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Judge dismisses juror who compared Connecticut missing mom case to the 'Gone Girl' plot

Michelle Troconis listens to arguments at the start of her trial, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in Stamford, Conn. The trial of Troconis, charged in the 2019 killing of mother-of-five Jennifer Dulos, has begun in Stamford Superior Court with a six-person jury hearing the case.
Richard Harbus / AP
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POOL Daily Mail
Michelle Troconis listens to arguments at the start of her trial, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in Stamford, Conn. The trial of Troconis, charged in the 2019 killing of mother-of-five Jennifer Dulos, has begun in Stamford Superior Court with a six-person jury hearing the case.

A judge on Friday dismissed a juror in the trial of a Connecticut woman accused of helping her boyfriend cover up the murder of his estranged wife, after the panelist likened the case to the novel and movie “Gone Girl.”

Judge Kevin Randolph received an unsigned note from a juror in the trial of Michelle Troconis Friday morning, accusing another member of the panel of making the comment in the presence of other jurors.

The juror “discussed something about the case and it was all over social media,” Randolph said the note read. “Said it was like ‘Gone Girl' — a brief mention. Several other jurors said, ’Don't discuss this.'"

Randolph then cleared the courtroom to question jurors about the comment. He ultimately dismissed the juror, identified only as “Juror 186," who acknowledged making the “Gone Girl” comment, the judge said.

“Every (other) juror indicated that they would be able to afford the state and defense a fair and impartial trial,” Randolph said after reconvening the trial.

“Gone Girl,” a 2012 novel by Gillian Flynn that was turned into a 2014 film starring Ben Affleck, is about a woman who fakes her own disappearance and her husband, who becomes a suspect.

Troconis, 49, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and other crimes on allegations that she helped her then-boyfriend, Fotis Dulos, cover up the killing of his wife, Jennifer Dulos, in 2019. Troconis has pleaded not guilty and denied any involvement.

Police believe Fotis Dulos attacked his wife in the garage of her home in New Canaan, Connecticut in May 2019, after she dropped off the children at school. Then, authorities said, he drove off in her own SUV with her body, which has never been found. Fotis Dulos denied having anything to do with her disappearance. He died by suicide in early 2020, shortly after being charged with murder.

At the time she vanished, Jennifer and Fotis Dulos were going through a contentious divorce and child custody proceedings that had limited his time with the children. Jennifer Dulos had moved out of the family home in Farmington, Connecticut, and Fotis Dulos was living there with Troconis and her daughter.

The case drew widespread attention and was itself the subject of a made-for-TV movie, titled “Gone Mom.” Jennifer Dulos, 50, was a member of a wealthy New York family whose father, the late Hilliard Farber, founded his own brokerage firm. She also was a niece by marriage of fashion designer Liz Claiborne. Fotis Dulos was a luxury home builder originally from Greece.

This is the second case of alleged juror misconduct in the trial. On Wednesday afternoon, Randolph dismissed an alternate juror who reportedly said “We love you” to two prosecutors involved in the case outside the courtroom during a lunch break. Randolph said the comment gave the appearance of favoring the prosecution.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.