48 Hours - The Conspiracy to Murder Jennifer Dulos

Episode Date: April 8, 2024

A mother of five disappears. A look inside the conspiracy to kill her. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. Prosecutors began laying out the state's case this morning. This case, of course, gained international attention when it happened. The interest in this story was immediate, it was intense, and it was sustained. It occurred to me what this case is really about.

It is about a mother's worst nightmare. State police were desperate to find missing mother of five Jennifer Dulos. I'm Tony Aiello. I'm a reporter with CBS News New York. It was May 24th, 2019. Jennifer Farber Dulos disappeared from her home in New Canaan, Connecticut. Every script has three acts, doesn't it? The first act was the premeditation and killing of Jennifer Dulos. Was there a particular area of the house that you focused on? The garage was of importance. Blood-like substance, blood spatter throughout the garage. There's something back here too. Where's Jennifer Dulos?

To this day, that question can't be answered. You know, then obviously you learn that she's going through a contentious divorce. Fotis Dulos, by all accounts, very charming, athletic. I mean, they made a beautiful couple. She told me he is having an affair, and I have proof. Where is she? Where is she? Investigators taking a close look at her estranged husband fotis doulos in january of 2020 he's charged with murder

lotus what do you have to say to this murder charge at exactly the time fotis doulos was due in court officers were seen running into his Connecticut mansion. Reportedly attempted suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. Fotis Doulos was declared dead tonight. The investigation did not die with Fotis Doulos. Police believe Michelle Traconis helped her boyfriend, Fotis Doulos, get rid of his wife. She's now charged with conspiracy in the murder of Jennifer Doulos. You're going to do the right thing, Michelle, and help the cops? The second act was the cover-up through the destruction of evidence in the defendant's lies.

Why did you tell us things that you knew were false? I wasn't shocked. I wasn't nervous. They threatened her. They scared her. They lied to her. I was nervous. They threatened her. They scared her. They lied to her. Prosecutors say they'll prove Michelle Draconis conspired in the crime and helped Fotis Doulos dispose of evidence.

The evening that his estranged wife, Jennifer, disappeared. You see Fotis Doulos putting black garbage bags into the trash can. Michelle did not know what Fotis Doulos was up to. She was in love because at the beginning he was this amazing guy but it turns out he was this monster. Never been on a jury, didn't know what to expect and when I saw Jennifer's bloody shirt they really had an impact. This defendant hated Jennifer Dulos. I know that everyone wants answers, but my sister's not the right answer. She's another victim of Fotis Dulos.

And now we've reached the third act. She doesn't know anything, and she's innocent. Except she doesn't get to write it. You write the third act of this script with your verdict. What's the ending going to be? Erin Moriarty reports the conspiracy to murder Jennifer Dulos. Erin Moriarty reports the conspiracy to murder Jennifer Dulos. It was one of the most anticipated trials in recent memory.

The state of Connecticut versus Michelle Chaconas. A case that has haunted the family and friends of Jennifer Dulos for nearly five years. I wanted to be there every day because Jennifer couldn't be there and I wanted to be there for her to bear witness. Longtime friend Carrie Luft was in court every day as prosecutors Sean McGinnis and Michelle Manning presented their case. That Michelle Draconis conspired with her boyfriend Fotis Dulos to murder his estranged wife and then helped him cover up the crime. This defendant was undoubtedly part of this plan to kill Jennifer Dulos. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

As the defendant listened in Spanish, her first language, Her attorney, John Schoenhorn, described her as just another victim of Fotis Dulos. There is nothing to suggest that Michelle had any clue about what was gonna happen in New Canaan on May 24th, 2019. Michelle simply did not know. May 24th, 2019 started like any other day for Jennifer Farber-Doulos, with the usual organized chaos of getting her five children, 13 and under, dressed and off to school. But shortly after 8.05 a.m., Jennifer vanished.

She was scheduled for a dentist appointment later that morning in New York City. She never made it to her dentist appointment. Then-Connecticut State Police Sergeant Kenneth Ventresca would become one of the lead investigators. People couldn't get a hold of her. On the stand, the children's nanny, Lauren Almeida, recalled her gnawing sense of dread. The second I called Jennifer, it's like my stomach just sank because she never not answered her phone.

Lauren took the children to wait at the home of their maternal grandmother, Gloria Farber, in New York City. The 88-year-old Mrs. Farber says she waited for her daughter to come get them. Did Jennifer show up at your apartment that day? No. Have you seen your daughter Jennifer since she failed to meet you at your apartment in New York City on May 24th, 2019?

No. By 7 p.m., all-out panic set in. Lauren called the police. We told the police that a mother of five was missing and that she was in a very contentious divorce. Officers quickly discovered Jennifer's abandoned suburban SUV in nearby Waveney Park. The tailgate was backed up against this tree.

The Suburban was not running. Keys were not in the ignition. You could see the cleanup of the blood-like substance all over the passenger side under a flashlight. Police are not sharing much information as they search. New Canaan police launched a massive search. All I want to say is, Jennifer, we love you, and we are doing everything we can to bring you home. Sergeant Ventresca says the one person who didn't seem worried about Jennifer was the father of her five children, her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos.

Did he help at all in the search? No, no. Did he seem concerned about his wife as time went on? No, never seemed concerned about his wife. It wasn't always that way. They met in college, Jennifer, a writer and playwright from a wealthy New York family,

and Fotis, an international water skiing champion raised in Greece, both students at Brown University. It turned romantic some 17 years later, after a chance meeting at the Aspen Airport. What did she like about him, eventually love about him? Well, you know, he was a really charming person. He was very handsome. He was smart and funny. And an ambitious real estate developer and builder of luxury homes. Hi, I'm Fotis Toulos and I'm the owner of Four Group. We're custom builders working primarily

in the Hartford and Fairfield counties. Fotis and Jennifer married in 2004. Soon there were five children, two sets of twins, and then a little daughter. Lauren says Jennifer loved being a mother. She would sing to them and laugh at them, and she never raised her voice. She was just, like, incredibly nurturing. She never raised her voice. She was just like incredibly nurturing. The growing family moved into one of Fotis' opulent homes in Farmington, Connecticut, a suburb of Hartford. They had all the advantages money affords and an emphasis on sports, especially water skiing.

But the marriage was increasingly rocky, says Lauren. So I was in one of the kids rooms and we started to hear screaming and Jennifer ran through the bedroom door. Fotis was yelling and she closed the door behind her and pushed her body up against the door and he was trying to get in and I mean her face was just, she was terrified. By 2016, Fotis was away as many as 10 days a month, often chasing the latest water skiing competition. On a trip to Miami, he met Michelle Draconis. The Venezuelan-raised single mother was Fotis' type. She rode horses. Reported for ESPN in South America on snow skiing,

and even more to Fotis' liking, she was a competitive water skier. Michelle's sister, Claudia Marmol. He was charismatic. He was into sports just like she was. He was a loving father. Soon, Fotis and Michelle began an affair. It didn't take long for Jennifer to put two and two together. Through email and receipts, she found out that he went on a trip to Utah with Michelle and a friend of his and his girlfriend. Jennifer later told Lauren she confronted Fotis and he admitted to having the affair.

That was it. She devised a secret plan to take the kids and move out with Lauren's help. She was afraid of what Fotis would do to her or with the kids if she filed for divorce while they were living under the same roof. But Jennifer did file for divorce, took the kids, and moved into a rental home in New Canaan. Michelle and her young daughter moved into Fotis' house in Farmington. She fell in love with him, and they had a very amazing relationship. It would turn out to be one of the biggest mistakes of Michelle Traconis' life. Where is she? Where is she?

I'm Erin Moriarty of 48 Hours, and of all the cases I've covered, this is the one that troubles me most. A bizarre and maddening tale involving an eyewitness account that doesn't quite make sense. A sister testifying against a brother. A lack of physical evidence. Crosley Green has lived more than half his life behind bars for a crime he says he didn't commit.

Listen to Murder in the Orange Grove, the troubled case against Crosley Green, wherever you get your podcasts. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn,

and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still a virgin. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years, I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what

they can get away with. In the Pitcairn Trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. They showed up every day, friends of Jennifer, somber and respectful. We did need to just bring her, her presence, the love for her into the courtroom. For Jennifer's loved ones, there has been no body to mourn, no grave to visit.

Her remains have never been found. For prosecutors, it added another set of challenges to an already difficult case. To prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Michelle Draconis conspired with Fotis Doulos to commit murder, they first had to prove there was a murder, and then that it was Fotis who murdered her. But eight months after Jennifer vanished and long before a trial would begin, Fotis Doulos took his own life. I always thought this trial was against a ghost.

Prosecutors essentially brought Fotis back to life by focusing on the day Jennifer went missing. They presented what investigators had found at her home. When they go to the house, they go in the garage, they notice blood-like substance. There's something back here, too. Sergeant Ventresca and Detective John Kimball of the state's major crime squad were summoned to the scene.

There was evidence that someone had attempted to clean up blood. There would appear to be swirl marks on the sides of the vehicles. A serious violent assault occurred in that garage. I mean, there's definitely some sort of foul play involved. Within hours of searching the house, investigators learned Fotis had a possible motive, that contentious divorce, something Jennifer expressed in court documents. He is dangerous and ruthless when he believes he's been wronged.

He must always win at all costs. And there was little doubt that Fotis was losing. He had spent thousands of dollars in legal fees and court costs. His business was floundering. And worse, he lost shared physical custody of his children. I don't think Fotis liked to lose in any aspect of his life, and I don't think that he liked to be losing in court at the hands of his wife. The day after the mother of his children disappeared, Fotis was summoned to the new Canaan police station. Did he agree to sit down and talk?

No. But they got something more important than an interview. Police took Fotis' phone. They tracked it to Albany Avenue in Hartford around 7 p.m. the evening of May 24th, roughly the same time Jennifer was reported missing. It turns out there were security cameras all along Fotis' route. New Canaan police officer Thomas Patton couldn't believe his eyes.

What do you see? Well, as he was driving around, he was depositing black garbage bags and various receptacles. And is he alone? No. In one of those pictures, you can see a female that's leaning outside of the passenger side of the truck. Turns out that the female reaching for the sidewalk was Michelle Traconis. Within days, a team of detectives was dispatched to go digging through the trash. Some of the things retrieved were used zip ties with human blood and DNA of Jennifer Dulos on them, female undergarments, a Vineyard Vine shirt in the size that Jennifer wore. At trial for the first time, they showed those bloody clothes.

I think it was really important that they did that. We had seen photographs of that evidence, so I knew what it looked like. But being in the same space, the same space and time as Jennifer's clothes, just really drove home that she's not here. On June 1st, 2019, eight days after Jennifer vanished, both Fotis Doulos and Michelle Triconis were arrested for tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and first-degree hindering prosecution.

They still did not have enough for a murder charge. Fotis refused to talk to the police, but Michelle gave the first of three interviews. What's the red stuff? Officers made it clear Jennifer was not just missing. She was murdered. Basically, here's a fact. Fotis killed Jennifer.

Okay? This is a fact. We know this. We need to find Jennifer. Officers were trying to figure out if she knew where Jennifer's body was. If you had to get rid of a body which was no longer one piece, where would you go? Me?

Or where do you think Fotis might go? I'm not saying you. Where would Fotis have gone to take either Jennifer or parts of Jennifer to get rid of her. I don't know. Michelle insisted she didn't know anything about Abadi. She also gave Fotis an alibi. She told them he was with her at home that morning at Fort Jefferson Crossing.

Fotis wakes up, too. When I go to the bathroom, I brush my teeth, I get into the shower. Fotis jumps into the shower with me. That statement would come back to haunt her. Both Fotis and Michelle were released on bond and ordered not to communicate with one another. Fotis stayed in his glittering mansion at Fort Jefferson Crossing. Michelle moved into her own apartment

and would forever be branded as the other woman. I'll be honest with you, you're probably one of the most hated women in the parents were like, oh. Ten days after Jennifer disappeared, investigators found papers at Fotis and Michelle's home that they came to believe were actually alibi scripts, a timeline, say prosecutors, that Fotis, Dulos and Michelle created to keep their stories straight. 6.40, wake up, alarm, and then took a shower together.

That timeline became central to the state's case, not only for what was in it, but for what wasn't. The cops asked her, why wasn't Hartford in your timeline? Oh, I was going to write that, but I got interrupted. Isn't that coincidence? Isn't that convenient? Prosecutors set out to show what they say is the real timeline, starting in the early hours of May 24,

the day Jennifer vanished. Surveillance footage shows a truck leaving an empty house that Fotis had renovated for sale. A red pickup truck was seen leaving that residence, headed towards Route 4 at approximately 5.30, 5.35 hours. Sergeant Kenneth Andruska, who thinks Fotis was driving, tracked the pickup truck heading towards New Canaan, where Jennifer lived. We eventually located a red Toyota Tacoma pickup

truck driving southbound. The Tacoma was spotted two and a half hours later, shortly before 8 a.m. in New Canaan, near Waveney Park. This is where he had parked it. Investigators believe Fotis had brought a bicycle with him, and that's him biking the last three miles to Jennifer's house. He came over in the back road over there. He waited for her to drop the kids off at school.

She came home in the morning. She enters the garage. That's where. She came home in the morning. She enters the garage. That's where the violent assault occurred in the house. Prosecutors say that while Fotis was killing Jennifer, Michelle was back at their house, providing an alibi. Fotis had left his phone at home and prearranged a call with a friend from Greece. Prosecutors believe Michelle

picked up the call to make it appear that Fotis was home. Make no mistake, she knew exactly what she was doing when she answered that phone. Prosecutors claim Michelle then moved it around, locking it and unlocking it to continue to show activity. Now, the only person who could have reasonably manipulated Fotis Doulis' phone that morning is Michelle Triconis. This is the conspiracy. During the time prosecutors say Michelle was manipulating the phone,

Sergeant Ventresca believes Fotis was cleaning up the crime scene. Yeah, it is so bald, man. Especially because, like, it's like a pattern here. And then put Jennifer's dead or unconscious body in the back of her Suburban and drove it away. And then her vehicle was left about 3 1⁄2 miles away

down on Lapham Road near Waveney Park. Just 100 feet from where police say he had parked the Tacoma. There's storm drains down here. Investigators could not account for the next 40 minutes. We searched all this whole area. It's possible Fotis used that time to get rid of Jennifer's body. But they think it's more likely that he was transferring incriminating materials

from the Suburban to the Tacoma. If he had things to move, like a lot of bloody clothing, it could have taken 40 minutes. incriminating materials from the Suburban to the Tacoma. If he had things to move, like a lot of bloody clothing, could have taken 40 minutes. What happened to Jennifer, they don't know. What we do know is that the Tacoma returned to the empty house at 1222 p.m. After that, Fotis met Michelle for lunch.

Did you ask him where he was that morning? No. That's because prosecutors say she already knew. That afternoon, Michelle brought cleaning supplies and garbage bags to that empty house for sale, 80 Mountain Spring Road. Michelle says she and Fotis were preparing for a showing the next day. So what do you think was happening that afternoon at 80 Mountain Spring? I think that the evidence that was found in Hartford was being bagged up.

It was being bagged up. The prosecution showed Michelle driving back and forth to the house where she lived with Fotis. Prosecutors believed she was burning evidence. And there appears to be smoke coming out of the east chimney. Who's lighting a fire on Memorial Day weekend? Better question. Who's lighting three fires on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. Better question, who's lighting three fires on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend on a day like that?

The surveillance shows her going back and forth repeatedly, five minutes at a time, nine minutes at a time. Fire, fire. Please state your name and spell it for the record. Pavel Gumiani. If the prosecution had a star witness, it was Fotis' employee, Pavel Gumiani, who turns out to be the owner of that red Tacoma. Good morning, Mr. Gumiani. He described a conversation he had with Michelle a month before Jennifer went missing.

Michelle was upset when she learned Jennifer would not let the children say goodbye to the family dog before Fotis had him put to sleep. What exactly did she say? Um, can I use bad words? Yes. She said David should be buried right next to the snow. But perhaps Pavel's most damaging testimony concerned his pickup truck, that Tacoma, which he says Fotis took without permission. He says he showed up at the house where Michelle and Fotis were cleaning.

He wanted his truck back, but the keys were gone. What did Mr. Dulo say to him? He says that Michelle has a key. Michelle had already left the premises with the keys. She takes the keys to the Toyota Tacoma to prevent Pavel from taking the car for the weekend. After all, they need more time. They haven't gone to the car wash yet. Michelle returned with the keys, and Pavel took his truck home. But five days after Jennifer disappeared, Fotis finally took the old beat-up Tacoma to the car wash.

Michelle met him there. You can eat off the floorboards in this truck. That's how clean it was by the time we got it. But Fotis made one major miscalculation. He asked Pavel to remove the two front seats of the Tacoma and find replacements. He was growing angry and he'd keep on saying, like, you gotta do it, can you do it?

Pavel, who was later given immunity, did remove the seeds, but he handed them over to the police. And sure enough. On the passenger seat, there was a blood-like stain on the fabric of the seat. And this general area. Which was cut out, tested at the lab, and it came back to Jennifer Dulos' DNA blood. And that was paramount for this investigation.

They finally had enough evidence to arrest Fotis Dulos for the murder of his wife. Michelle Draconis was arrested for helping him plan the murder. The two would never see or speak to each other again. What do you think is the most damaging evidence against Michelle Traconis? For a closer look at the case, go to 48hours.com. As a kid growing up in Chicago,

there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror but did you know that the movie candy man was partly inspired by an actual murder i was struck by both how spooky it was but also how outrageous it was listen to candy man the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder early and ad free with a 48 hours plus subscription on apple podcasts have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge or why nearly every house in america has at least one game of monopoly introducing the best idea yet

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Let me say something about not showing emotion. If we smile as we're coming into the court, everything she does, someone's going to comment on that. Michelle, out on bail, left court quietly each day. But her family was outspoken. She's a mother, a daughter, a sister, and just an amazing human being. And we know that the truth will prevail.

Her father, cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Carlos Draconis, and sisters Claudia and Daniela, spoke to 48 Hours in 2020. Then, as now, they refused to believe that Michelle could have been involved in Jennifer's disappearance. What makes you believe that your sister had absolutely nothing to do with this? How we were brought up, our principles, just that she's never been a violent person. She wouldn't harm anybody. Sometimes women do ridiculous things for love. Not my sister. That's not Michelle.

Other woman, but not my sister. Michelle will never harm anybody, anyone. That's not Michelle. Other woman, but not my sister. Michelle will never harm anyone, anyone. Michelle's attorney, John Schoenhorn, says she was fooled by Fotis Doulos. Fotis Doulos lied to Michelle. It appears that he did on more than one occasion. According to Michelle, Fotis told her he believed his wife had run away,

something he claimed she had done in the past. I said, what? What do you mean that she disappeared? And he said, don't worry. She started in the past. She went to Austin and she changed her name 20 years ago. Schoenhorn says Fotis was also lying to her that night. He was dumping bloody evidence on Albany Avenue in Hartford. And you're saying she had no idea what was in those bags that Fotis was getting rid of? She not only did not know what was in those bags, she had no idea what he was actually doing. He'd invited her to go out to Starbucks. Practically the entire time, she's on either WhatsApp, texting, or making phone calls during that whole time.

Did you know what was in the bag? No, my mind is always like construction things. Even maybe, I don't know, the cleaning from the house. I don't know. Okay. Claudia, speaking on behalf of her sister after the trial, says it wasn't unusual for Fotis to dump construction debris in public trash cans instead of paying for a dumpster. I had gone in 2018 and he had done it in my presence, so it was very common for him to do that. But prosecutors portrayed that footage of Michelle leaning out

of the truck as something nefarious. They told the jury she was purposely giving cover to Fotis while he dumped two altered license plates down the sewer. While they opened the door at the exact same time, conveniently, at the right time to block the view from the tan car. Michelle says it was an innocent gesture. You're actually leaning out at one point of the car. No, I told him. I leaned, I had a chewing gum. I took it, I spit it, I spit it. Okay. And my hand got sticky and I went like this. And like this to clean. Okay.

The state's case was built on speculation, not facts, says Schoenhorn. Take that smoke rising from the fireplace. She would have fires going in the fireplace all the time. Remember, my sister lived in Argentina before, so it's very common to put the fireplace on and to just sit around, have your wine, and my sister would do it. wine, and my sister would do it. And in fact, says Schoenhorn, the police brought in cadaver dogs, but they never found any trace of evidence in the fireplace. What was she burning in that fireplace? Firewood. As for those missing keys to the Tacoma, Claudia says Michelle told her that the keys had been left out in the open, sticking out of the door of the truck. Culturally, we don't trust. We always lock doors. We always lock houses, everything. So she told me

she took them because of how we are, that she's just not going to leave keys hanging from the door. Schoenhorn says that not only is there an innocent explanation for every one of the state's accusations, but his client's willingness to help speaks volumes about her involvement or lack of it. She not only gave three interviews, she walked the police around the grounds near Fotis' house to help them look for Jennifer's body. Jennifer's body. We think you have information. I'm going to help you, but I can walk the whole world with you if you want. You can do whatever you want, but I'm getting to you. If, in fact, your sister knew where Jennifer's body was,

wouldn't she have tried to make a deal with that information? Of course. My sister is not the person that the media has portrayed, that the police and the state have wanted to portray. My sister would have said it. She would have stood up. In the end, Schoenhorn says her good intentions to help police worked against her.

It was Michelle's apparent contradictions in those three interviews that seemed to incriminate her. At the time, Michelle had a different lawyer. Do you wish she had never talked to the police? Let's put it this way. I would never have put my client in that situation when she was under arrest. Remember, in the first interview, she said she and Fotis took a shower together the morning Jennifer disappeared. But she changed that story in the first interview, she said she and Fotis took a shower together the morning Jennifer disappeared. But she changed that story in the second interview. She told officers she didn't see Fotis at home that morning.

First time you told us that you were in the house and woke up, you took a shower with Fotis. Now you didn't take a shower with Fotis. So this is all going to come out and make you look like you're not telling the truth. This is how she later explained it. Why did you tell us things that you knew were false? Okay, I wasn't shocked. I wasn't nervous. Police and the prosecution were convinced Michelle had helped plan an alibi, including that call Michelle picked up on Fotis' phone.

But Claudia says there's an innocent explanation for that too. It turns out that Fotis' friend, attorney Kent Mawinney, was at Fotis' home office at 8.26 a.m. when Fotis' phone rang. She was with Kent Mawinney in the office, and Kent was actually the one that signaled to her, aren't you going to answer the phone? So then she did. But why didn't Michelle mention that phone call to investigators? She never mentioned that phone call in the first two interviews. She never mentions it until the

third time. Why not? Was she trying to keep that from investigators? No, because again, I don't remember verbatim every single thing that I did. So our memory can fool us. And just because she didn't mention it doesn't mean that she was hiding it. Schoenhorn called to the stand a memory expert, psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, to explain the changing stories. People with a lot of life stress are not going to be, their memory is not going to be operating optimally. Next, he called Villarica Marion, a professor who specializes in the relationship between language and memory. She testified that Michelle, who you'll remember

listened to the trial in Spanish, had only medium proficiency in English. Does that play a role when you're asked to retrieve or recite something that you had encoded in your memory? It can. After three days, the defense rested. Michelle never took the stand. It was time for the attorneys to present their closing arguments to the jury. In my mind, I thought, is there an innocent explanation?

Because you want to get it right. I don't want an innocent person to go to jail. Go behind the scenes with the 48 Hours Postmortem Podcast. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marcia Clark, host of the new podcast,

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Listen to Informants Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad free right now. When jury selection began in the trial of Michelle Traconis, Jennifer Farber-Dulos had been missing for 1,594 days. For Carrie Luft, the courtroom became a place to pay homage to a friend whose absence has left an unbearable silence. I was there to be a presence for Jennifer. After six weeks of testimony, it was finally time for the attorneys to sum up their cases in a narrative, a story, no longer than an hour.

Their chance to put all the pieces together. We met up with John Schoenhorn as he put the finishing touches on his closing arguments. I feel apprehensive, but I feel that we have a good shot. The following morning, Jennifer's five children, now 17, 15, and 13, and living with their grandmother, sat in the gallery as the closing arguments began. All rise. Their grandmother sat in the gallery as the closing arguments began. All rise. They wanted to support their mom. They wanted to support their grandmother.

And they wanted to know what happened. Are the parties ready to proceed? Yes, Your Honor. Prosecutor Michelle Manning was the first up. This trial is very simple. It's about a conspiracy and about a cover-up. It's about Michelle Triconis' actions and about how she and Fotis Doulos conspired together to murder the woman who was standing in their way. It is, and I will say this multiple times, speculation. It's conjecture. It's guesswork, which is not the standard of evidence in a criminal case here.

Prosecutor Sean McGinnis delivered a powerful finish using one simple word, coincidence. I want to just pose these questions to you as you head into your deliberations. Is it really just a bunch of coincidences? Is it just a coincidence that the defendant answered Dulos' phone at Fort Jefferson Crossing when he was murdering his wife in Buchanan? Is it just a coincidence that Dulos' phone is being moved and manipulated when only the defendant is home? Is it just a coincidence that the defendant travels with Dulos to Hartford as he disposes of the evidence on the same day? Is it just a coincidence that the defendant brought black garbage bags to A.D. Mountain

and Jennifer's shirt and bra were found inside black trash bags? For alternate juror Patrick, who wanted us to only use his first name, the mother being taken away from her children. the prosecution's closing put weeks of testimony into perspective. Where it all came together really was in closing arguments. That's when it all made sense to me. And really up to that point,

I'd entertained both sides in my head. As an alternate juror, Patrick was released before deliberations. Thank you. After a little more than two days... The jury has reached their unanimous verdict. The jury sent word to the judge. Will the defendant please rise?

State of Connecticut versus Michelle Chaconis. What say you, Mr. Foreperson? Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. What did that feel like, hearing guilty? What did that feel like, hearing guilty? Well, I held her arm, and I could just feel the energy leave her body. Everything was dead silent. Everything just stopped at that moment.

Yes. And it was really stunning. And I guess I mean that in the physical sense of being stunned and just sort of hanging on every word. Patrick says he agreed with the verdict, including the most serious charge, conspiracy to commit murder. What makes you believe that she helped plan it? I think the totality of the evidence. Not only what I thought she was deceptive in her interviews, but even just absent of that,

the moving around of Fotis's phone in the morning, the answering the phone call, covering for him, even if there was an explanation for it, that certainly shows that he had some reason to do that. The Chaconas family spoke to the press after the verdict. And we continue standing here because we too care to know the truth of what happened to Jennifer. But we don't know what happened to Jennifer. And choosing and putting my sister as the guilty person is not the right thing to do because she's innocent. Thank you. For Jennifer Farber-Dulos' family and friends,

it was the verdict they had hoped for, but it did little to ease the anguish they feel every day that she remains missing. And that's what's the most painful. We don't know. We don't know where she is. Do you think you ever will? I don't know.

We'd like to find her and bring her home. If that doesn't happen, if that doesn't change our love for her. She's in each of our hearts. She's in our five children. You see her face in Gloria's. So, you know, Jennifer's still here in so many ways. But I think it would bring some peace to be able to let her rest in peace.

Michelle Trokonis is expected to be sentenced on May 31st. She faces a maximum of 50 years in prison. Join me Tuesday for Postmortem from 48 Hours, where we'll dive even deeper into today's episode and answer your questions about the case. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.