Troconis trial: jury shown clip of suspect 'destroying evidence'
2024/01/22

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Surveillance video showing accused murderer Fotis Dulos and his Michelle Troconis 'disposing of bloodied items' has been played in court. 

Luxury real estate developer Fotis was charged with brutally killing his 50-year-old wife Jennifer Dulos in her home on May 24, 2019, before binning objects with the help of Venezuelan socialite Troconis. 

Fotis killed himself aged 52 in January 2020, leaving Troconis, now 49, to face the music alone. Jurors were shown the surveillance footage on day seven of her trial at Stamford Superior Court. 

The clips appear to show Fotis traveling in his Raptor on the day of Jennifer's disappearance, before dipping out of his car several times to throw an unidentified object into multiple trash cans in Hartford, CT.

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Prosecutors say the woman shown momentarily emerging from Fotis Dulos' car in the surveillance footage is Michelle Troconis, who is on trial for helping him dispose of evidence

Surveillance video showing accused murderer Fotis Dulos and his alleged accomplice Michelle Troconis 'disposing of bloodied items' has been played in court

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Luxury real estate developer Fotis was charged with brutally killing his 50-year-old wife Jennifer Dulos in her home on May 24, 2019, before binning bloodied items with the help of Venezuelan socialite Troconis. (Pictured: Michelle Troconis in court on day seven of her trial)

Jennifer Dulos (left) vanished on May 24, 2019, amid a divorce from her husband Fotis (right), who was later charged with her murder. Fotis killed himself in January 2020, leaving his new lover Michelle Troconis to face trial alone for allegedly helping him conceal the killing 

Michelle Troconis (left) and Fotis Dulos (right) were living together in his Farmington CT home at the time of his ex-wife Jennifer's disappearance on May 24, 2019

According to police, the pair disposed of 30 bags of items that day, and Jennifer's blood was detected on some of the objects found in the trash cans. 

Another video showed Fotis tossing license plates into a curbside trash container as a woman who police say is Troconis momentarily left the vehicle. 

She appears to look at or retrieve something from the sidewalk near a sewer grate, before both parties got back in the truck and drove away.

Prosecutors claim that Fotis killed Jennifer in her New Canaan property after she returned from dropping their five children at school, who were then aged between eight and 13. Her body was never found. 

Troconis denies charges connected to her allegedly helping him conceal the crime - including conspiracy to commit murder, evidence tampering and hindering prosecution. 

The trial began January 11 and it is expected to continue for six weeks before jurors are sent out for deliberations.

Troconis linking arms with her father as she arrived at Stamford Superior Court on Monday

One of the clips shown to court on Monday appeared to show Fotis tossing licence plates into a curbside trash container as a woman who Police say is Troconis momentarily left the vehicle

Troconis (back left) denies charges connected to her allegedly helping him conceal the crime - including conspiracy to commit murder, evidence tampering and hindering prosecution

Troconis (back left) was dating Fotis Dulos at the time of Jennifer's disappearance in 2019 

Troconis lived with her daughter Nicole and Dulos at his Farmington, CT home at the time Jennifer vanished in May 2019 

Troconis wore large sunglasses as she arrived at Stamford Superior Court on Monday 

Troconis appeared expressionless as she approached the Connecticut criminal courthouse 

Jurors previously heard from several Connecticut detectives on the case, and the Dulos family's nanny Lauren Almeida.

Almeida, 32, gave illuminating insights into the inner lives of the wealthy Dulos family, describing their family holidays to luxury ski and beach resorts. 

She told the court that the Dulos parents were initially 'nice' to each other but their relationship deteriorated, and when Jennifer found out about Fotis' affair with Troconis in March 2017 it took a turn for the worse. 

Almeida said Fotis often intimidated Jennifer, and she grew so scared of him that she fled from their Farmington family home with their five kids in secret to file for divorce from the safety of a five-star hotel several miles away in Manhattan.

She also recounted how she ate lunch in Jennifer's kitchen with her children hours after the Connecticut mother vanished - oblivious to the tiny bloodstains in the room, which would later become a crime scene. 

Almeida said in hindsight there were several chilling signs that Jennifer had not gone about her day as normal - including a full cup of tea and granola bar in the kitchen, and her expensive handbag strewn on the floor. 

The nanny, who still lives with the now-orphaned Dulos children and Jennifer's mother Gloria, wore a silver necklace with the number '5' on - possibly a nod to the brood - as she gave testimony over two days.

Jurors were shown messages Fotis Dulos sent to their nanny, Lauren Almeida (pictured) asking her for updates on his 50-year-old wife's disappearance on May 24, 2019

Jennifer Dulos was 'terrified' of her husband Fotis in the months before she died, according to their nanny Lauren Almeida (pictured), who continued her testimony in court on Wednesday

Almeida said she ate lunch with Jennifer Dulos' children in the kitchen - oblivious to tiny alleged bloodstains in the room, which would later become the crime scene in Jennifer's murder

Four of Jennifer Dulos' children and their nanny ate lunch in her 'bloodstained' kitchen hours after she was allegedly murdered by her husband in the home, court has heard. (Pictured: nanny Lauren Almeida in court on day four of the trial) 

Jennifer Dulos had an idyllic family life until her husband Fotis cheated on her with Michelle Troconis, the woman now accused of helping him cover up her murder, Almeida revealed. (Pictured: Almeida being sworn in as a witness during the Stamford trial on Tuesday) 

Almeida previously said Jennifer was an 'incredibly nurturing mother' to her five kids, who were aged between eight and 13 when she disappeared on May 24, 2019 

Jurors were also shown messages Fotis sent to Almeida in the days following Jennifer's disappearance asking several times for 'updates' on his missing wife, before he was identified as a suspect.

Jennifer's body was never found, but Judge William P. Osterndorf last week. 

Troconis' trial began in Stamford began on Thursday before pausing over the weekend and for  Jr Day. 

On the state presented bodycam footage of officers searching Jennifer's home in New Canaan, , including the garage where police say Jennifer was so badly injured that she bled profusely. 

Jurors were shown what appeared to be a bloody footprint in her garage, and various red marks on the Range Rover parked in the central bay.

Troconis' sister Claudia, flanked by their parents Marisela and Carlos, made an emotional statement outside the Stamford courthouse following the first hearing, insisting that Michelle is innocent.

Former state police detective Matthew Reilly said he spotted red stains on several surfaces in Jennifer's kitchen, including on a paper towel roll, sink faucet, and counter-top - and in her garage

Suspected blood stain in Jennifer Dulos' Range Rover which was parked in her garage 

, Troconis' lawyer Jon Schoenhorn attempted to block detectives from testifying about their use of a luminol swab to identify some of the stains as blood, claiming the test is based on 'junk science'.

He made an impassioned statement to press outside, saying that luminol, which glows blue when blood is present, also presents the same color for substances including bleach, rust, paint and turpentine. 

But Judge Kevin Randolph ruled that evidence regarding luminol was admissible, adding that Schoenhorn would get an opportunity to cross-examine officials about it. 

Former Connecticut State Police detective Kevin Reilly spoke about the luminol tests when theafter the three-day holiday weekend, and jurors were shown new images of alleged bloodstains in Jennifer's kitchen. 

Reilly said some of the garage samples tested positive for blood.

The swabs were sent to a lab for confirmation, but none of the witnesses have testified yet about these results. 

Under cross-examination by Schoenhorn, he agreed that the luminol tests, which was one of the two tests deployed, would also have appeared positive for a 'laundry list' of other substances. 

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