Michelle Troconis was back in a courtroom Monday—this time for a habeas trial to argue her conviction be vacated and that she be released from prison due to ineffective council by her initial attorney in the Jennifer Dulos case.

The proceedings came nearly two years after she was convicted of plotting with her former boyfriend, Fotis Dulos, for him to kill his estranged wife, then helping him hide the crime. On March 1, 2024, a jury found Troconis guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, evidence tampering, conspiracy to commit evidence tampering and hindering prosecution in the disappearance and death of Jennifer Dulos. Shortly after, Troconis filed a habeas petition, alleging her constitutional rights were violated during the investigation {please embed on “filed a habeas petition.”

MORE:

The habeas trial has nothing to do with whether Troconis is guilty or not. It centers on whether or not her initial attorney failed to effectively represent her and if so, whether that affected the outcome of the criminal case. Troconis alleges it did because Bowman allowed her to speak with police three times. Those hours long interviews, during which Troconis changed her story, were used against her during her criminal trial.

Bowman, who represented Troconis for about eight months, was the sole witness called on the first day of Troconis’ habeas case in Rockville Superior Court. While on the stand, Bowman defended his professional actions as he was questioned by Michael Brown, one of the attorneys representing Troconis in this trial. Brown continually asked why Bowman didn’t do certain things in the days after Jennifer Dulos vanished. That included trying to get Troconis an immunity deal before speaking to police. Bowman answered that his 50-plus years of experience have taught him immunity deals aren’t offered before police speak with a person and determine credibility.

Jennifer Dulos was last seen May 24, 2019, after dropping her five kids off at school in New Canaan. Police believe Fotis Dulos—with whom she was in a bitter custody battle—was “lying in wait” when she returned and killed her in the garage, then disposed of her body. Jennifer Dulos’ remains have never been found, but she was legally declared dead. Fotis Dulos was arrested on several charges, including murder and kidnapping, but died by suicide in January 2020.

Bowman testified Troconis told him she was innocent and seemed credible. He said at first, he repeatedly told Troconis not to speak with law enforcement because anything she said could be used against her in court. But Bowman said that changed when he got a call from then-Stamford State’s Attorney Rich Colangelo. Bowman told the court Colangelo said, “We want her cooperation. If she's not going to cooperate, if we find Jennifer’s body, we're going to charge her with accessory to murder.”

Bowman classified the conversation as "a statement of present intention-which I found credible-and it was threat."

He said he took the message to his client and told her she had a decision to make.

“What I said to her, though, was whatever you do, if you go in there and speak with them, it's got to be the truth. You cannot lie. It has to be the truth, and she said she understood,” Bowman stated. “She was persuasive, so I made a judgement to recommend to her to talk to them, but in the end, it was her decision.”

Brown asked why Bowman had Troconis speak with police while she was still in custody following her initial arrest on charges of evidence tampering and hindering prosecution. “I thought there was urgency. I thought they'd find the body any minute, and I was telling them I thought she was innocent,” Bowman explained.

He also testified why he didn’t request a Spanish interpreter for the police interviews despite English being Troconis’ second language.

“My conclusion was that her ability to speak and understand English was very good,” Bowman.

That’s something her trial attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, disagreed with. Once he came onto the criminal case, Troconis had a Spanish interpreter for every hearing. She did not have one for the habeas trial Monday.

In the habeas petition, Troconis also alleged that Bowman was aware state police didn’t believe Troconis had told the truth in her first interview, during which she gave Fotis Dulos a false alibi, but he still advised her to speak with investigators again.

Bowman testified he did so because he hoped later interviews would “rehabilitate her” to police and show them how much Fotis Dulos controlled her.

“He was a manipulative, very smart, venal, terrible guy,” Bowman stated. “I talked to the state's attorney, and I made clear why I thought she was a credible and valuable cooperating witness, why she should not be charged with anything further, and I didn’t get a satisfactory response.”

Bowman said he still expected she’d be a good witness against Fotis Dulos, but when he died by suicide at the end of January 2020, “That put a big hole in that expectation.” Bowman called Fotis Dulos’ death “devastating” to Troconis’ legal position.

The habeas trial is taking place before a judge, not a jury, over three days. It continues Friday, Jan. 9 with Bowman back on the stand being cross-examined by Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Russell Zentner.

The potential witness list submitted by the petitioning attorneys has 20 people, including Colangelo, state police investigators, Schoenhorn and several of Troconis’ family members.

The list also includes attorney Michael Fitzpatrick as an expert witness. According to a recent filing, Fitzpatrick will testify about the standard of care for criminal defense attorneys in Connecticut and how Bowman's conduct "fell below the requisite professional standards for a criminal attorney" in well over a dozen instances.

The trial is set to conclude on Friday, Jan. 16. Following that, the judge will have 120 days to issue a ruling on whether Bowman provided ineffective counsel and if so, whether that led to evidence that affected the criminal trial outcome. Remedies could include vacating Troconis' convictions and releasing her from prison. If that occurs, the prosecution would have to decide whether to seek a new trial.

The habeas case is separate from Troconis' recent appeal of her convictions. In that, she's challenging decisions made by the trial judge on what evidence was and wasn’t allowed in.