2024 Was the Year

By Dennis House

Connecticut celebrated another UConn national championship, was captivated by a trial that will undoubtedly become a movie or more, and we chose a new president.
I’ll begin with high drama that began in California and soon had people across Connecticut at the edge of the seats. Two months after the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team won their second straight national championship—and we celebrated on the streets of Hartford at a massive parade—we learned Coach Dan Hurley could be leaving after being offered a chance to jump to the NBA and lead the legendary Los Angeles Lakers.

How could Connecticut compete with all the money being thrown Hurley’s way? It was an opportunity to coach LeBron James, one of the all-time greats? What about the palm trees, the snow-free Januarys and the chance to make history? Only one coach has ever won an NCAA and an NBA championship.
The Hurleys did the prudent thing; they flew to Los Angeles to “kick the tires” and survey the landscape. The meetings with the Lakers were private and out of the reach of news media but an intrepid News 8 viewer on vacation snapped a pic of the family lunching in Santa Monica and sent it to us. That was all the info we received until it was official a few days later: Dan Hurley was staying at UConn!

“Where do you belong?” That’s what Hurley told reporters upon his return from California when he explained why he made the decision to stay with UConn. This is home for the Hurleys. They now want to focus on a third straight championship.

I can tell you the power couple is immersed in their life in our great state. Andrea is involved in charity work—such as Connecticut Children’s—and both her and her husband served as honorary chairs of the hospital’s annual gala. They seem relaxed and super happy, knowing they made the right decision. I had the chance to shoot a promo with Coach Hurley and the Archbishop of Hartford, the Most Reverend Christopher Coyne. The future Hall of Famer was affable and talking up the Constitution State, where he is a hero to Nutmeggers from Greenwich to Goshen to Groton and all points in between.

Another news story that dominated the headlines for much of 2024 was the trial of Michelle Troconis. She was accused of conspiracy in the disappearance and murder of Jennifer Farber Dulos, a mother of five who vanished Memorial Day weekend 2019 during a contentious divorce from her estranged husband Fotis Dulos.

Troconis was Dulos’ girlfriend. Both were charged in Jennifer’s death, but Fotis Dulos committed suicide in 2020, leaving Troconis behind to face the legal system. Her trial finally began in January of 2024. It attracted tremendous media attention, the likes of which I haven’t seen in this state since the Woody Allen-Mia Farrow case of 1993 and the Michael Skakel case in 2002.
Viewers were riveted to the weeks of testimony and the stunning revelations complete with videos that painted in vivid details of a case that could easily fill more than a half dozen episodes of a Ryan Murphy series for Netflix. Our hearts broke as we learned Jennifer fled her home in Farmington for New Canaan as she feared for her life. Troconis was found guilty. Her sentencing in May once again grabbed the headlines.

I was in the courtroom as Farber Dulos’ five children, her mother and friends shared their grief with the hushed courtroom. I knew what her mother would say because I sat down with Gloria Farber for one of the most deeply impactful interviews I have ever done. Mrs. Farber is a wonderful woman; I liked her immensely the moment I met her. The courage this nearly 90-year-old woman and her grandchildren showed was remarkable.

The biggest story of the year was, of course, what happened on Election Day 2024 and after, and an election that so divided our nation. Maybe I’ll take up that topic in 2025.
Dennis House has been covering the news in Connecticut for over 30 years. He can be seen weeknights at 6 and 11 p.m. on WTNH and at 10 p.m. on WCTX. He also hosts This Week in Connecticut Sunday mornings at 10 a.m.