Jennifer Dulos declared dead ahead of trial for suspect who broke down in newly surfaced interrogation video
The Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford this week declared Jennifer Dulos, a New Canaan mother of five, dead more than four years after she disappeared and just ahead of the trial for a suspect in the case, according to local reports.
Michelle Troconis, a Venezuelan woman dubbed "one of the most hated women in America" after being charged in connection with Dulos' 2019 disappearance and death, is set to face trial Thursday.
A probate judge on Tuesday declared Dulos dead after examining evidence that "supports the claim that Jennifer sustained non-survivable injuries," as CT Insider first reported, citing court documents.
"Extensive efforts have been made by local and State Police authorities to locate her body," Judge William Osterndorf wrote, according to CT Insider. "To date, more than four years have passed and the body of Jennifer has not been located. Neither Jennifer’s mother, children, other family members and friends have been contacted by Jennifer since May 24, 2019. The inescapable conclusion is Jennifer is deceased."
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Connecticut State Police allege Jennifer's estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, violently attacked her in their home when she returned from dropping off their children at school and drove away with her body.
The New Canaan Police Department arrested Fotis and his girlfriend, Troconis, on charges of evidence tampering in June 2019, a month after Jennifer was last seen dropping off her children at school on the morning of May 24, 2019.
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In January 2020, authorities charged Fotis with murder, felony murder and kidnapping. Troconis and Fotis' attorney, Kent Mawhinney, were charged with conspiracy to commit murder. All three denied having any involvement, and Fotis died by suicide shortly after he was charged.
Troconis pleaded not guilty, and her family released a statement in 2021 saying that "her innocence will prevail in the end."
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A recently resurfaced 2019 video shows Connecticut State Police interrogating Troconis for more than three hours, with one officer referring to her as "one of the most hated women in America," after she was charged with evidence tampering.
"I gotta be honest with you. You're probably one of the most hated women in America right now," the officer says in the video, adding that the interrogation could be a way for her to clear her name.
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Throughout the three-hour-long video, Troconis implies that she does not know the specifics of Dulos' death and says most of what she knows has come from news reports. When pushed, she makes baseless claims that she thinks Dulos is hiding after inheriting a large amount of money and that the mother of five has a personality disorder, based on what Fotis told her.
Troconis also breaks down when confronted with the fact that if Fotis killed his estranged wife and the mother of their five children, he could have killed her, too.
On the day Dulos was reported missing in May 2019, New Canaan police found Dulos' abandoned black Chevy Suburban on Lapham Road near Waveny Park, but her remains have yet to be located.
Then-New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski previously told Fox News he suspects the car placement "was to throw investigators off" and "make it look like she had disappeared on her own and to give us an area to search that the suspects knew would take some time to search."
Surveillance footage out of Hartford appears to show Fotis throwing out numerous garbage bags and items "which appeared to be stained with a substance consistent with the appearance of blood" on the night Jennifer went missing, according to court documents previously obtained by Fox News. Investigators alleged Troconis was in Fotis' truck with him at the time.
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The items later tested positive for Jennifer’s blood.
Troconis' attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, tried to prevent the interrogation interviews and Troconis' DNA from being presented during her trial, citing a violation of her constitutional rights, but a judge ultimately decided to allow both items.
Fotis Dulos and Troconis became romantically involved about a year before Jennifer Dulos filed for divorce. Defense attorneys have argued that Jennifer may have staged her own death amid divorce troubles.
Fox News' Paul Best, Stephanie Pagones and Barnini Chakraborty contributed to this report.