Episode 370

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Sword and Scale contains adult themes in violence and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.

SPEAKER_2 (0:14)

My car was moved from her house, first of all. It was covered in blood in the driver's seat, and she wasn't the one driving, she was in the back.

Mike Boudet (0:23)

Look, I know how much of my audience is triggered right now because the court's ruled that you can't murder your own children. And then to make matters worse, Sydney Sweeney took her clothes off again. So let's eat some more ice cream and listen to some true crime, and we'll get through this together.

Just remember that life is all about finding new things to get mad about.

Including two sets of twins. They range in age from 8 to 13, and by all accounts, she is a devoted mother. For nearly two years, she and her kids have lived without her husband in a massive white house in New Canaan. It has almost 10,000 square feet, a three-car garage, and is worth millions. Custody of the kids is technically shared, but most days the house, the homework, and the packed lunches fall to Jennifer. Jennifer is also a writer with a master of fine arts. She keeps a blog. Sometimes she writes fiction. Sometimes it reads more like a diary, and sometimes it becomes a place to put her frustrations, much like this podcast is to me.

In one post, she wrote, The boys declared at their pick up that I should go to mommy jail, where they corner you in the kitchen, tie you up in a striped apron, and beat you with wooden spoons.

About an hour away sits another house. It's just as large, but the family that lives there has a very different dynamic. Inside that house, Michelle goes about her day. It's her boyfriend's home. She too moved in about two years ago, after meeting him at a Miami water ski competition. Her 12-year-old daughter Nicole lives with them most of the time, and the boyfriend's kids are there some weekends. Michelle has projects of her own, and she also helps her boyfriend with his business. As she later explained, she wasn't someone who could just sit around the house.

Michelle Troconis (3:48)

Listen, I don't work for Forgo. I was helping him. Because I have my daughter, and it's just because I have time to do things, and I cannot be just sitting around.

Mike Boudet (4:00)

Two women don't really know each other, but their lives are colliding, because the same man ties them together. His name is Fotis Dulos. On the morning of May 24, 2019, after dropping the children at school, Jennifer's suburban was recorded returning to Wells Lane. At 11 a.m., the nanny arrived. The plan for her was to bring the children to New York, where they would meet Jennifer, attend dentist appointments, and stay with grandma.

It was an hour's drive to the city, and Jennifer was going to leave the suburban for the nanny and the kids. But when the nanny opened the middle garage door, she was surprised to find the Range Rover Park there. The suburban was missing. That wasn't the only weird thing she noticed. Jennifer's carry-all bag, which she always traveled with, was on the floor. In the kitchen, a cup of tea was still full, sitting next to an uneaten granola bar.

Strangest of all, the nanny noticed the paper towel holder beside the sink was empty. When she went to the pantry to replace it, she noticed that the 12 rolls that she'd bought the day before were now down to two.

After picking up the kids at 12.30, she went back to the house to feed them lunch and pack a few things. The kids were getting ready to leave for New York, but Noelle couldn't find her iPad for the ride.

SPEAKER_5 (5:33)

The kids went and got their iPads for the car ride, and I just cleaned up quickly, put everything away, and then I texted Jennifer, because Noelle couldn't find hers, and so I asked, we had like a family iPad, and so I asked if she could take that instead.

And then we got in the car and headed to New York. So right before we left the driveway, I texted her our ETA, and that we would be at Gloria's, and then I just started driving, and then I texted her when we got to Gloria's.

Mike Boudet (6:04)

Gloria, Jennifer's mother, lived in New York.

SPEAKER_5 (6:08)

After we got to Gloria's, around 2.30, and she wasn't there, and I was supposed to meet Jennifer at Gloria's. I wasn't supposed to go to the orthodontist. I was going to be heading back home, but she wasn't there, and so I called her around 4 o'clock.