Michelle Troconis’ trial is underway for a 14th day on Wednesday.
Troconis, 49, has been charged in connection with the disappearance and presumed death of Jennifer Dulos, the wife of the man whom Troconis was dating in 2019, at the time Jennifer disappeared.
Jennifer Dulos was last seen on May 24, 2019, after dropping her children off at school in New Canaan.
Police believe her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, killed her in the garage of her home in New Canaan after she dropped their children off at school and then cleaned up the crime scene.
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Troconis is accused of helping Fotis Dulos cover up the killing of his wife, whose body has never been found.
She has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution and has pleaded not guilty and denied any involvement.
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Fotis Dulos, a luxury home builder originally from Greece, died by suicide in January 2020 after being charged with his wife’s murder. He denied any involvement in his wife’s disappearance.
State police investigators tracked the movement of that Tacoma as it headed toward New Canaan on the Merritt Parkway on the morning of May 24, 2019 and back later that morning. It was seen on surveillance video from cameras at rest stops in New Canaan and Fairfield.
“I was extremely interested in the items in the back of the pickup truck,” retired state trooper Gregory LeBeau said as an enlarged photo of the bed of the Tacoma appeared on a screen behind him.
“I was interested to see if I could identify what was in the back of the red pickup truck,” he added.
When asked about what he saw in the cargo area of the pickup, LeBeau said, "So, something else I noticed in the bed of the pickup truck was a white square-looking object as well as a round object, which was consistent with a bicycle wheel," he said.
He wasn’t able to elaborate on what he believed was in the bed of the truck because of a sustained objection.
The truck belongs to Pawel Gumienny, an employee of Fotis Dulos.
On Tuesday, new details were revealed about his first conversations with police as the investigation progressed.
“He appeared to me to be very nervous. I noticed that his breathing rate was elevated – his breathing at a higher rate than you would expect someone to be,” State Police Sergeant Michael Beauton said about his first interaction with Gumienny outside Fotis Dulos’ Farmington home.
During the investigation, Gumienny provided DNA samples, his phone, access to the red Tacoma and a laptop.
“He made a statement to the effect of, 'if I were going a use a computer to research things, I would use one that didn’t belong to me,'” Beauton said.
Investigators also obtained car seats that Gumienny said Fotis Dulos urged him to get rid of.
The jury also saw new surveillance footage from 77 Mountain Spring Road in Avon, a property across the street from Fotis Dulos’ 80 Mountain Spring Road property. It showed the red Tacoma leaving Dulos’ property around 5:30 a.m. on the day Jennifer Dulos disappeared.
But the defense was quick to tamp down speculation about the truck's movement and its driver.
“You did not observe from any of the angles anyone actually getting into a truck or even starting it up?” Troconis’ defense attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, asked.
Beauton replied that he did not.
Gumienny is expected to take the stand in Stamford at some point during the trial. NBC Connecticut reached out to his attorney, Lindy Urso, about the upcoming testimony.
"Pawel is under subpoena, and he will abide by it; but he is very eager to put this behind him so he can get his focus back to working hard to provide for his family,” Urso said in a statement.
How to watch the trial
Our daily special, airing weekdays at 9 a.m. on the NBC Connecticut free streaming channel is available on Roku, Samsung TV plus, Freevee, and a number of other platforms. Here is more on how to watch.
Watch full episodes of "Inside the Trial of Michelle Troconis"
Watch the full episodes of "Inside the Trial of Michelle Troconis" here.
Some Associated Press content was used in this story.
