Michelle Troconis Keeps GPS Device, Remains Under House Arrest

STAMFORD, CT — Michelle Troconis will remain under house arrest, and must continue to wear a GPS device, in connection with the Jennifer Farber Dulos case, but Troconis no longer must participate in an Intensive Probation Supervision program, a judge ruled on Friday.

Troconis, 45, is facing a conspiracy to commit murder charge in connection with Jennifer Dulos' 2019 disappearance, but her attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, sought to have Judge John Blawie relax the nonfinancial conditions of his client's release on bond.

Blawie decided to only remove the intensive probation requirements, under which Troconis was subjected to home visits by a probation officer, but due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the home visits were switched to regular phone calls.

The rest of the bond release conditions, namely the wearing of the GPS monitor above her ankle and the house arrest, remain intact for now, but Blawie said he would issue a written decision on those matters by the middle of September.

However, before Blawie gave his ruling from the bench, Chief State's Attorney Richard Colangelo sought to have Schoenhorn sanctioned for releasing evidentiary videos from the Dulos case to the media, a motion that clearly irked Schoenhorn.

"The Chief State's Attorney didn't even have the courtesy to tell me that there may have been a problem," Schoenhorn said, adding that Colangelo should apologize to him for unfairly seeking the sanction. "Anything released was attached to my court motion. Absolutely nothing was released that wasn't attached to the motion."

Though the videos are public information — they included surveillance footage of the late Fotis Dulos supposedly dumping bags of evidence, and a portion of an interrogation of Troconis — Colangelo said they should have been released by the court, not by Schoenhorn.

"He took it upon himself to release them," Colangelo said.

Blawie said he would consider whether to sanction Schoenhorn at a later date.

As for the relaxing of the bond release conditions, Schoenhorn argued that they have proved to be onerous, highlighting that Troconis' father, Dr. Carlos Troconis, was recently released from a hospital in Florida after suffering from COVID-19, but his daughter cannot visit him due to the strict conditions.

"We're not asking for her passport back from authorities, nor are we asking you to lift the ban on communicating with the Farber family," Schoenhorn said, adding that Troconis has ties to the community through friendships and her design business, and she is not a flight risk. "My client has shown that she's been able to abide by all the conditions that have been imposed upon her."

Colangelo disagreed, stating that Troconis only moved to the Hartford area to be with Fotis Dulos, and he is now dead. Dulos was charged with murdering his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos, in 2019, but he took his own life in January before he could stand trial.

"She no longer has ties to the community," Colangelo said. "There's nothing keeping her here but this case."

Prior to Friday's hearing in Stamford Superior Court, Colangelo added new tampering with evidence and conspiracy to tamper with evidence charges against Troconis. He also added a new hindering a prosecution charge.

The new charges were added because the prosecution believes Troconis took additional steps to conceal or destroy evidence. She is accused with assisting Fotis Dulos with the murder plot, in part by writing "alibi scripts" and traveling with him when he allegedly threw away evidence along Albany Avenue in Hartford following Jennifer Dulos' disappearance.

Outside of court, Schoenhorn expressed his disappointment in Blawie's decision about the house arrest and GPS device, saying that he will again appeal to the state Appellate Court about it.

"Those conditions are unnecessary and, in fact, unconstitutional," Schoenhorn said.

Also outside of court, Troconis' sister, Marisela Troconis, addressed the media on behalf of her sister.

"I just want to reinforce that my sister is innocent," she said, adding that the family is united and thankful for Friday's ruling on one of the conditions.

The Dulos case:

• New Details On How Jennifer Dulos May Have Died: Warrant
• Jennifer Dulos' Killer Still At Large, Says Fotis Dulos' Family
• Finding Jennifer Dulos Remains '#1 Focus' For Chief Prosecutor
• Jennifer Dulos Was Never In 'Human Grave' Prosecutor Says: Report
• Shocking Details Revealed In Case Of Missing New Canaan Mom
• The Haggling Over Fotis Dulos Estate Has Begun: Report
• Jennifer Dulos Case: New Updates As Mystery Remains Unsolved
• New DNA Evidence Disclosed In Jennifer Dulos Disappearance
• New Documentary Explores Jennifer Dulos Murder Mystery
• Law Enforcement Convinced Someone Knows Where Jennifer Dulos Is
• Jennifer Dulos Update: 'No New Evidence' At Avon House, CSP Says
• Michelle Troconis Issues First Statement In Jennifer Dulos Case