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Troconis verdict surprises members of the legal community

Lindy Urso, who represented Pawel Gumienny, a key witnesses in the case, told News 12 he did not expect this outcome.

John Craven and Rose Shannon

Mar 1, 2024, 10:26 PM

Updated 278 days ago

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Several legal experts tell News 12 they were stunned by the verdict in the Michelle Troconis trial.
Troconis was found guilty of all six charges against her.
Lindy Urso, who represented Pawel Gumienny, a key witnesses in the case, told News 12 he did not expect this outcome.
"I've got to say, I am surprised that the jury found her guilty of conspiracy to commit murder. We do not have conspiracy after the fact, the law in Connecticut. And I didn't see the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt of foreknowledge," says Urso.
Former FBI agent Ken Gray told News 12's Rebecca Surran he believed video that showed Troconis in the passenger seat as Fotis Dulos dumped bags of evidence - including his wife's bloody bra and shirt - in Hartford was the key to her conviction.
"This is the active step that shows Michelle Troconis being involved in the destruction of evidence," says Gray.
Attorney Kevin Black thinks the handwritten timeline of events, which prosecutors called alibi scripts, hurt Troconis' case.
"I remember attorney McGuiness' closing, where he kept talking about coincidences, coincidences, coincidences. And at the end of the day, in a vacuum ... that could maybe be explained away. Totality of the circumstances? More difficult," says Black.
Although Troconis did not take the stand, jurors heard hours of her interviews with police, during which police say her story changed.
Her attorney says those interviews could be the basis for an appeal.
"People, in my view, should never sit down with the police for an interrogation. They should never do it because people forget, it's not just things that are bad that can be used against you, it's anything," says Jon Schoenhorn.
Schoenhorn says he is not sure if Troconis taking the stand would have made a difference.
Schoenhorn's next step is to file motions to vacate the decision.