Northeast
88-year-old Connecticut mother testifies about daughter's disappearance in murder conspiracy trial
The 88-year-old mother of Connecticut mother-of-five Jennifer Dulos testified at a murder conspiracy trial Wednesday that she has not seen or communicated with her daughter since she disappeared and was presumed by police to be murdered in 2019.
Dressed in a gray suit with scarfs, Gloria Farber didn’t show much emotion as she told the jury that her daughter was supposed to meet her at her New York City apartment on May 24, 2019, after a doctor’s appointment, but never showed up. She suggested Dulos would never abandon her children.
“She was always there for them,” Farber testified about her daughter in the sixth week of the trial against Michelle Troconis in Stamford Superior Court in Connecticut.
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Ever since Dulos vanished, Farber has had custody of her five grandchildren, who at the time ranged in age from 8 to 13.
Troconis denies allegations that she helped Dulos’ estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, cover up the killing of Jennifer Dulos. At the time, Troconis was dating Fotis Dulos and living with him in Farmington, after Jennifer Dulos and the children had moved out and were living about 70 miles away in New Canaan.
Jennifer Dulos’ body has never been found. Farber’s testimony was part of the prosecution’s effort to show her 50-year-old daughter was killed by Fotis Dulos in an attack at her New Canaan home on May 24, 2019. A state probate court declared Jennifer Dulos legally dead in October.
Fotis Dulos died by suicide in January 2020, weeks after being charged with murdering Jennifer Dulos. He denied the allegations. At the time of her disappearance, they were battling each other in contentious divorce and child custody proceedings.
Troconis has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence.
The case drew widespread attention and was the subject of a made-for-TV movie, Lifetime’s “Gone Mom.” Jennifer Dulos was a member of a wealthy New York family whose father, the late Hilliard Farber, founded his own brokerage firm. She also was a niece by marriage of fashion designer Liz Claiborne. Fotis Dulos was a luxury home builder originally from Greece.
Troconis, a dual American and Venezuelan citizen, has described herself as a co-founder of horse-riding therapy programs in different parts of the world who once had her own TV production company in Argentina and hosted a snow-sports show for ESPN South America.
This undated contributed photo courtesy of the Farber family shows Jennifer Farber Dulos. Gloria Farber, the 88-year-old mother of Connecticut mother-of-five Jennifer Dulos, testified at a murder conspiracy trial Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, that she has not seen or communicated with her daughter since she disappeared and was presumed by police to be murdered in 2019. (Courtesy of the Farber Family via AP)
Prosecutors Sean McGuinness and Michelle Manning rested the state’s case Wednesday morning after Farber’s testimony. Troconis’ lawyer, Jon Schoenhorn, immediately made a motion for an acquittal, which was denied by Judge Kevin Randolph.
Schoenhorn argued there was no evidence that Troconis knew about Fotis Dulos’ alleged plans for the killing beforehand, or afterward when she accompanied him on trips that prosecutors said were intended to destroy evidence in the case.
McGuiness disagreed, and Randolph ruled there was enough evidence for the jury to make their own conclusions on the charges.
Police alleged Fotis Dulos drove his employee’s pickup truck to a New Canaan park that morning, rode a bicycle to Jennifer Dulos’ house, attacked her in the garage and drove off with her in her Chevy Suburban, which was later found abandoned at the park.
Later the same day, Troconis accompanied Fotis Dulos to Hartford, where he disposed of several garbage bags in random locations — a trip partially recorded by surveillance cameras.
Police found some of the bags and said they contained clothing, zip ties and other items containing Jennifer Dulos’ DNA. Some of the items, including a shirt and bra, had blood-like stains on them. Some items had Fotis Dulos’ DNA on them, and one bag tested positive for Troconis’ DNA, a state forensics expert testified at the trial.
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Schoenhorn said Troconis had no idea what was in the bags. He also said the match with Troconis’ DNA was found on a microscopic sample, and Fotis Dulos could have touched her and later spread her DNA to one of the bags.
Police also said Troconis helped Fotis Dulos write up a timeline of their activities to prepare for potential questioning by police. Troconis told police she only did that at the request of Fotis Dulos and his lawyer. And she also went with him when he had the employee’s truck cleaned and detailed at a car wash, prosecutors said.
And on the morning of Jennifer Dulos’ disappearance, Troconis answered Fotis Dulos’ cellphone, which he had left at his Farmington home. Prosecutors suggested that was part of the murder conspiracy to give Fotis Dulos an alibi. Schoenhorn denied the allegation.
Police interviewed Troconis three times in 2019. They said she initially lied that Fotis Dulos was home the morning of May 24, but acknowledged that wasn’t true in a subsequent interview and said she didn’t see him that morning.
Also charged in the case is Kent Mawhinney, a friend and former lawyer of Fotis Dulos. He pleaded not guilty and awaits trial on a conspiracy to commit murder charge.
The defense began to present its witnesses Wednesday. Testimony in the trial is supposed to finish on Friday or Monday.
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What should have been a quiet off-day for the Boston Red Sox has devolved into chaos.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was the subject of a profile article in The Boston Globe that didn’t paint a sunny picture of his tenure, including a tough nugget about his relationship with legend Theo Epstein. But Breslow’s harshest critic of the day was probably the father of one of his ex-players.
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Hunter Dobbins made his second major league appearance on Sunday since being traded from the Red Sox in the deal that brought Willson Contreras to Boston. After Dobbins pitched well and featured his sinker more than expected, his father Lance Dobbins took to social media to excoriate the Red Sox and Breslow.
Lance Dobbins’ latest comments harsher than the first
We covered Lance Dobbins’ initial comments from late Sunday night that seemed to be directed at the Red Sox organization already on Boston Red Sox On SI. But on Monday evening, the elder Dobbins reentered the fray to absolve pitching coach Andrew Bailey of any blame, effectively throwing Breslow under the bus.
When asked if Breslow replacing Chaim Bloom as chief baseball officer led to Hunter throwing less sinkers and fewer four-seam fastballs in the Red Sox organization, Lance responded with this:
Yes! In Bailey’s defense he wanted the addition, but people behind computers make those decisions. The coaching staff is literally working with one hand tied behind their backs. Driveline is the answer to everything, but winning games! Ask yourself, why are so many of our guys…
— Lance Dobbins (@lpdobbins) June 1, 2026
“Yes! In Bailey’s defense he wanted the addition, but people behind computers make those decisions. The coaching staff is literally working with one hand tied behind their backs. Driveline is the answer to everything, but winning games!
“Ask yourself, why are so many of our guys always injured (pitchers and position players), it’s not by pure bad luck. Pitchers are having constant issues and hitters are always hurting hands and wrist. It’s not a league wide problem. It has to be fixed or we’ll never win because half of our starters will always be on the IL.”
That last point has to hit home for the Red Sox because star outfielder Roman Anthony (who debuted in the majors a couple of months after Hunter Dobbins) has now had two long-lasting injuries that occurred on swings — an oblique strain in September that ended his season prematurely, and a partially torn finger ligament that has held him out of action since May 4, with no end in sight.
Monday just wasn’t a good day in the public relations department for the Red Sox front office, or for Breslow in particular. But it’s worth noting that Dobbins has only made two appearances in a Cardinals uniform, allowing four earned runs in eight innings, taking a loss and earning a save.
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates sent out one of their relief pitchers, who they had recently moved on from.
The Pirates announced that they traded right-handed relief pitcher Justin Lawrence to the Minnesota Twins for cash considerations on June 1.
Pittsburgh designated Lawrence for assignment on May 29, as they activated right-handed starting pitcher Jared Jones from the 60-day injured list, making room for Jones on both the 26-man roster and the 40-man roster.
The Twins decided that instead of waiting for Lawrence to go on waivers, they sent cash considerations to the Pirates to get him over another potential ball club.
Overlook at Justin Lawrence’s Tenure With the Pirates
Lawrence struggled for the Pirates this season, posting a 5.32 ERA over 22.0 innings pitched and 23 outings, a 0-2 record, 25 strikeouts to 12 walks, a .244 batting average allowed (BAA) and a 1.55 WHIP.
He had a solid campaign for the Pirates in 2025, aside from missing four months due to injury, with a 0.51 ERA over 17 appearances and 17.2 innings pitched, where he looked to get even better this year.
Lawrence struggled with his sinker and his fastball, with a .282 BAA and a 44.7% hard hit rate on his sinker and a .353 BAA and a 36.4% hard hit rate on his fastball.
His sweeper was also not effective as it was a season prior, as hitters did have 31.3% hard hit rate, but he still had effectiveness with it, amassing 18 of his 25 strikeouts on it.
Lawrence had a poor stretch from April 6-12, where he gave up eight runs and six earned runs over 3.2 innings pitched and four outings.
He pitched in two losses to the San Diego Padres at PNC Park, April 6 and 8, and played a role in the Chicago Cubs forcing the game into extra innings on April 11 at Wrigley Field, which the Pirates won, then gave up the tying run in the 7-6 loss to the Cubs on April 12.
Lawrence bounced back with seven straight scoreless outings, before giving up eight runs and four earned runs over four outings from May 8 to May 16.
His last outing came vs. the Cubs at PNC Park, a 10-4 loss on May 27, where he gave up two runs over two innings on a two-run home run to left fielder Ian Happ.
It ends a little more than a year between Lawrence originally joining the Pirates off of waivers from the Colorado Rockies and serves as a disappointing ending from a promising start for the reliever.
Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates!
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Three Rocky Hill firefighters were honored Monday night for their part in a rescue on the Connecticut River in March.
Emergency crews responded to Ferry Park in Rocky Hill on March 23 in response to a report of a vehicle in the river.
When they arrived, they found a woman in a Jeep about 35 feet out from the riverbank.
Crews broke a window and pulled the woman to safety after about 10 minutes, according to fire officials.
The woman sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Monday evening, Captain William Kelly, Captain Roberto Leone, and Lt. Travis Gerace-Hicks were awarded the fire department’s valor award for their rescue efforts.
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