Michelle Troconis' Lawyer Argues She May Not Have Understood Police Because Of Language Barrier

Michelle Troconis’ new lawyer said he will investigate whether or not a language barrier influenced how his client spoke to investigators before she was charged in connection with the disappearance and presumed death of her former boyfriend’s wife, Jennifer Dulos.

Troconis’ new lawyer Jon Schoenhorn told local station WFSB that Troconis' first language is not English and that he wanted to re-examine her interviews with investigators to see if a language barrier had any impact.

As a result of this new claim, a Spanish-speaking interpreter was present in court Friday with her when she was arraigned on a conspiracy to commit murder charge. In court, Schoenhorn said while his client understands most words, she doesn’t understand 100 percent of the language, Fox61 reported.

She attended college in Venezuela and has business ties to Argentina, the Stamford Advocate reported. 

Schoenhorn has not immediately replied to Oxygen.com’s request for comment.

Troconis has been on house arrest after she was released on bond following her arrest last month. She is accused of working in tandem with Fotis Dulos, who died following an apparent suicide attempt in his garage last month.

Fotis was accused of killing his estranged wife Jennifer Dulos, who vanished last May after dropping the couple’s kids off at school. They were embroiled in a heated custody battle over their five children when she vanished.

Jennifer's body has not been found, but police have asserted that she is dead. An arrest warrant issued by investigators alleged that Fotis was “lying in wait” for Jennifer the day she vanished and that “the crime and clean-up are believed to have occurred” shortly after. 

Troconis is accused of helping with the cleanup. She allegedly told investigators that “the body of Jennifer at some point was in” a truck Fotis had borrowed from an employee at his real estate development company. Troconis also allegedly admitted to cleaning out what Fotis told her was a “coffee stain” in the borrowed truck but “she admitted that it did not smell of coffee,” according to Fotis’ arrest warrant.

Fotis and Troconis were charged shortly after Jennifer vanished with evidence tampering and hindering prosecution in the case after police allegedly found evidence of the couple disposing of garbage bags, some of which contained bloody clothing, in trash receptacles.

The Connecticut case has become a high profile one, full of dramatic twists and turns.

"She has not been able to defend herself," Schoenhorn told WFSB last week. "She has not been able to say or do anything to demonstrate that she is innocent of these charges."