Fotis Dulos\u2019 girlfriend claims she helped him clean ‘coffee spill’ from truck
The woman charged alongside her boyfriend in the case of missing Connecticut mom Jennifer Dulos has admitted to cops that she helped him clean a truck — but she claims she thought they were dealing with a “coffee spill,” according to an arrest warrant.
Michelle Troconis — who was rearrested on a fresh charge of tampering with evidence Thursday — said that on the afternoon of Jennifer’s May 24 disappearance she saw Fotis Dulos cleaning what he told her was coffee from a red Toyota pickup belonging to his employee, the warrant states.
Fotis allegedly handed her a stained rag to put in a garbage bag, and though Troconis, 44, claimed not to remember what color the stain was, “she admitted that it did not smell of coffee,” according to her and Fotis’ warrant.
She acknowledged putting a “coffee stained” paper towel in a black garbage bag — similar to the ones authorities believe she and Fotis, Jennifer’s 51-year-old estranged husband, threw away later that evening.
Both Fotis and Troconis were arrested in June on charges of evidence tampering and hindering prosecution. They have pleaded not guilty and were freed on $500,000 bail.
Those charges stemmed from surveillance footage that authorities said showed the pair dumping the trash bags containing items soaked with Jennifer’s blood.
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During a June 6 interview with detectives, Troconis admitted that she and Fotis wrote what police are calling “alibi scripts” to “help them remember” details of what they did on May 24 and 25, according to the warrant.
She said that after attempting to help Fotis clean the truck, she followed him a couple of days later to a car wash where he had it washed and detailed, the warrant states.
When cops asked Troconis why Fotis had the pickup cleaned, she allegedly replied, “Well obviously … it’s because the body of Jennifer at some point was in there,” the warrant said.
Troconis turned herself in to authorities a day after Fotis was rearrested on a fresh charge of tampering with evidence. He was released on $500,000 bail and is expected to appear in Norwalk Superior Court next Thursday.
She posted $100,000 bail and is expected in court Sept. 18.
Troconis’ lawyer maintained her innocence following her release on Thursday.
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“We have a judicial system in this country which is the foundation of our democracy,” the lawyer, Andrew Bowman, told the Hartford Courant. “The most important parts of that system are the presumption of innocence and trial by jury so I’d like you to remember that Michelle’s presumed innocent and she should be. We’re prepared to let judgment rest in a jury’s hands.”
