A judge has dismissed a second juror in the Michelle Troconis trial after the juror compared the case online to the Ben Affleck movie “Gone Girl.”
Judge Kevin Randolph told attorneys Friday that he received a note saying one of the jurors discussed the case in front of the other jurors.
Jurors said Troconis' case had been talked about on social media and compared it to the 2014 film “Gone Girl.”
In the film, a woman, played by actress Rosand Pike, fakes her own death in order to trap her unfaithful husband, played by Affleck.
The judge ordered a recess to confer with the jury and investigate the claims.
When they return from break, Randolph announces that the jury has been dismissed.
As in all trials, jurors are encouraged to give opinions to the public and other jurors by talking about the case or posting it online, which can influence what happens in the courtroom and derail the judicial process. prohibited from expressing.
Another alternate juror was fired from the high-profile case earlier this week after saying “I love you” to a prosecutor handling evidence during the trial.
Troconis is charged with conspiracy to commit murder for allegedly helping his ex-girlfriend, Fotis Dulos, cover up the murder of his wife, Jennifer.
She allegedly drove around Hartford, Conn., with Dulos while he dumped bags full of evidence into various trash cans.
Some of the items appeared to contain Jennifer's body.
Jennifer's estranged spouse, Dulos, broke up with Jennifer after she began a relationship with Troconis.
He was eventually charged with murdering his wife, but died by suicide in 2020 before he could stand trial.
On Wednesday, a nanny who still cares for the Duros' five children testified that she panicked when she didn't receive a text reply from Jennifer on May 24, 2019.
Lauren Almeida said she then called the New York City clinic where Jennifer had an appointment, but was still unable to reach her.
“My stomach is in knots,” nanny Lauren Almeida said on the stand. “She never answered.”
The Duros were in the midst of a bitter divorce and custody battle for their children shortly before the mother of their five disappeared.
Jennifer Dulos went missing after dropping her five children off at school, and her body has never been found.
Police say Fotis Dulos waited for Jennifer to get home that morning, killed her in the garage, and then tried to clean up the scene.
The man then placed her body in another SUV and drove off, which was later found abandoned in a local park.
A judge officially declared Jennifer dead in October 2023.
