(NEW HAVEN, Conn.) — Fotis Dulos’ girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, charged in connection with Dulos’ wife’s disappearance and alleged murder, made her first court appearance Friday since his suicide.
Troconis, appearing with her new attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, according to ABC New Haven affiliate WTNH.
Troconis was arrested after Fotis Dulos’ estranged wife and the mother of his five children, Jennifer Dulos, went missing in May 2019.
Her body was never found.
Fotis Dulos was charged in January with capital murder, murder and kidnapping, while his girlfriend, Troconis, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
For the first time, Troconis used Spanish translator headphones when she appeared in court Friday, after her attorney argued that English isn’t her first language, reported WTNH.
Schoenhorn also asked that Troconis be able to remove her ankle GPS monitor because it’s causing chafing and bruising, WTNH reported.
Schoenhorn told WTNH Thursday that it’s “unfair” that Troconis, after “posting a large bond,” is on house arrest and not allowed to visit her 13-year-old daughter.
On Friday “the judge agreed to add a work condition to her house arrest” with a requirement of “no side trips,” reported WTNH.
Police allege Troconis lied about when she saw her boyfriend on the morning his wife disappeared, according to an arrest warrant.
In one of Troconis’ police interviews, according to court documents, “When Troconis was told that Dulos had killed his wife and involved her [Troconis] in the clean-up, she responded by saying, ‘That’s, like, even worse. I hate him because of that. … I was cleaning the house. I wasn’t cleaning Jennifer.'”
On Jan. 28, Fotis Dulos was hospitalized in critical condition after his attorney said he attempted suicide. Fotis Dulos died on Jan. 30.
Schoenhorn said he’s concerned Fotis Dulos’ death will make prosecutors look at his client as the “target.”
“When the primary target of the prosecution is no longer in the picture, they [prosecutors] want to justify all the expense and time,” he told WTNH Thursday. “They got to go after someone else and that leaves, unfortunately, my client and Mr. Dulos’ former attorney.”
Kent Mahwinney, an attorney and a friend of Fotis Dulos, was also charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
Fotis Dulos and Troconis had been charged earlier with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and hindering prosecution.
Troconis returns to court March 3, WTNH reported.
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