Jennifer Dulos had an idyllic family life until her husband Fotis cheated on her with Michelle Troconis, the woman now accused of helping him cover up her murder, their nanny has revealed.
Lauren Almeida, who took care of the couple’s five children for eight years until Jennifer’s disappearance on May 24, 2019, testified during Troconis’ much-anticipated trial in Stamford Superior Court on Tuesday.
She painted a picture of a perfect family life filled with frequent ski and beach vacations to St Barts, Florida, Greece, Virgina and Colorado in the years before Jennifer vanished.
Almeida told the court that when she first began working for the Dulos’ in September 2012, they ‘seemed to get along just fine’ – but their relationship ‘totally changed’ when Jennifer busted her Greek husband’s affair in 2017.
The Dulos family’s longtime nanny Lauren Almeida, pictured, testified in the trial over the murder of wife Jennifer at Stamford Superior Court on Tuesday
Jennifer Dulos had an idyllic family life until her husband Fotis cheated on her with Michelle Troconis, the woman now accused of helping him cover up her murder, Almeida revealed. (Pictured: Almeida being sworn in as a witness during the Stamford trial on Tuesday)
Jennifer and Fotis Dulos were going through acrimonious divorce and child custody proceedings when she vanished in May 2019. He was accused of her murder but killed himself in January 2020
Almeida said Jennifer was an ‘incredibly nurturing mother’ to her five kids, who were aged between eight and 13 when she died in May 2019
Michelle Troconis looked stony-faced as she arrived at Stamford Superior Court for the trial on Tuesday
‘At the beginning they were nice to each other from what I saw,’ she said.
‘The big dynamic change was in March 2017 which is when Jennifer found out about the affair. A few months after that it would totally change.’
When probed about this by prosecutors, Almeida added: ‘She (Jennifer) told me she believed that Fotis was having an affair.
‘She said she had this feeling that he was acting weird. I didn’t really believe her at first. I believed him to be an honest guy and I couldn’t imagine him having an affair when there were five little kids involved.
‘I told her I didn’t think it was true… she was very anxious, kind of tight and she seemed upset.’
Almeida said she had a close relationship with both of the Dulos’. She described Jennifer as her confidante, and Fotis as a ‘mentor’ for her second career at his luxury real estate business, Fore Group.
But she said their approaches to parenting were worlds apart. While Jennifer was a playful and ‘incredibly nurturing’ mother, Fotis was an absent father who was ‘gone a lot’, according to Almeida.
‘It was very silly, her relationship with the kids,’ the longtime nanny said, speaking about Jennifer.
‘They always wanted to be with her. She would never raise her voice. She was very softly spoken and never got angry. She was incredibly nurturing.’
But the kids ‘didn’t get a lot of time with their dad’ according to Almeida. ‘They saw him at the weekend, and they did whatever he asked them to do,’ she said.
Almeida smiled briefly when she recalled Jennifer’s relationship with her five children
Troconis’ trial began in Stamford began on Thursday last week before pausing over the weekend and Martin Luther King Jr Day. (Pictured: Troconis arriving at the Stamford court with her mother and a member of her legal team)
Troconis arrived for the Jennifer Dulos trial flanked by her mother (right) and her legal team, including attorney Jon Schoenhorn (left)
Troconis started straight ahead as she approached the court for day three of her trial on Tuesday
Troconis and her attorney Jon Schoenhorn arriving at the Stamford courthouse ahead of day three of her trial. The American-Venezuelan defendant has denied all charges
Almeida still lives with the Dulos children – Petros, Theodore, Constantine, Christiane and Cleopatra Noelle – who are now aged between 13 and 17 – along with their maternal grandmother Gloria.
She began giving evidence at around 4.15pm on Tuesday, and will return to the witness box on Wednesday as Troconis’ trial continues.
The 49-year-old Venezuelan socialite denies charges connected to the suspected homicide – including conspiracy to commit murder, evidence tampering and hindering prosecution.
When Jennifer disappeared, she had been embroiled in acrimonious divorce and child custody battle proceedings with Fotis. He was later charged with her murder, but he killed himself in January 2020, leaving Troconis to face the music alone.
Prosecutors accuse Fotis of killing Jennifer in her New Canaan home after she returned from dropping their children off at school, and they allege that Troconis helped him dispose of her body in several garbage bags.
Jennifer’s body was never found, but Judge William P. Osterndorf declared her ‘officially dead’ last week.
Troconis’ trial began in Stamford began on Thursday before pausing over the weekend and for Martin Luther King Jr Day.
Jurors heard evidence from several Connecticut police officers who were called to Jennifer’s home after Almeida alerted them to her disappearance on May 24, 2019.
Michelle Troconis in court for day three of her trial
Troconis conferred with her attorneys at points during the trial in Stamford, CT
Troconis in court for the third day of her trial on Tuesday, January 16, 2024
On Tuesday, jurors heard more evidence about what detectives have been calling ‘blood-like stains’ on several surfaces in Jennifer’s New Canaan CT home, where she lived with her five children
Evidence of ‘blood-like stains’ on the ground of Dulos’ garage was shown to jurors
Police said they also found red stains in Dulos’ kitchen, including on the inside tubing of a paper towel roll, on the faucet at her sink, and on the edge of a countertop
Suspected blood stain in Jennifer Dulos’ Range Rover which was parked in her garage
Former state police detective Matthew Reilly said he spotted red stains on several surfaces in Jennifer’s kitchen, including on a paper towel roll, sink faucet, and counter-top – and in her garage
On Tuesday, former state police detective Matthew Reilly said he spotted red stains on several surfaces in Jennifer’s kitchen on May 25, 2019, including on a paper towel roll, sink faucet, and counter-top – and in her garage.
Jurors were also shown photographs of red stains in Jennifer’s Chevy Suburban, which was found abandoned around three miles from her home the day after she vanished.
Former detective Reilly said he swabbed the stains and some of the garage samples tested positive for blood. The samples were sent to a lab for confirmation, but none of the witnesses have testified yet about these results.
Under cross-examination by Troconis’ lawyer Jon Schoenhorn, he agreed that one of the tests used to detect human blood – called a luminol swab – would also have appeared positive for a ‘laundry list’ of other substances.
He said this is because the test flags the presence of iron, which can also be found in substances including horseradish, turmeric, and animal blood.
Jurors were also previously shown bodycam footage of officers searching Jennifer’s home, and what appeared to be a bloody footprint on the ground.
Police say Fotis transported her body out of the garage and disposed of it later in a friend’s SUV.
Jennifer Farber Dulos vanished in May 2019. Her remains have never been found, but police believe she was murdered by her husband Fotis Dulos, and that his new girlfriend Michelle Troconis conspired with him to help him cover up the crime
Troconis – who is accused of helping lover Fotis Dulos kill his wife in 2019 – is currently free on a $2million bond and faces up to twenty years in prison if convicted
Troconis looked pensive as she listened to her trial unfold on the third day of hearings
Troconis speaking with her attorneys, including Jon Schoenhorn, during her trial on Tuesdy
A ‘red stain’ on the grill of Jennifer Dulos’ Range Rover on May 24, 2019, the day she vanished. Police searching the house said it stood out to them and did not appear to have been from a deer strike. The state alleges Fotis Dulos killed his wife either in the home or the garage, injuring her so badly that she bled profusely, and then removed her body
Police also found a bloody footprint in the garage where they believe Jennifer’s body was moved
Cops also pointed out what they thought were ‘drops’ of blood in the same garage
Troconis’ lawyer, Jon Schoenhorn, has accused police of lying to and misleading his client during interviews and questioning her in English with no interpreter present when her primary language is Spanish.
Schoenhorn has also challenged much of the evidence in the case. Judge Kevin Randolph recently ruled the police seizure of Troconis’ cellphone was illegal and any evidence obtained from it cannot be used during the trial.
But Randolph allowed other evidence Schoenhorn sought to bar, including video of the police questioning of Troconis and DNA test results.
Dulos’ family and friends hope the trial provides accountability for her death and answers to lingering questions.
‘As this trial begins, it is crucial to remember who is at the center: Jennifer, whose five children have lost their mother and, as an eventuality, both parents,’ said her friend Carrie Luft, in a statement on behalf of family and friends.
‘Jennifer´s family and loved ones have lost a loving daughter, sister, cousin, and lifelong friend.’
The trial continues on Wednesday.