STAMFORD, Connecticut -- Family and friends of Jennifer Dulos, who disappeared from her Connecticut home in 2019, offered emotional testimony Friday at the sentencing hearing of her estranged husband's former girlfriend, who was convicted of helping to plan and cover up her killing. Michelle Troconis, 49, faces up to 50 years in prison. Prosecutors say Dulos' husband, Fotis Dulos, killed her at her home in New Canaan and drove away with her body, which has never been found.
He died by suicide in 2020 shortly after being charged with murder. He had denied killing his wife. Troconis was living with Fotis Dulos when his wife disappeared.
Troconis was convicted by a jury in March of conspiracy to commit murder, hindering prosecution and evidence tampering. Troconis, who is detained in a state prison, maintains her innocence and plans to appeal. Jennifer Dulos has not been seen since she dropped her five children off at school, on May 24, 2019.
About 80 people packed the courtroom, with Jennifer Dulos' family and friends on one side and Troconis' supporters on the other. All five of Dulos' children, as well as her mother, Gloria Farber, attended. They spoke of their heartbreak and anger.
Farber said she knew "something terrible had happened" when her daughter did not return calls or texts. She said her daughter "only wanted to give and get love and be a loving mother" to her children, who are now teenagers. The oldest, 18-year-old Petros Dulos, said his mother's death left him wit.