Decision Reached On Contempt Charge Against Michelle Troconis: Report

STAMFORD, CT — A contempt of court charge has been dropped against Michelle Troconis, who was convicted last year in the disappearance and death of Jennifer Farber Dulos, WFSB-TV reported.

Troconis, who is serving 14 and a half years in prison, was facing the contempt charge after prosecutors said she defied a court order during the trial by displaying text from a sealed report on the Duloses' custody case; the font of the text reportedly was large enough that the gallery in the court could view portions of it.

Jennifer Dulos, 50, vanished from her New Canaan home on May 24, 2019, and is presumed to be dead. Her body has not been found.

Troconis was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and related charges in connection with the disappearance and death; she was the girlfriend of Fotis Dulos, the estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos.

The Duloses were in the midst of a contentious divorce and child custody fight at the time of Jennifer's disappearance. Fotis Dulos was accused of murder and kidnapping in the case, but took his own life in January 2020 and never stood trial.

News 12 Connecticut reported that prosecutors decided to drop the contempt charges, in part, because they would rather focus on their attention defending against Troconis' appeal of her conviction.

Last week, the third suspect in the case, former attorney and friend of Fotis Dulos, Kent Mawhinney, pleaded guilty to a single count of interfering with police in connection with the case.

Mawhinney had faced the same conspiracy to commit murder charge that Troconis faced, as both were accused of assisting Fotis Dulos in the murder plot.

In a statement to News 12, Troconis' family called the decision to drop the contempt charges "a meaningful step in the right direction" that they hope will eventually lead to her conviction being overturned.

Read the WFSB-TV story; read the News 12 Connecticut story.

The Dulos case:

• Jennifer Dulos Case: Troconis Writes About 'Miscarriage Of Justice'
• Michelle Troconis' Family Issues New Statement In Jennifer Dulos Case
• Jennifer Dulos Case: Jury Deliberations Begin In Troconis Trial
• Jennifer Farber Dulos' Family: Seeing Bloody Evidence Was 'Brutal'
• Jennifer Dulos Case: Jury Hears Authorities Feared For Troconis' Life
• Jennifer Dulos Case: New Updates As Mystery Remains Unsolved
• New DNA Evidence Disclosed In Jennifer Dulos Disappearance
• New Documentary Explores Jennifer Dulos Murder Mystery
• Troconis Wants Evidence Thrown Out In Dulos Disappearance Case
• Mystery Continues 3 Years After Jennifer Farber Dulos' Disappearance
• New Details On How Jennifer Dulos May Have Died: Warrant
• Jennifer Dulos Case: Examination Of Forensic Evidence Continues
• Fotis Dulos Pressed Witness To Destroy Evidence: Court Testimony
• Jennifer Dulos Case: Troconis To Face Contempt Charge In Trial
• Jurors Dismissed, Blood Evidence Presented In 1st Week Of Dulos Trial
• Jennifer Dulos Case: Troconis Does Not Testify; Defense Rests: Report
• Jennifer Farber Dulos: 4 Years Since Her Disappearance
• Family Releases Statement On Jennifer Farber Dulos' 51st Birthday