After Her Guilty Verdict, Michelle Troconis's Family Made Tearful Pleas for Compassion

In May 2019, Jennifer Dulos disappeared from her home in New Canaan, Conn. The mother of five dropped her children off at school and was last seen returning to her home via a neighbor's security camera. When she didn't pick her children up later that day, friend and neighbors grew concerned. Their fears were somewhat realized when authorities discovered what looked to be evidence of a struggle in her home.

As of the time of this writing, Jennifer has never been found and was declared dead in October 2023, per People. Authorities would eventually arrest her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, and a woman by the name of Michelle Troconis, with whom he'd been having an affair. Faced with prison time, Fotis took his own life in January 2020. Michelle Troconis's trial began in January 2024. Less than two monhs later, she was found guilty of conspiring to murder Jennifer. However, Troconis's family believes she is innocent and plans to appeal.

"There has been a tremendous injustice in the trial of my daughter," said Troconis's father Carlos Troconis, per CT Insider. "She is innocent and we will keep proving that, forever." The Troconis family, which included her mother, father, sisters, an aunt, and a few friends, huddled around the numerous press microphones set up outside the courthouse. The vacillated between heartbroken, shocked, and angry at a system they believed to be just.

Carlos blamed the verdict on the media which he said had a "tremendous effect" on his daughter's case. Troconis's sister Claudia Marmol made a passionate statement about her sibling, which was punctuated by her own sobs. "We will appeal and we will not stop fighting for her," she said. Marmol also said that as a mother, surrounded by other mothers in her family, she understood why everyone was desperate for answers. She too wanted answers when it came to Jennifer.

Troconis's mother, Marisela Arreaza, echoed the feelings shared by others in her family. In what can only be described as strange, Arreaza had her own legal troubles in June 2016. According to the Stamford Advocate, "Arreaza and another woman were indicted on federal Medicaid fraud charges." Apparently Arreaza was "accused of paying at least one person to become a Medicaid patient in her behavioral health practice, D & D Psych." She plead guilty in 2017 but the case was dismissed when she was approved for a pretrial diversion program.

In a statement released by Carrie Luft, one of Jennifer's closest friends, she refers to the verdict as a "crucial attribution of accountability, not a victory," per the CT Insider. Luft went on to say, "There can be no victory when five children are growing up without their mother. This verdict represents the meticulous collection, analysis, and presentation of evidence to illuminate an unconscionable series of crimes."

Stamford/Norwalk State's Attorney Paul J. Ferencek also expressed deep sorrow for the Jennifer's family and friends. He assured them that the search for Jennifer's remains was not over and they wouldn't stop looking until they could lay her to rest.