The 88-year-old mother of five, Jennifer Dulos, of Connecticut, told a murder conspiracy trial Wednesday that she has not seen her daughter since she disappeared and was presumed murdered by police in 2019. He testified that he was not there and that he had not contacted him.
Gloria Farber, dressed in a gray suit and scarf, showed little emotion as she told jurors that her daughter had planned to meet her at her New York City apartment on May 24, 2019, after a doctor’s appointment, but she never showed up. Told. . She suggested that Dulos would never abandon her children.
“She was always there for them,” Farber testified about her daughter during the sixth week of Michelle Troconis’ trial in Stamford Superior Court in Connecticut.
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Since Dulos’ disappearance, Farber has had custody of her five grandchildren, who ranged in age from 8 to 13 at the time.
Ms. Troconis denies allegations that Ms. Dulos’ estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, helped cover up the murder of Jennifer Dulos. At the time, Troconis was dating Fotis Dulos, with whom she lived in Farmington after Jennifer Dulos and her children moved and lived in New Canaan, about 110 miles away.
Jennifer Dulos’ body has not yet been found. Farber’s testimony was part of prosecutors’ efforts to prove that Fotis Dulos killed her 50-year-old daughter during a May 24, 2019, attack on her New Canaan home. A state probate court declared Jennifer Dulos legally dead in October.
Fotis Dulos died by suicide in January 2020, weeks after he was charged with Jennifer Dulos’ murder. He denied the charges. At the time of her disappearance, the two were engaged in a divorce and child custody case.
Troconis has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence.
The case received widespread attention and was the subject of the Lifetime television movie “Gone Mom.” Jennifer Dulos is a member of a wealthy New York family whose father, the late Hilliard Farber, founded his own brokerage firm. She was also the niece by marriage of fashion designer Liz Claiborne. Fotis Dulos was a luxury home builder from Greece.
Troconis, a dual American and Venezuelan citizen, previously had his own television production company in Argentina, hosted a snow sports show on ESPN South America, and is the co-founder of equestrian therapy programs around the world. He calls himself. .
This undated photo provided by the Farber family shows Jennifer Farber Dulos. Gloria Farber, the 88-year-old mother of Jennifer Dulos, a Connecticut mother of five, told a murder conspiracy trial Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, that she has never seen her daughter since her presumed disappearance. He testified that he had not contacted him. She will be killed by the police in 2019. (Courtesy of the Farber family, via Associated Press)
Prosecutors Sean McGuinness and Michelle Manning dropped the state’s case Wednesday morning after Farber’s testimony. Troconis’ attorney, John Schoenhorn, immediately filed a motion for not guilty, but Judge Kevin Randolph denied it.
Schoenhorn said there is no evidence that Troconis had prior or subsequent knowledge of the alleged plot to kill Fotis Dulos when he accompanied her on a trip that prosecutors say was intended to destroy evidence in the case. insisted.
McGuinness disagreed, and Randolph ruled there was enough evidence for the jury to reach its own conclusions about the charges.
Police say Fotis Dulos drove his employee’s pickup truck to a park in New Canaan that morning, rode his bicycle to Jennifer Dulos’ home, and found her in the garage. He claimed he attacked her and fled in a Chevrolet Suburban that was later found abandoned in a park.
Later that same day, Troconis accompanied Fotis-Duro to Hartford, where he disposed of several garbage bags in random locations, part of which was recorded on surveillance cameras.
Police said they found part of the bag, which contained clothing, zip ties and other items containing Jennifer Dulos’ DNA. There were blood-like stains on some of her shirts and bras. Some of the items had Fotis Dulos’ DNA on them, and one bag tested positive for Troconis’ DNA, a state forensic expert testified at trial.
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Schoenhorn said Troconis had no idea what was in the bag. He also said a match to Troconis’ DNA was found on a microscopic sample and that Fotis Dulos may have touched Troconis and then spread her DNA in one of the bags.
Police also said Troconis helped create a timeline of Fotis Dulos’ activities and prepare him for police questioning. Troconis told police she only did so at the request of Fotis Dulos and his attorney. She also accompanied employees at the car wash as they cleaned and detailed their trucks, prosecutors said.
And on the morning that Jennifer Dulos disappeared, Troconis answered Fotis Dulos’ cell phone, which she had left behind at her home in Farmington. Prosecutors suggested this was part of a murder conspiracy to give Fotis Dulos an alibi. Mr. Schoenhorn denied the allegations.
Police interviewed Troconis three times in 2019. Troconis initially lied that Fotis Dulos was at home on the morning of May 24, but later admitted during questioning that this was not true and that she did not see him that morning. Said.
Fotis Dulos’ friend and former attorney Kent Mawhinney is also charged in the case. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy to commit murder.
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The defense began calling witnesses on Wednesday. Testimony in the trial is expected to conclude Friday or Monday.
