No Body, No Problem: Guilty Verdict Reached in the Presumed Murder of Jennifer Dulos
37:48 Share

Stay farm and DJ Dramos from Life as a Gringo. No making smarter financial moves today secures a financial freedom for a successful tomorrow. Tackle these situations in stride and of course be annoyed when an unplanned expense comes up, but not let it be something that slows me down. Right. As I did with repairing my credit, you know, hiring somebody to do credit repair for me. That was a gift that I gave myself that allowed me to then, you know, get my first apartment.

Like a good neighbor? State Farm is there. State Farm, proud sponsor of My Cultura Podcast Network. COVID-19 and flu viruses disguise themselves to fool your immune system. That's why COVID-19 and flu vaccines are updated to protect you. Stay up to date on COVID-19 and flu vaccinations. Sponsored by Champions for Vaccine Education, Equity and Progress.

Hello, everyone, and welcome back. So happy to have you here today. And if you're new, then welcome. Today's episode is different because it's a continuation of my last episode. We went over the case of Jennifer Dulos. However, after recording it, I realized it was way too long to be one part. It was going to be nearly two hours, and we needed a bit more time to edit it and get it on your screens. Plus, I felt that it was just too long.

is overwhelming and that I know a lot of you do enjoy longer episodes however the majority I know just from data process things better in smaller chunks and I feel like Jennifer's case really needs that there is so much to absorb and I really want her story to be told and listened to in full so I felt giving us a little break was a good idea so if you haven't yet listened to or watched part one definitely go back and check that out first or you're going to be extremely confused and

in part two. I will obviously have that linked below for you. Today in part two, we do have a lot to go over. Mainly, we're going to be going over more arrests and the recent trial that just wrapped up. Buckle up because there is still so much more that needs to be told. And that starts with how Fotis's attorney essentially slandered Jennifer in the weeks and months following her disappearance. So let's just get right into it. This is mind-blowingly offensive.

But just a month after Jennifer disappeared, Fotis' attorney made a statement to reporters that this was a case of revenge suicide. I'm sure most of you have heard of the book and movie called Gone Girl. It's very, very popular. It's about this woman who fakes her death and pins it on her husband. And this is what Fotis' attorney said Jennifer did. He said that she had the, quote, imagination,

means and motive to disappear and make it look like her husband was responsible. And he based this claim on what he said was the fact that Jennifer wrote a manuscript for a book that had the same premise as Gone Girl, which...

flat out just wasn't true. First of all, Gone Girl came out nearly a decade after this manuscript was written. And second of all, a friend of Jennifer's who actually read the manuscript said that it wasn't about that at all. And if Fotis's attorney had even taken a little time to read...

Maybe even some of it, he would have known that. But of course he didn't read it because that wasn't his goal. His goal was to make his client look innocent and to disparage an innocent woman in the process. Now, this is so wildly offensive in so many ways, especially to her family, to her children, to her. I mean, what kind of sick monster would say that Jennifer, a devoted, loving mother, would...

stage her own death and leave her children in order to ruin her husband's life. That is just such a wildly absurd offensive claim to make. I cannot even believe he said that. It is so unprofessional and disgusting. Jennifer never would have put her children and her family through that emotional torture. And honestly, that whole part of this just really pisses me off. And Fotis honestly had just...

unbelievable audacity in the weeks following Jennifer's disappearance. At one point, and there's video of this, Fotis wished his kids and Jennifer a Merry Christmas. And this was months after she disappeared, which is just a nod to what his attorney said, that she's really still out there

It's disgusting. And at some point, Michelle completely turned on him. She even requested the judge to file an order that prevented Fotis from even contacting her. I mean, his literal co-conspirator and ex-girlfriend was disassociating herself from him rather than standing by his side and advocating justice.

for his innocence. So that says a lot if you ask me. But Fotis seemed to be doing just fine on his own. In July, he did an interview with NBC New York and gave the whole, I'm innocent, this has been so hard on me speech. I mean, you just, you got to hear it for yourself. It's been a very tough time for the whole family. We're all very worried about Jennifer. How do you think the public looks at you?

It depends. I think that the people that do not know me, they probably look at me as a monster. As a monster. Yes. And that is because of the information that has come out. And I cannot speak about what happens. So they take the narrative that they see from the arrests, the arrest warrants, and what is being reported in the press, and they draw their own conclusions. So I've already been convicted in their mind.

What do you want people watching to know? I want them to know that this is a very, very challenging time for my whole family. And we just have to be patient to get to the other side and see what happens. Do you think you've been treated fairly by the criminal justice system? I do. You do? Yes. I think with the information they had, they did the best they could. And I understand they have tremendous pressure on them.

And it's also statistically when something like this happens, 90 or 95% is the spouse. So I can understand why people feel like this. And your answer to that is? What's the question? When people say yes, 90% of the time it is the spouse. Well, it's 90%. It's not 100%. So I'm in the 5% or 10% category. So, yeah, because, you know, people automatically say, oh, yeah, people say the spouse did it. Mm-hmm.

I know, but I know what I've done and I know what I haven't done. So I have to stand and fight and hope that the truth is going to come out. Do you have any thoughts about that, about her disappearance or what's happened? I do, but I'd rather not speak about that today. But at some point? Some point. Some point.

Hey guys, it is Ryan. I'm not sure if you know this about me, but I'm a bit of a fun fanatic when I can. I like to work, but I like fun too. And now I can tell you about my favorite place to have fun. Chumba Casino. They have hundreds of social casino style games to choose from with new games released each week. You can play for free and each day brings a new chance to collect daily bonuses. So join me in the

fun. Sign up now at ChumbaCasino.com. Sponsored by Chumba Casino. No purchase necessary. VGW Group. Voidware prohibited by law. 18 plus. Terms and conditions apply. Save on O'Reilly Brake Parts Cleaner. Get two cans of O'Reilly Brake Parts Cleaner for just $8. Valid in-store only at O'Reilly Auto Parts.

He even had the balls to say that he and Jennifer were cordial in the weeks and months leading up to her disappearance, which is total bullshit. If by cordial he means making threats to kidnap the children and making Jennifer fear for her life, then sure, they were cordial. But anyway, jumping forward here, on September 4th, 2019, Fotis was arrested for the second time.

This time, it was on an additional charge of tampering with evidence, and he was given a $500,000 bond, which he posted and was scheduled to return back to court on September 12th. In court, his attorney entered a plea of not guilty and told the state to, quote, bring it on. And a day after Fotis' arrest, Michelle turned herself in...

and was arrested and charged with the same thing. She was given a $100,000 bond, which she also posted and was scheduled to return to court on September 18th, where she did not end up entering a plea. As 2019 wrapped up, Fotis appeared in court several more times for hearings related to his charges in Jennifer's case, as well as hearings related to the civil case that Jennifer's mom...

filed against him in early 2018. If you remember, she was suing him for not paying back a $2.5 million loan, one that he claims was a gift. Pretty big gift, if you ask me. But anyway, the lawsuit was really the least of his troubles because on January 7th, 2020, he was arrested and charged with felony murder, murder,

murder and kidnapping. And these charges came from the mountain of evidence that I've been sharing with you guys. And prosecutors were very confident in their case. But it wasn't just Fotis who they arrested that day. They also arrested Michelle and Kent, and they were both charged with conspiracy to commit murder. On January 7th, 2020,

Western District, in conjunction with Central District major crime detectives, were able to get enough evidence to affect the arrests of three following individuals. Fotos Doulas, who is charged with murder, felony murder, and kidnapping, with a court-set bond of $6 million. Michelle Traconis, charged with conspiracy to commit murder,

with a court-set bond of $2 million. Kent Mowinney, charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

Also with a court set bond of $2 million. Now, I promised you guys a while back that I would explain more about who Kent is and how he fits into all of this. And I think now's a good time to do so. So let's let's do that. Kent Mawinney was not only Fotis's personal attorney for the civil case he was dealing with, but he was also a close friend. Now, if you remember when I talked about Michelle's interview, she claimed that Kent was at their house.

in Farmington on the morning of May 24th. And the story was that he was there to have a meeting with Fotis, but just like Michelle...

he wasn't telling the full truth. First, he tried to say that there was no meeting that morning, but then after being pressed a little, he said that there was a meeting. However, Fotis never showed up. Despite coming clean, though, investigators felt like Kent knew more than he was leading on, specifically about the phone calls that morning. Phone records show that calls were made between Kent and Fotis on the afternoon of May 24th. And to

To make an incredibly long story short, investigators believe that Kent was not only aware of the murder, but that he went to the house in order to help create an alibi for Fotis. So big no-no there. And when it comes to these phone calls, there's a story attached. And I know you guys are going to laugh at this the way that I did. When investigators ask Kent...

what he and Fotis talked about on the phone, he said that he couldn't remember because that morning he had taken a nasty fall down the stairs and he got a concussion and he couldn't remember anything about the day before. Poof. All

All of it gone. How convenient. Even more convenient, his phone was apparently damaged in that fall. And so he had to get a new one. So basically, he's telling them, I don't know shit about shit because of this fall. And luckily, that did not stop investigators from pressing charges against him. And here's a little tidbit that you should probably know about Kent that will tell you a lot about the kind of guy he is. He was always

already facing charges filed by his soon-to-be ex-wife who accused him of spousal rape. So a real stand-up guy. Kent Mawinney, a Bloomfield-based lawyer, a personal friend of Fotis Dulos, and now a suspect in the murder of Jennifer Dulos. Kent Mawinney?

Charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Mawini was arrested by state police Tuesday and is charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Mawini served as Fotis Dulos' lawyer in the past, representing him on civil matters, including a lawsuit filed by Gloria Farber, Jennifer's mother. In Mawini's arrest warrant, his name appeared in both Michelle Chaconis and Fotis Dulos' alibis. For the morning, Jennifer Dulos was reported missing.

May 24th. Mawini was interviewed twice by police. First, he claimed there was no meeting scheduled between Dulos and himself the morning of May 24th. But in his second interview, he says there was a prearranged meeting stating he arrived at Dulos' Jefferson Crossing home just before 8 a.m., where he stood for almost an hour before leaving without seeing Dulos. Mawini also claimed he had a concussion from falling down a set of stairs the day after Jennifer disappeared.

and had to replace his cell phone from the damage. Phone records show Mawinney called Dulos the night of May 24th, when Dulos was allegedly dumping bloody bags of evidence in Hartford. But Mawinney denies any phone contact with Dulos that day. Also, it turns out that back in the spring of 2019,

Ken contacted an old buddy of his from the Windsor Rod and Gun Club. And to my knowledge, this club is essentially a property for hunting, and even though he was the founder of the club, he ended up leaving it for whatever reason. Well, it turns out that in March of 2019, two months before Jennifer went missing, he phoned up an old friend of his asking how he could gain access to the property. And then, between March and May, investigators traced his phone

to this area of the club. And one of those times was only days after Jennifer went missing. ♪

It is Ryan Seacrest here. Everybody needs some variety in life. That's what I love about Chumba Casino. They know how to keep things fresh and exciting. All their games are free to play. Like spin slots, bingo, and solitaire. You can claim free daily login bonuses too. And they release new games every week. So spice things up with ChumbaCasino.com now for your chance to redeem some serious prizes.

Sponsored by Chumpa Casino. No purchase necessary. VGW Group. Void where prohibited by law. 18 plus terms and conditions apply. Join me, Dr. Panico, with Cindy Lauper and Chef Michelle Bernstein to talk about plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The potential connection and risk of developing permanent joint damage.

Cosintix Secukinumab is prescribed for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, 300 milligram dose, and adults with active psoriatic arthritis, 150 milligram dose. Don't use if you're allergic to Cosintix. Before starting, get checked for TB, serious allergic reactions, severe skin reactions that look like eczema, and an increased risk of infections, some fatal have occurred. It may lower your ability to fight infections, so tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms like fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches, or cough, had a vaccine or plan to, or if IBD symptoms develop or worsen.

Learn more at 1-844-COSENTIX or cosentix.com slash Cindy.

And what was Kent doing here, you might ask? Well, investigators believe that he was digging a human grave, and they say they have proof for this. On May 18th, six days before Jennifer went missing, two men were hunting on the property when they came across a hole that they described as 100% a human grave. The hole had been covered with metal grill grates, but when they looked beneath it, they found a blue tarp and...

two unopened bags of lime. And I'm not talking about limes as in the fruit. I'm talking about lime, the chemical compound that is known to disguise the scent of decaying human remains, of decomposition. But at the time that these guys found this, they didn't feel like they had enough of a reason to report it because...

No one in the area had been missing and whatever. I mean, in my opinion, you find something like that, you report it. But luckily they did report it. And it wasn't until after Jennifer's disappearance that they realized that maybe what they came across had something to do with it. But unfortunately, like I said, Jennifer's remains have never been found. And when they did a full search of this property, nothing came up. And by that point, someone had already filled the hole and made it look like

It had never been touched in the first place. It's so bizarre and frustrating to me and so many others because it really does seem like that hole could have been meant for Jennifer. But going back to Kent's arrest and that whole ordeal, his bail was set at $2 million and unlike the other two, he was unable to post it. So he sat behind bars until later that year when it was reduced to about a quarter million. And not to get too far ahead of myself, but...

Kent ended up being placed back in custody after tampering with his GPS ankle monitor. Super smart. And he remained behind bars until he was able to pay his bail again in December of 2022. Now, as for Michelle and Fotis...

Her bond was set at $2 million, which she posted, and his was set at $6 million, which he also posted. And if you thought that maybe things would be smooth sailing from here, unfortunately, that is not the case. In fact, things actually get really dark at this point, because on January 28th, 2020, Fotis didn't show up for an emergency bond hearing. And so police officers went to his house, and that's where they found him missing.

barely clinging on to life. That day, when Fotis's new girlfriend, yes, he has a new girlfriend at this point, went to the hearing and realized he didn't show up, she told his lawyer to call 911, fearing that he may have tried to harm himself and she was right.

When officers arrived at his house, they found him unconscious inside his car in the garage. Fotis had rigged a flexible tube from the exhaust pipe of his car into the vehicle in an attempt to end his life. And first responders did attempt to, you know, perform life-saving measures as he was transported to the hospital. But two days later, Fotis Doulos was declared dead.

And it really pisses me off. I mean, it's such a cowardly way to go out, you know, to not face what you actually did. A suicide note was found next to his body where he said he didn't kill himself because of the guilt of killing his wife, but rather the pain of being accused of it. He also said, and I quote,

Michelle Draconis had nothing to do with Jennifer's disappearance and neither did Kent. And the fact that even in his suicide note, he maintained his innocence has made many people incredibly angry, including myself. And I'm sure probably most of you. If you're someone who believes that Fotis killed Jennifer, which there is such a mountain of evidence for that,

I don't even have words for it. It's infuriating. To not give her loved ones that closure is beyond selfish and sick. If you are not going to face the repercussions for what you have done, the least you could do

is admit it. Admit what you did. You know, I just, I don't understand. I will never understand. Now, as for the case against him, it's actually pretty interesting what ended up happening. The night that Fotis was declared dead, his attorney held a press conference saying that he would be filing a motion to move forward with the murder trial. He said he wanted to force the state to show its hand.

The family is adamant that his name be cleared. As we are speaking, we have filed an unusual motion in the Connecticut courts asking to substitute an estate for Fotis Dulos for him as a defendant, to force the state to show its hand in a trial filled with evidence we think that amounts to no more than innuendo and unsupported suspicion.

So if you check the court pleadings, you'll see a motion to substitute the estate of Fotis Dulos for Mr. Dulos. It'll be a difficult challenge to persuade the state of Connecticut to go forward with a trial in the absence of a defendant. But having maligned the man for all time from coast to coast, and if not there, around the world, we're asking for the right to clear his name.

We intend to proceed on as if he were alive to vindicate him because we think he's wrongfully accused and we'll be seeking the discovery that we were supposed to get just the other day. Supposed to begin getting just the other day. Now, this ultimately didn't end up happening. The case was dropped because obviously he wouldn't have been able to stand trial. But I think it's really interesting and bizarre that his attorney wanted to see all this through anyway. But as for Michelle and Kent, though, everything proceeded as normal.

It is Ryan Seacrest here. There was a recent social media trend which consisted of flying on a plane with no music, no movies, no entertainment. But a better trend would be going to ChumbaCasino.com. It's like having a mini social casino in your pocket. Chumba Casino has over 100 online casino-style games, all free.

Absolutely free. It's the most fun you can have online and on a plane. So grab your free welcome bonus now at ChumpaCasino.com. Sponsored by Chumpa Casino. No purchase necessary. VGW Group. Void where prohibited by law. 18 plus terms and conditions apply. Join me, Dr. Panico, with Cindy Lauper and Chef Michelle Bernstein to talk about plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The potential connection and risk of developing permanent joint damage.

Cosintix Secukinumab is prescribed for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, 300 milligram dose, and adults with active psoriatic arthritis, 150 milligram dose. Don't use if you're allergic to Cosintix. Before starting, get checked for TB, serious allergic reactions, severe skin reactions that look like eczema, and an increased risk of infections, some fatal have occurred. It may lower your ability to fight infections, so tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms like fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches, or cough, had a vaccine or plan to, or if IBD symptoms develop or worsen.

Learn more at 1-844-COSENTIX or cosentix.com slash Cindy.

Now, obviously, the pandemic is unfolding at this point, and it did put a big delay on trial proceedings. However, the case against Michelle did end up moving forward and wrapped up very recently. So let's go over that. Michelle's trial began on January 11th, 2024, and she was facing a total of six counts on several different charges. One count of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit tampering with physical activity.

evidence, two counts of tampering with physical evidence, and one count of hindering the prosecution in the second degree. And in a shocking start to the trial, there were no opening statements, which was a huge shock to everyone, everyone following this case, including myself. I mean, the benefit to an opening statement is that you can give the jury sort of a, you know, big piece

picture as to what they can expect to hear in the trial but for whatever reason that didn't happen thankfully though a very solid case was laid out over the course of several weeks now i could sit here for literally hours and go over this trial piece by piece go over all the testimony and evidence but i've already laid out a lot of it for you guys so i wanted to really just focus on kind of the highlights if you will from the trial now this trial really started out kind of slow well

really slow. The first several days were a lot about setting up the scene and going through evidence collection and it wasn't until Lauren, the nanny, took the stand that things really began picking up. She talked a lot about the affair, about Jennifer's fear of Fotis and how she had witnessed instances where he was acting scary. Lauren also testified about the day of the disappearance

appearance, what she saw, when she became suspicious, you know, all of that. And I think it's important to note that a lot of this trial was about setting the scene and there was a pretty large focus on Fotis, obviously. Even though it wasn't his trial, the prosecution had to go through, you know, everything he did, everything that pointed to his guilt, etc. And that's because without

And one major thing prosecutors really drove home was the fact that in her three interviews, Michelle constantly changed her story. And there were all these inconsistencies. This included information about Fotis's allegations,

alibi about Kent and his meeting about what she was doing at 80 Mountain Spring Road and more. Now, if you're watching this on YouTube, you may notice that in the pictures of Michelle from the trial, she is wearing headphones. And that's because English isn't her first language. And her attorney requested that a translator be brought in to help her follow along during the trial. And it's the fact that English isn't her first language that her

her attorneys tried to argue was the reason for the inconsistencies and changes in her stories in her initial interviews. They said that she didn't understand what was being said to her and was essentially just confused because of her poor comprehension skills, which seems a bit ridiculous and convenient in my opinion. I mean, I don't know.

how other people will feel about that. But it's odd to me that she never once expressed that she wasn't understanding anything when they were interviewing her or asked for a translator, anything like that. It just seems like a convenient excuse to me. Plus, Michelle spoke English every day when she was with Fotis because he didn't speak Spanish. So clearly they were able to communicate with each other. It just seems like, yeah, convenience to bring something like that up

when it comes to inconsistencies that you made and of course you're going to come up with you know any excuse you can when you're undergoing trial for such serious charges so i'm not sure if i personally buy that whole confusion thing however the defense definitely did their best to drive that point home now as far as the rest of the evidence i'm not going to go back and go through all of that because we already have and we would be here forever but i am going to remind you of what it

was the first thing prosecutors say proved Michelle tampered with evidence has to do with the surveillance footage from the Hartford trash dumps, footage that Michelle identified herself as being in. Now, the defense argued that Michelle had no idea what he was doing and that she was just a passenger in the car waiting to go get Starbucks, but...

prosecutors brought forward some convincing evidence. That evidence being Michelle's DNA, which was found on some of the trash bags and a piece of tape that held two bags together. Now that is absolutely huge. Your DNA was on

on the trash bags of evidence. And then, of course, there is the alibi scripts, the document that outlined she and Fotis' activities on May 24th and 25th. And the undeniable truth is that some of the information on that document was false.

For example, she wrote that they woke up together, showered and had sex. But we know from Michelle herself that this was a lie. And that just brings me back to the whole point about not understanding what was being said to her because of the language barrier. Because that was just a straight up lie. That is not something you can explain away by being confused. If she was truly innocent.

What reason did she have to lie about that? What reason did she have to make a fake alibi for Fotis? I mean, riddle me that. Come on. By writing that false information, the state argued that these scripts prove that Michelle knowingly and purposely misled investigators. Plus, we can't forget the fact that some of the information was just completely left off those pages.

Nowhere on those papers was it mentioned that Michelle and Fotis went to Hartford. Again, why leave that giant piece of information out? The truth is not hard to remember, okay? You don't just forget something huge like that. ♪

It's Ian's Ryan Seacrest here. People always say it's good to unwind, but that's easier said than done. The exception, Chumpa Casino. They actually make it easier done than said, or at least the same. Chumpa Casino is an online social casino with hundreds of casino-style games like slots and blackjack.

Play for fun. Play for free. For your chance to redeem some serious prizes. Sign up now and collect your free welcome bonus at Chumbacasino.com. Sponsored by Chumba Casino. No purchase necessary. VGW Group. Void where prohibited by law. 18 plus. Terms and conditions apply.

And next, there was what happened at 80 Mountain Spring Road. This is something that I didn't touch on in much detail before, but I want to shed a little more light on it now to help explain what prosecutors say points to Michelle's guilt. And that is that she took several trips to and from her and Fotis' home to 80 Mountain Spring Road.

the day of Jennifer's disappearance. And as a reminder, 80 Mountain Spring Road is the home that she and Fotis went to where she was helping him clean inside the home and also helping him clean the truck and the coffee stains outside. Now, the first trip to Mountain Spring Road occurred at 1.36 p.m. and based on surveillance footage from a neighbor across the street,

She stayed there for only five minutes before returning to her and Fotis' home on Jefferson Crossing. Michelle was then home from 141 to 201, and then she went back to Mountain Spring Road, where she stayed for just over 20 minutes before returning back home again. And at 355, she went back to her home in Jefferson Crossing.

back to Mountain Spring Road and stayed for less than 10 minutes and then returned to Jefferson Crossing where they lived at 4.04. And by 4.23, she was back at Mountain Spring Road. Now, why am I telling you all of this? Well, security footage from Jefferson Crossing showed that when Michelle returned home, the chimney was smoking. And keep in mind, this was May. This is not winter. What reason did she have to start a fire?

in the middle of a spring day. Prosecutors alleged the reason is because she was burning evidence. Michelle's defense attorney's

obviously try to argue that Michelle just loved burning fires, that she always would burn the fire in the fireplace, no matter what time of year it was. Okay, dude. Well, one of these trips was only 20 minutes long, and who starts a fire if you're going to be somewhere for 20 minutes? This is incredibly damning evidence against Michelle because it wasn't Fotis that lit the fire. It was Michelle. Also, none of these little trips back and forth were outlined in this alibi script they made.

Coincidence? I think not. And that brings me to the next piece of evidence that the state says points to Michelle's guilt. And that's the whole saga with the red Toyota. We know that the red Toyota was at 80 Mountain Spring Road that day and Michelle admitted to helping Fotis clean it. But according to her, she was under the impression that they were cleaning a coffee stain, which the state alleged...

she knew was actually blood. Well, Pavel Gumieny, the owner of the truck, took the stand and had some pretty powerful testimony. Turns out he went to 80 Mountain Spring Road on May 24th, just before 5 p.m. because...

That's where his truck was. And that's because Fotis had requested the previous day to drop it off there instead of his house. It was a Friday and the end of a workday, so he was going to retrieve it. And when he got there, he says he saw Michelle and Fotis in the driveway outside his car, and they looked super surprised to see him. He noted that the truck keys were visible to him in the door, but a few minutes later, when he went to grab the keys and leave, they were not there.

They were gone. And why were they gone? Well, because Michelle took them and left the property. And at that point, Fotis tried to convince Pavel that he didn't need his own car, that he could just, you know, use the company car for the weekend.

Which he was like, dude, what the hell? No, I want my car. So then Michelle had to go back to 80 Mountain Spring Road and give him his keys so he could leave with his truck. And I say all this, and I'm sure you already understand what I'm saying here, but the state is arguing that...

Michelle took his keys so that he couldn't leave and Fotis is convincing him not to take the truck so that they could continue cleaning it. And because he did end up getting his truck back, they weren't able to have it detailed until five days later. Now, Pavel received immunity for his testimony against Michelle and he shared several instances which outlined Michelle's hatred for Jennifer. In one instance, he claims that Michelle said, "'That bitch should be buried next to the dog.'"

Okay. Which that had to do with the fact that during the divorce proceeding, Jennifer wouldn't let the kids go to Fotis' house to see their sick dog. Pavel highlighted this hatred that Michelle had, which helped prosecutors drive home what they believed the motive was, which was that Michelle hated Jennifer because of how difficult she was making things for Fotis in their divorce. I mean, it's pretty obvious. Overall, his testimony painted a picture of an angry Michelle and a strange slew of events

pertaining to his vehicle. But as the trial wrapped up, of course, the defense tried to make the argument that Michelle was also a victim of Fotis. They said that she was tricked, that she was manipulated, and dragged into all of this unknowingly. The state, however, reminded jurors of each and every little thing Michelle did that they believe proved her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. And the reality is they're right.

was no smoking gun. There was no one thing that said Michelle conspired to kill Jennifer. It was all these little things put together that the state argued put together the bigger picture. The defendant and Fotis Dulos conspired together to commit the crime of murder of Jennifer Dulos. That is count one. The elements that comprise the charge of murder are in agreement.

that the defendant specifically intended to agree with Fotos Dulos, and that agreement was to engage in conduct that constituted the crime of murder. That's intent to kill and do. But there was an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. Why did we spend so much time on Fotos Dulos the past six weeks? Because that's an overt act, and there's an intent requirement. The defendant had the intent to commit the crime of murder.

So how do you know somebody's intentions? How do you know their motive? You look at what they do. You infer their motive, their intentions from their behavior. Look at what she did. Look at what Michelle Draconis did. Her acts, her behavior during the time of the murder. Look at what she did, her acts and behavior before and after the murder. Look at when she did these acts. Look at what she said. Look at what she didn't say.

And look at what she lied about. So in the end, very recently, March 1st, 2024, Michelle Traconis was found guilty on all six counts after 14 hours of jury deliberation. And the footage of this is pretty intense. I mean, she is sobbing as the verdict is being read. And her family has definitely shared in her disappointment, stating that this was an unfair trial. And...

Today we are here devastated because has been a tremendous injustice in the trial of my daughter. The 49-year-old could spend the rest of her life in prison after a Stanford jury convicted her of conspiring to murder mother of five Jennifer Dulos. Guilty.

I love my sister and she's innocent and this wasn't a fair trial. The Draconis family shocked and saddened by Friday's guilty on all counts verdict, but not deterred. No justice. No justice. And as of right now, Michelle's attorney says they are planning to continue to appeal her conviction, even if they have to take it to the Supreme Court. And like I said, her family has...

been steadfast and very outspoken about their belief that Michelle is innocent. Currently, Michelle remains in custody on a $6 million bond at the York Correctional Institution in Connecticut. And if she can post it, which at this point she hasn't, she will be on house arrest until her sentencing hearing, which...

is scheduled for May 31st. But 49-year-old Michelle Traconis faces up to 50 years in prison if a judge decides that her charges should run consecutively. Very recently, March 21st, I am recording this episode on March 22nd, so this literally happened yesterday, but she was back in court facing a contempt of court charge, which stemmed from the fact that during trial, she had a sealed custody report opened on her laptop.

Now, whether or not you think that is intentional is up to you.

I don't know. So I'm really curious to hear what you guys think, because I know that some people out there have been split on this. I think the majority agree that Michelle is guilty. But let me know if you disagree. Maybe you think that this was an unfair trial. I'd love to hear why. One thing, though, that I think we can all hopefully agree on is that Fotis is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in our minds, in my opinion.

Got to say that, of course, because he never got to have his day in court, which is infuriating. I mean, what a coward after everything you've done to just opt out like that.

I mean, it says everything about who this guy was. Even though the court of public opinion has clearly spoken here and everyone, I think, is in agreement that Fotis is definitely guilty, I value the opinion of a real court and I would love to have seen that all shake out. I would have loved to see him have to face reality and be accountable for what he did. Now, as for the five Dulos children who, oh my God, have been through such unbelievable trauma and

in all of this. They are still in the custody of their maternal grandmother and their nanny Lauren is still very much a part of their lives but what these children have had to go through these last five years is just beyond unimaginable and heartbreaking. On top of losing both of their parents in very different very traumatic ways they have also in a lot of ways lost their childhood. I mean

I don't know how any child could go through this without being severely impacted for the rest of their lives. I mean, I think it's just impossible to not have been. And as they get older and understand what really happened here, I'm sure that trauma will just continue to play out. It's beyond heartbreaking. I'm really at a loss of words to describe the pain that those children have gone through. I'm very grateful that

you know, they do have loving grandparents in their lives and that, you know, they also have Lauren as a constant in their life, as I said earlier. But man, it's just beyond heartbreaking. I don't know what else to say. And I know I say children, but, you know, they are between the ages of 13 and 18 by this point. So probably old enough to understand what has happened. I don't know how much has been explained to them, but...

God, it's just so fucked up. Now, as for Kent, his trial date is still pending, but his lawyers say that they feel confident that he will be found not guilty. In a statement released after Michelle's guilty verdict, they said that because Kent's name was hardly mentioned during her trial,

It further proves his innocence, which is really annoying, but I guess we will have to wait and see because who knows how that's going to shake out. And what's also so heartbreaking is, like I have said several times now, Jennifer's body to this day has still never been found. And so we have no idea what actually happened to her.

you know there's been no closure for this family in that regard no way to lay her to rest and i can only hope that eventually that day will come and not to just keep repeating myself but it just pisses me off so much that fotis could have just written the truth in that suicide note that he could have said what he did he could have admitted to it and he could have told them where she is potentially

I mean, chances are he knows, right? I could just go on and on about how much I hate this guy. But I'm just hoping that 2024 maybe will be the year that this family gets a little bit more closure. Maybe they will find her. And that's why I made the donation towards this cadaver dog who this dog has a great track record. And I really hope that maybe this is going to be it.

So if you guys want to follow me on social media or maybe I'll pin a comment or something and keep you guys updated if anything is found, I can only hope that one day this family can bring her home and have some sort of sense of peace. ♪

That is going to be it for me today, guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode and make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel, which will be linked, or you can just search Kendall Ray. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then stay safe out there.

I'm Victoria Cash. Thanks for calling the Lucky Land Hotline. If you feel like you do the same thing every day, press 1. If you're ready to have some serious fun for the chance to redeem some serious prizes, press 2. We heard you loud and clear. So go to LuckyLandSlots.com right now and play over 100 social casino-style games for free. Get lucky today.

At LuckyLandSlots.com. No purchase necessary. VGW Group. Void or prohibited by law. 18 plus. Terms and conditions apply.