Woman Charged in Missing New Canaan Mom Jennifer Dulos Case Appears in Court

NBC Connecticut - Local News
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Jennifer Dulos, a 50-year-old mother of five from New Canaan, has been missing for almost eight weeks and Michelle Troconis, the woman charged in connection with her disappearance, made a brief appearance in court Thursday morning for a pre-trial hearing.

Jennifer Dulos was last seen on Friday, May 24, when she dropped her children off at school in New Canaan.

Court documents say that police who went to search Jennifer's home after she was reported missing found blood and investigators believe she was the victim of a “serious physical assault.” The case remains a missing persons case.

Dulos’ estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, and Troconis, his girlfriend, have both been arrested in connection with the disappearance of Jennifer and have pleaded not guilty to tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution. Both are free on bond.

Troconis arrived at the courthouse just before 9 a.m. Thursday with her attorney and left around 10:15 a.m.

Inside the courtroom, her attorney, Andrew Bowman, said his client has been in complete compliance with the court and her bond release.

This hearing comes more than two weeks after Troconis was granted permission to leave the state to stay with a friend in New York.

As a condition, she was required to wear a GPS anklet. However, it was learned shortly after going to New York that the GPS was not working properly so Troconis returned to Connecticut after only a short period in New York.

On Thursday, her case was continued to Aug. 19.

Fotis Dulos is due in court on Aug. 2, according to online court documents.

His lawyer, Norm Pattis, has posited a theory that Jennifer Dulos faked her disappearance like a character in the novel "Gone Girl."

At the time, Pattis, cited a "very dark 500-page plus novel" that Jennifer Dulos had written.

“Gone Girl” author, Gillian Flynn, responded and said she was "absolutely sickened" by the suggestion that Jennifer Dulos could have staged her own disappearance in a revenge scheme to frame her estranged husband.

After Flynn released her statement, Pattis released a statement to NBC News 4 in New York, saying in part, “Candidly, Gillian’s ignorant fulminations about the Dulos case play to the very impulses she exploited in her book."

Jennifer Dulos' family dismissed Pattis' theory as well, saying shortly after he stated it publicly that the claim was "false and irresponsible" and that Jennifer Dulos' novel had been written well before Flynn's work. The family also said the missing mother's novel was not a mystery tome.

As the search for Jennifer continues, police have set up a dedicated website and tip line for information on her disappearance.


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