‘A fishing expedition’
Attorney for Troconis asks judge to toss evidence from search of Fotis Dulos’ home
STAMFORD — An attorney representing Michelle Troconis, who is facing charges in the death and disappearance of Jennifer Dulos, argued on Wednesday that evidence found during a search of her former boyfriend Fotis Dulos’ Farmington home should be tossed from the case.
Her attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, argued during a hearing at state Superior Court in Stamford that any evidence obtained during a search of Fotis Dulos’ home at 4 Jefferson Crossing in Farmington should not be admissable during trial because it was obtained via an “overly broad” search warrant that did not establish probable cause.
“This is the quintessential definition of a fishing expedition,” Schoenhorn said, noting how state police’s use of general terms regarding electronic devices and genetic materials allowed police to take items from the home belonging not only to Fotis Dulos and Troconis, but also other family members who were present at the home. Troconis was living in the home at the time of Jennifer Dulos’s disappearance.
Schoenhorn said the vague nature of the items listed by state police in the search warrant affidavit allowed police too much discretion on what they could or could not seize from the home without any semblance of probable cause tied to the alleged assault and homicide of Jennifer Dulos.
Assistant State’s Attorney Sean McGuinness, however, argued that items connected to Jennifer Dulos were found in several garbage containers along Albany Avenue. Police said two people resembling Fotis Dulos and Troconis were seen in the area around the time Jennifer Dulos was reported missing on May
24, 2019, connecting them to the disappearance.
McGuinness said Fotis Dulos, who he added was “not cooperating” with police during the investigation, was also seen at the Jefferson Crossing home before and after the alleged homicide of Jennifer Dulos.
This evidence, along with the fact that the Duloses were estranged and undergoing a divorce, laid the groundwork for probable cause to search the Jefferson Crossing home, McGuinness said.
While McGuinness conceded that the search warrant in question did not give state police permission to search any electronic devices taken from the Jefferson Crossing home, he said Schoenhorn had “fallen way short” of proving that the search warrant should be invalidated.
The motion to suppress and return evidence obtained by state police during the execution of a search warrant at Jefferson Crossing was one of several motions filed by Schoenhorn, including one asking for the case to be moved to Hartford and to have the judge prohibit prosecutors from using cellphone tower data.
Judge Kevin Randolph also heard partial arguments regarding the use of cellphone tower data Wednesday afternoon, though arguments in that matter are expected to continue at hearings next week.
Randolph said he does not expect to issue rulings on any of the motions until September.
On Monday, the state Supreme Court upheld a decision that denied Schoenhorn access to a transcript of a divorce hearing between the Duloses days before Jennifer Dulos disappeared. He initially sought the transcript to see if it contained any discussion that would exonerate his client.
Schoenhorn said the ruling would not affect his client’s defense.
On July 7, Troconis’ attorneys filed a motion to move the trial to Hartford, arguing that a judge would be unable to find a fair and impartial jury in lower Fairfield County due to her case’s extensive publicity over the years.
A Superior Court judge decided in May that Schoenhorn could continue representing his client after the state said it believed there was a potential conflict of interest.
Troconis, 48, is accused of conspiring with Fotis Dulos to kill Jennifer Dulos, his estranged wife, on May 24, 2019. Police said Fotis Dulos was “lying in wait” and attacked Jennifer Dulos in their New Canaan home before disposing of her remains.
Jennifer Dulos has never been found, but she is presumed dead by police and her family.
Fotis Dulos was facing murder, kidnapping and other charges in his wife’s death and disappearance when he died by suicide in January 2020.
Troconis is charged with tampering with evidence, conspiracy to commit murder and hindering prosecution in connection with Jennifer Dulos’ death and disappearance. She has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.