The Venezuelan socialite convicted of conspiring to kill Connecticut mother-of-five Jennifer Dulos is making a new bid for freedom in a move that could bring the grisly case back to the courtroom.
Michelle Troconis, 49, has filed a petition requesting a review of her conviction on the grounds that her original lawyer, Andrew Bowman, allegedly failed to properly advise her in the crucial first stages of her arrest.
Troconis subsequent attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, who represented her throughout her grueling criminal trial earlier this year, told DailyMail.com there is substantial hope that this injustice will be rectified by the appellant court.
‘Seldom have I had a case that so bothers me and continues to haunt me more than this case, he said, while lamenting his clients innocence.
Schoenhorn added that he frequently visits former glamorous ESPN TV host Troconis at York Correctional Institution in Niantic, CT, and said she was very sad and stressed the last time they spoke a few weeks ago.
Michelle Troconis, the Venezuelan socialite convicted of conspiring to kill Jennifer Dulos is making a bid for freedom, in a legal move which could bring the grisly case back to the courtroom. (Pictured: Troconis in court with her attorney Jon Schoenhorn earlier this year)
Mother-of-five Jennifer Dulos was 50 when she was killed by her estranged husband Fotis in her New Canaan, CT home on May 24, 2019. Her remains were never found
‘As someone who had never come in contact with the police before - and now she’s incarcerated… It’s a very harsh adjustment, especially if there’s reason to believe you are innocent, the attorney told DailyMail.com.
Troconis was sentenced to 14.5 years in jail earlier this year for helping her former boyfriend, Fotis Dulos, kill his estranged wife Jennifer at her New Canaan CT home on May 24, 2019.
Police say Fotis brutally attacked Jennifer after she returned from dropping their children at school.
Troconis then helped him dispose of her bloodied clothes in various trash cans, as captured on surveillance footage.
Fotis was charged with murder but killed himself ahead of trial - leaving the Dulos children orphaned and Troconis to face the music alone.
A weapon was never recovered, and Jennifers body was never found.
Jurors found Troconis guilty of six counts including conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with physical evidence, and hindering prosecution in the second degree following an emotionally-charged trial at Stamford Superior Court in Spring.
The six-week-long trial heard evidence from officers, forensics experts, and the family and friends who had been due to meet with Jennifer on the day she died.
Gruesome images of blood splatters in the garage and kitchen of Jennifers New Canaan home were shown to the jury as experts detailed how Fotis DNA was found at the property.
Troconis subsequent attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, who represented her throughout her grueling criminal trial earlier this year, told DailyMail.com there is substantial hope her trial could be revisited. (Pictured: Schoenhorn with Troconis during her trial in Stamford, CT, this Spring)
Pictured: Michelle Troconis remonstrating with Schoenhorn at her sentencing hearing
Troconis broke down in court on several occasions during her murder trial earlier this year
Jennifer Dulos (left) vanished on May 24, 2019, amid a divorce from her husband Fotis (right), who was later charged with her murder. Fotis killed himself in January 2020, leaving his new lover Michelle Troconis to face trial alone for allegedly helping him conceal the killing
Since the sentencing, Troconis, who is a mother herself with an 18-year-old daughter, has been spending her time in prison volunteering with community incentives, according to Schoenhorn.
She’s working in the programs that are social related, to help people. There’s no requirement, it’s a choice, he told DailyMail.com.
Troconis has also been inundated with letters of support while incarcerated, according to the lawyer.
She has received mail from a lot of people supporting her, Schoenhorn said.
She has a large circle of people from all over the world who supported her.
I still get communications from some of those people.
Troconis latest legal filing is a habeas corpus petition requesting a review of her conviction in the hopes of securing a retrial.
She argues in the petition that Bowman, her first lawyer, abandoned her in the first crucial stages of her arrest by failing to gather key information about her side of the story, or to advise her about whether she should speak with police.
Troconis police interviews after her June 1, 2019 arrest - including one where a cop called her the most hated woman in America - allowed prosecutors to portray her as an accomplice who lied to police and formed the foundation of their case, the petition says.
The legal document argues that Troconis should be entitled to a retrial because Bowman did not properly assist her during this interrogation process.
‘The ineffective representation of Bowman all but sealed the fate of the petitioner at her criminal trial,’ the petition says.
Former glamorous ESPN TV host Troconis is being held at York Correctional Institution (pictured) in Niantic, CT. Schoenhorn said she was very sad and stressed at his last visit
Arrest warrants link Dulos (left) and Troconis (right) to videos of trash bags being dumped in areas where Jennifers blood was later found on clothing and other items
Michelle Troconis (left) and Fotis Dulos (right) were living together in his Farmington CT home at the time of Jennifers disappearance on May 24, 2019
Schoenhorn, who was not involved in filing the latest petition because he is a likely witness in the next stage of proceedings, said he was astounded by Bowmans handing of the case.
In my opinion, I can think of no justification for a lawyer to have put a client in that situation, he told DailyMail.com.
Troconis legal document also accuses Jennifer of disappearing abruptly in the 1990s and being estranged from her own family for four years - along with temporarily changing her name and involving herself with Scientology.
The claims about the Connecticut mother are designed to bolster Troconis argument that she believed Jennifers disappearance was nothing out of the ordinary - and that she was deceived by Fotis rather than being part of his murder plot.
‘Believing what she had been told about Jennifer by Fotis and others, the petitioner (Troconis) did not at first think that Jennifer was dead or that Fotis could be responsible for any foul play, the legal document reads.
She relied on Fotis’s assurances that Jennifer had behaved similarly in the past.’
Schoenhorn told DailyMail.com there is documentation to support the claims about Jennifer from her sealed child custody proceedings with Fotis - but said he could not comment further on the allegations.
The case has drawn widespread attention over the last five years. Jennifer was a member of a wealthy New York family and a niece by marriage of fashion designer Liz Claiborne, while Fotis was a luxury home builder originally from Greece.
Since the sentencing, Troconis, who is a mother herself with an 18-year-old daughter, has been spending her time in prison volunteering with community incentives, according to Schoenhorn (Pictured: Troconis and Schoenhorn approaching the court during her trial)
Theodore Dulos, 18, blasted Troconis as evil, violent, and most definitely a coward and demanded she tell them where their mothers body is at the sentencing hearing in May this year (Pictured: Theodore as a child with his mother Jennifer)
Jennifer uncovered Fotis affair with Troconis in March 2017, and their children - Petros, Theodore, Constantine, Christiane and Cleopatra Noelle - were aged between eight and 13 at the time she disappeared.
After waiting five years for justice, the children addressed Troconis with scathing statements in court at her sentencing in May, with Theodore, now 18, branding her evil, violent, and most definitely a coward.
DailyMail.com has contacted the law firm which filed the petition and Andrew Bowman, along with both the Troconis and Dulos families.