HARTFORD, Conn. — The defense for Michelle Troconis, charged in connection with the death of Jennifer Farber Dulos, has filed a motion to dismiss all charges against her after state prosecutors attempted this month to disqualify her lawyer so he could potentially be called as a witness in the court proceedings.
Troconis’ lawyer, attorney John Schoenhorn, also claims in court documents that state prosecutors “impermissibly and deliberately violated the constitutional rights” of Troconis by reviewing, photographing and sharing the contents of a box of potential evidence that could be subject to attorney-client privilege.
“I believe it’s completely meritless and it seems like an effort to interfere with my client’s constitutional right to counsel of her choice,” Schoenhorn said in a phone interview.
The motion claims the alleged conduct by the prosecution and members of the Connecticut State Police Western District Major Crimes Squad (WDMCS) “has tainted the prosecution and subsequent investigation.”
A message seeking comment was left with Stamford’s Chief State Attorney Paul Ferencek.
The defense also filed a motion to compel, claiming the prosecution has taken too long to forward evidence in relation to at least nine requests filed between June 2019 and March 2022.
Two detectives from the state police met with then-attorney Tara Knight, who is now a Superior Court judge, in New Haven on March 23, 2021 so Knight could turn over a box of items that might have been relevant to the investigation into the disappearance and death of Farber Dulos, according to the motion.
Knight allegedly gave the detectives a white bankers box, which included a black and blue sweatshirt, a screwdriver and a wrench, that she received from a client the previous day.
Knight told detectives she could not reveal the client’s name or how she got the box, the motion said. She also said she had not looked inside the box and did not know what was inside of it, the motion said.
A detective looked inside the box, while Knight and the other detective were in the room, and found a letter from Schoenhorn to Knight.
Knight then acknowledged that Schoenhorn was her client to detectives, the motion said.
The detective then read, photographed and shared the letter with others, the motion said.
The letter was later used to question Troconis’ previous attorney, Andrew Bowman, who acknowledged his role in the banker’s box “unwittingly,” the motion said.
“The state’s attorney’s motion was filed over 18 months after reviewing the letter with the intent to deprive Ms. Troconis of her right to chosen counsel by claiming that Attorney Schoenhorn was a witness to the origin of the sweatshirt, based on the contents of the unlawfully seized communication,” the motion said.
The motion requests that all pending charges against Troconis be dismissed and/or several other steps are taken to resolve this issue, including, among others, transferring the case outside of the Stamford-Norwalk Judicial District and removing the Stamford-Norwalk State’s Attorney’s office and the Western District Major Crimes Squad from the case.
Troconis was in a relationship and living with Fotis Dulos, the ex-husband of Jennifer Farber Dulos, and who was charged in connection to her disappearance and death. Fotis Dulos died by suicide before he was tried.
The defense’s motion will be heard at Troconis’ next court appearance on Nov. 29 or Nov. 30, according to Schoenhorn Tuesday.
Troconis is charged with conspiracy to commit murder, evidence tampering and conspiring to hinder the police investigation by disposing of evidence, according to court records.
