STAMFORD, Conn. — A "very accomplished" expert in human memory testified Thursday in the criminal trial of Michelle Troconis, who is facing charges in connection to the disappearance of New Canaan mom Jennifer Dulos.
Elizabeth Loftus is a professor at the University of California: Irvine (UCI) who touts a doctorate in psychology, nearly two dozen books and hundreds of scientific journal entries, as well as eight honorary doctorates from higher institutions around the world in her decades of work, according to testimony. UCI considers Loftus “one of the nation’s leading experts on memory,” according to the university’s website.
This is far from Loftus' first court appearance; she'd also consulted or testified for defense teams in high-profile trials, including the trials of Ted Bundy, Bill Cosby, Phil Spector and Harvey Weinstein, Loftus told the court.
The defense called Loftus to the stand in hopes of justifying to the jury Troocnis’ answers heard throughout three of her interrogations with investigators in the summer of 2019, as previous testimony had indicated that there were changes to Troconis’ story in each interview.
The defense asked Loftus whether "post-event suggestion" had an influence on interviews with investigators.
"After some event occurs, sometimes people are exposed to new information. They have conversations with other people, they are interrogated, they are exposed to media coverage, they get new information," Loftus explained to the court. "And one of the things we and other scientists have discovered is that post-event information, particularly if it's misleading, can contaminate or distort or transform somebody's memory."
When asked if deliberately false information from police during interrogations can affect a subject's memory, Loftus answered, "If it has happened or if it does happen, then we know from the science that it can contaminate somebody's memory and want them to adopt the information or make a change in their memory to accommodate the misinformation."
The prosecution questioned Loftus' ability to remain neutral as an expert witness.
The prosecution pulled a quote from “Witness for the Defense,” a book Loftus published in 1991, in which she was asked to read out loud for the court, “Should a psychologist in a court of law act as an advocate for the defense or an impartial educator, my answer to that question, if I'm completely honest, is both. If I believe a defendant is innocent...with all my heart and soul, then I probably can't help of become an advocate of sorts.”
“Do you agree with the statement?” the prosecution asked.
“I guess I do agree with that,” Loftus said.
The prosecution asked if the human being's mental capacity to lie was considered in Loftus' analysis of the Troconis case, to which she replied, "It’s certainly the prosecution’s theory as to what happened, and mine was an alternative theory...It remains a possibility."
"From the rest of the testimony, it seemed like she [Troconis] was trying to say, ‘I was not accurate, but not lying,’" Loftus added.
A lawyer who represented Fotis Dulos, the estranged husband of Jennifer, during a custody battle that occurred in the months before Jennifer's disappearance also testified.
The lawyer recalled telling Troconis there was "light at the end of the tunnel" in regard to the custody issue, and that he could tell Troconis was "a bit uncomfortable" with the ongoing situation.
The court anticipates the defense to rest its case Friday.
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Jennifer Farber Dulos, New Canaan mother of five, was last seen on May 24, 2019, dropping her children off at school. She was reported missing that evening, and an investigation was started.
Troconis is the one-time girlfriend of Jennifer’s estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, who was charged with Jennifer’s murder before he took his life in January 2020.
Troconis faces six charges:
- Conspiracy to commit murder
- Conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence – In connection to May 24, 2019
- Tampering with physical evidence – In connection to May 24, 2019
- Conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence – In connection to May 29, 2019
- Tamping with physical evidence – In connection to May 29, 2019
- Hindering prosecution
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