Gilroy said she was most sad for the family, especially Jennifer Dulos’ five children who lost both their mother and father.

“I hope it never happens again,” she said, “not to a young family.”