Following a guilty verdict on all six charges she was facing, lawyers for Michelle Troconis were indicating next steps to be taken, including an appeal in the case. Her family vowing to appeal the trial when possible.
“Unexpected completely,” Troconis’ sister Claudia Marmol said in an exclusive interview with NBC Connecticut following the verdict. “We were never expecting the six counts, I mean not even one to be honest, because this has been an injustice from day one for my sister.”
She was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, evidence tampering, conspiracy to commit evidence tampering and hindering prosecution in the murder of Jennifer Dulos.
She was taken to York Correctional Facility in Niantic following the conviction, and according to her legal team over the weekend, it was unlikely a short-term bond package would be obtained. We have reached out for an update, but have not heard back.
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She and her family maintain her innocence.
“The only thing was getting in love with a man, the wrong man, in the wrong moment and the wrong place. That’s her sin,” her father Carlos Troconis said.
The family said multiple times that they plan to appeal the guilty verdict.
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“It’s very common in a criminal case where it has been brought to trial to bring an appeal,” Jessica Lopez, a visiting assistant legal professor of legal studies at Quinnipiac University, said.
She said an appeal shouldn’t come as a surprise, and isn’t a new trial. It’s rather a court checking for errors of law in the case, and the judge’s rulings.
“Was evidence properly admitted, was a motion denied that should have been granted?” Lopez said.
But first, Lopez said the defense will work on post-trial motions, something defense attorney Jon Schoenhorn indicated he was beginning Friday.
Depending on the outcome of those motions, they too will be subject to the appeal process.
“You do sometimes want to exhaust all of your motions before the trial court so you can raise those denials on appeal as well,” Lopez said.
She said that appeal would come post sentencing, which is set for May 31, Troconis also has a contempt hearing scheduled for March 21.
But despite the fight for an appeal, some domestic violence organizations say the jury's decision serves an important reminder and is a step toward justice.
“We have to keep remembering what happened to Jennifer, that’s my goal, because now we have accountability…we have accountability, there is no justice,” Betsy Keller, founder of Connecticut Protective Moms, said.
Evidence and testimony in the trial from both state prosecutors and Troconis’ defense were closely tied to custody disputes and divorce proceedings happening before Jennifer Dulos was murdered. Keller said that should be a signal to the family court system here in the state that there is need for reform.
“It will only be successful in that end goal, if it reflects back on the family court system and why we ended up here,” Keller said.
She also noted though the verdict moved the needle, there is still a lot of work to be done.
“We have to wake up in the morning and make certain there isn’t a Jennifer in family court today, who is asking a judge for the same protections to keep herself and her children safe, and then having that request ignored,” Keller said.
