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Atty. for Michelle Troconis files three new motions including request to dismiss charges

Lawyer says the arrest was based on an affidavit that lacked probable cause

HARTFORD, Conn — New developments Thursday in the Dulos case. The attorney for Michelle Troconis is calling on the state to dismiss the charges against her. It was one of three new motions filed in Stamford Court by Attorney Jon Schoenhorn.

These new motions come on the heels of two straight days of searching the former Dulos property at 80 Mountain Spring Road in Farmington.

The first motion calls for an all-out dismissal of the charges against Troconis, including conspiracy to commit murder. Troconis’s attorney accused a state police detective of lying in the affidavit to make the court believe that 30 stops were made to dump bloody items along Albany Avenue in Hartford, when the video allegedly shows only three stops were made.

RELATED: A timeline of the Jennifer Dulos investigation

Schoenhorn points out that the female passenger, who many believe to be Troconis, never exited the black Ford Raptor to help the man who is believed to be Fotis Dulos. "They leave out the fact that she tells them that we were going out to Starbucks and he went past where the Starbucks was. I was on my phone I was texting. I asked him what are we doing here and Dulos said to her don’t worry about it I just have to drop some things off," explained Schoenhorn.


Attorney Schoenhorn is asking for a hearing on the matter so he can present his evidence which, he says, also includes proof that the state recklessly obtained information through unlawful searches and seizures.

FOX61 reached out to the Chief State’s Attorney’s Office, but we have not heard back.

Schoenhorn also filed what’s called a ‘motion to compel.' Essentially, he is accusing the state of withholding evidence he says is vital to form a defense for Troconis. Schoenhorn includes a photo of Kent Mawhinney being interrogated for three hours in August of 2020 by the state police at their polygraph unit in Meriden.

Schoenhorn suggests that promises were made to Mawhinney in exchange for his cooperation and that at one point Mawhinney says, “I want out.” Schoenhorn claims the state subsequently agreed to reduce Mawhinney’s bond without a hearing. "The purpose is to show that the officers are all taking notes...Something is being promised here and here are all these notes being taken and I’m entitled to those notes. They are contemporaneous they are taken as Mawhinney is talking to them and they are holding that back," he said.


Schoenhorn then filed a motion to get Michelle Troconis’s GPS ankle device removed - citing that it’s not waterproof and prevents her from going water skiing. It also can’t fit over a boot, so it prevents her from attending her daughters ski competitions. He’s been fighting for this for a long time. "The longer that a person remains on a bracelet the more it becomes punishment the more it becomes an illegal search and seizure," explained Schoenhorn.

We also reached out to Lee Gold, the Attorney for Kent Mawhinney, but have not heard back. Both Troconis and Kent Mawhinney are charged with conspiracy to commit the murder of Jennifer Dulos, who’s body has never been found.

On May 24, 2019, Jennifer Dulos went missing after dropping her children off at school. Her SUV was found in a New Canaan park. 

She has not been seen since.

About a week later, Fotis Dulos and Traconis, Fotis Dulos' girlfriend at the time Jennifer went missing, were arrested on charges of tampering with the evidence.

Fotis Dulos was charged with murder in January. At the same time, Troconis and Kent Mawhinney, a friend of Fotis Dulos, were charged with conspiracy to commit murder and had a court set bond of $2 million.

Three weeks later Fotis Dulos took his own life. 

In late August, Michelle Troconis was charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution.

The new charges are in connection with what authorities say were efforts to cover up the killing of Jennifer Dulos.

Additionally, the judge ruled that Troconis no longer has to be part of the Intensive Probation supervision program, but all other conditions of her release are subject to written decision that is expected to be made in two weeks.  

The attorney for Michelle Troconis had asked the court to review and modify the conditions under which she has been held on house arrest. Defense counsel released three videos in August they said bolsters their case.

Troconis pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

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