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Murder of Jennifer Dulos

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Jennifer Dulos
Born
Jennifer Farber

(1968-09-27)September 27, 1968
New York City, U.S.
DisappearedMay 24, 2019 (aged 50)
New Canaan, Connecticut, U.S.
StatusMissing for 5 years, 5 months and 9 days
Spouse
Fotis Dulos
​
​
(m. 2004; died 2020)​
Children5
RelativesLiz Claiborne (maternal aunt)

Jennifer Dulos (née Farber; born September 27, 1968) is an American woman who went missing on May 24, 2019. Authorities suspect that she was killed in a violent attack at her home in New Canaan, Connecticut. Her husband, Fotis Dulos, and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, were arrested on charges of tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution in connection with Jennifer's disappearance. Later, the two – along with Fotis' attorney Kent Mawhinney – faced additional charges related to Jennifer's murder. Fotis died by suicide in January 2020. As of June 2022, neither Troconis nor Mawhinney have had their day in court, so none of the accused have yet been proven guilty.[1]

Jennifer and Fotis were in the midst of both a contentious divorce and child-custody proceedings.[2] Police suspect that Fotis had been lying in wait for Jennifer and attacked her when she arrived at her home, after dropping her children off at school. Police allege that he and Troconis drove to Hartford to dispose of garbage bags containing items with Jennifer's blood on them on the night that Jennifer disappeared. Police further allege that Mawhinney conspired with Fotis and Troconis. If convicted, they will spend life behind bars.

Background

Jennifer Farber Dulos (born September 27, 1968) was born in New York City to Gloria Ortenberg and Hilliard Farber, a banker and philanthropist respectively. She has an older sister, Melissa Irene Farber.[3] Jennifer's maternal aunt and uncle, Elizabeth Claiborne and Arthur Ortenberg, founded the fashion company Liz Claiborne Inc.[4] Jennifer graduated from Brown University in 1990, and later earned a master's degree in writing from New York University Tisch School of the Arts. A stay-at-home mother, Jennifer made her living as a writer for Patch.com, and also ran her own blog.

Fotis Dulos (August 6, 1967 – January 30, 2020) was born in Turkey and grew up in Athens, Greece, moving to the U.S. in 1986. He graduated from Brown University in 1989, and later earned an MBA in finance from Columbia Business School. Fotis married Hilary Vanessa Aldama, also a Brown graduate, in Athens in June 2000. The marriage lasted four years, and they were divorced on July 12, 2004. That year Dulos founded Fore Group Inc., a real estate development company specializing in luxury homes based in Connecticut.[5]

Dulos started emailing Farber, whom he'd also met at Brown, whilst still with his first wife. They married in Manhattan just over a month after Dulos' divorce, on August 28, 2004, and subsequently moved to Farmington, Connecticut.[6] They had five children together, including two sets of twins, all named after Greek Orthodox saints – three sons: Petros, Theodore, and Constantine; and two daughters: Christiane and Cleopatra Noelle.[7][8]

In a blog post on March 12, 2012, Jennifer alluded to trouble in her marriage: "I wish I were a strong person and that confrontation did not both scare and appall me."[9] After the gradual breakdown of the marriage, in which Jennifer claimed Fotis was living an increasingly independent life, she filed for divorce on June 20, 2017, at Superior Court in Stamford. In the same month she started renting a house in New Canaan, about seventy miles southwest of Farmington, and moved there with her five children.[10]

In her divorce documents, Jennifer wrote: "I know that filing for divorce, and filing this motion will enrage him. I know he will retaliate by trying to harm me in some way." She also stated she believed he was having an affair with his colleague, Michelle Troconis, a native of Venezuela.[5] Jennifer also alleged that Fotis had threatened to kidnap their children if she did not agree to his terms in the divorce settlement, and that he had bought a gun that year; Fotis denied making threats and claimed he bought the gun legally for home security.[11] Both parents filed numerous motions claiming that the other was disparaging them.[12]

Despite Jennifer's requesting an emergency order of custody, the couple were given temporary joint custody of their children until the end of the divorce proceedings.[citation needed] When Jennifer again requested an emergency order of custody in early 2018, the judge found that Fotis had broken numerous court orders. In March 2018 Jennifer was awarded sole physical custody of the children, while both parents were to share joint legal custody. Fotis was granted supervised visitation and monitored phone calls.[citation needed]

In February 2018, after Jennifer's father's death, Gloria Farber, Jennifer's mother, sued Fotis for unpaid loans. She claimed he owed them $1.7 million loaned to him by his father-in-law Hilliard Farber.[13]

Disappearance

Jennifer was last seen at around 8:00 am on May 24, 2019, when she dropped her children off at New Canaan Country School, and then at 8:05 am on a neighbor's security camera returning home.[14] The same day, she missed two doctors' appointments that she had scheduled for 11:00 am and 1:00 pm in New York City. Later that evening, at around 7:00 pm, two of her friends, including her nanny Lauren Almeida, reported her missing after they failed to get in contact with her. Family and friends of Jennifer stated that it would be out of character for her to leave home on her own without telling anyone.[3]

Almeida, who had arrived at the house at 11:30 am that day, later told detectives she was surprised to see Jennifer's Range Rover in the garage because she had planned to take it to her doctors' appointments instead of her Chevrolet Suburban, which was missing.[15] When detectives searched the house, they found blood spatter on the floor, door and a wall in the garage, as well as on the exterior of the Range Rover. Blood was also found in the kitchen. DNA tests revealed most of the blood to be Jennifer's, apart from blood on the kitchen faucet, a mixture belonging to both her and her husband, Fotis.[15] Police also found other evidence of Jennifer being the victim of a serious assault.

Jennifer's Chevrolet Suburban had been captured on the neighbor's security camera leaving her home at around 10:25 am that morning. Fotis was believed to be the one driving the victim's vehicle, carrying the body of Jennifer and other items associated with the probable cleanup.[16] That same evening, at around 7:30 pm, Fotis and Troconis were captured on video dumping garbage bags in thirty bins in Hartford.[17] The trash bags were found to contain various pieces of bloodied clothing, as well as bloodstained cleaning items. The blood was determined to be that of Jennifer. Fotis' DNA was found on the inside of a glove in one of the trash bags, and on one of the trash bags. The Suburban was later found at the side of a road near Waveny Park in New Canaan, just over three miles away from her home.[18]

At the time Jennifer went missing, she and her husband were estranged and still engaged in a tumultuous divorce. They were also involved in the ongoing contentious child-custody proceedings.

Police searched numerous properties in and around Farmington, in Fairfield County, and near Fotis' home without success. Investigators believe he arrived by bike to Jennifer's home due to tire marks found and other evidence. Fotis is believed to have been lying in wait for his estranged wife to return home, and killed her in the garage when she returned from dropping their kids at school.[5] Helicopters were used to look for signs of Jennifer, as well as canine units and divers. There has been no activity on her credit cards and no calls made from her cell phone as of May 24.[18]

On January 19, 2021, the Connecticut State Police visited property on Mountain Spring Road in Farmington, which was once owned by Fotis' real estate company, to follow up on "old leads". Several authorities could be seen behind the property digging up the yard. Police also brought in Bob Perry, a nationally renowned expert at finding unmarked gravesites, though he would not say what, if anything, had been discovered. The next day, police returned to the Mountain Spring Road property with an excavator and a septic tank. Police briefly spoke with the media but said they did not have any updates.

Initial arrests

On June 1, 2019, Fotis and Troconis were arrested at a hotel in Avon, Connecticut, and charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution. Not enough evidence existed at that time to warrant any more serious charges.[15] The Dulos' five children, then aged between 8 and 13, moved to New York City to live with Jennifer's mother, to whom a judge granted temporary custody.[citation needed]

Fotis hired attorney Norm Pattis to represent him. In an interview, prior to being hired by Fotis, Pattis had appeared convinced that Jennifer was dead.[19] Fotis and Troconis both pleaded not guilty to the charges. They were again arrested for tampering with evidence, and again pleaded not guilty, in September 2019.[20] Fotis appeared in court on October 4 to seek a dismissal of the charges against him. The judge said he would review arguments by the defense and prosecution.

In late October, it was reported Troconis, along with her 10-year-old daughter, had moved out of Fotis' $5 million home in Farmington.[21]

2020 arrests

On January 7, 2020, Fotis was arrested at his home by the Connecticut State Police and charged with capital murder, murder, and kidnapping in relation to Jennifer's disappearance. Troconis was also arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Fotis' friend and former attorney, Kent Douglas Mawhinney (often misreported as Mahwinney), was also detained on January 7 and charged with conspiracy to commit murder.[22] Despite these arrests, Jennifer's body is yet to be found.[23]

Mawhinney became estranged from his wife after being accused of spousal rape. His wife went to South Windsor police and told authorities that she feared Fotis and Mawhinney were working together to kill her. After Jennifer disappeared, a shallow grave was discovered at a secluded property that Mawhinney owned, filled with two bags of lime and a blue tarp. Authorities and a sniffer dog discovered the grave in August 2019, but no body was found in the grave, and said items were found to have been removed.[24]

Jennifer's family issued a statement after the arrests: "Although we are relieved that the wait for these charges is over, for us, there is no sense of closure. Nothing can bring Jennifer back. We miss her every day and will forever mourn her loss."[25]

On January 8, Fotis' bond was set at $6 million. He was released the following day and was due to return to court on February 28, 2020.[26]

In a statement issued in May 2020, Troconis said it was a "mistake" to have trusted Fotis, but maintained that she did not know what happened to Jennifer or of her whereabouts.[27] Troconis, out on bail, was next scheduled to appear in court on August 6 2020, to face the charges. Mawhinney was being held in lieu of $2 million bond,[28] but the bond was reduced to $246,000 and he was released October 19, 2020.[29]

Fotis Dulos suicide

While out on bail, Dulos failed to appear in court on January 28, 2020, for an emergency bond hearing. He was found in an unresponsive state by police at his home in Farmington, having poisoned himself with carbon monoxide by running a vacuum-cleaner hose from the exhaust pipe of his SUV into the interior of the car while it was parked in his garage.[30][31][32][33] Initially, it was reported by some news outlets that Fotis had been found dead, but responders had performed CPR and restored a faint pulse.[34] They transported him by ambulance to UConn Medical Center in Farmington, and from there he was airlifted to Jacobi Medical Center in The Bronx to undergo hyperbaric oxygen therapy.[34][35] Fotis' five children, whose ages ranged from 8 to 13 when their mother disappeared eight months earlier,[36] visited him at the medical center before he was taken off life support. This marked the first time they had seen their father since he was accused of murdering their mother.[37]

Fotis was pronounced dead at Jacobi Medical Center on January 30, 2020.[38][39] He was 52 years old. He had left a suicide note in his car that read, "I refuse to spend even an hour more in jail for something I had NOTHING to do with".

In the police report, it states that Fotis' new girlfriend, Anna Curry, was at his home the morning of his suicide. They had planned to drive to the courthouse in Stamford together, but Fotis said that they should drive separately. On the way to the courthouse, Curry received a call from Pattis asking where his client was. She told him that they were driving separately, but the lawyer informed her that Fotis' GPS tracker showed that he was still at home, at which point Curry realized that he must have done something to harm himself and asked Pattis to call 9-1-1.[40]

Media

Dateline NBC aired the episode "Disappearance of Jennifer Dulos" on 9 September 2019.[41] A followup episode entitled "The Day Jennifer Disappeared" aired on 2 September 2022.[42]

The documentary Vanished in New Canaan: An ID Mystery, which premiered on Investigation Discovery on June 1, 2020, attempts to piece together the facts of Jennifer Dulos' disappearance.[43] The documentary gives an insight into how Jennifer and her estranged husband met at Brown University and started a family. A group of experts and witnesses dissect the events of the case.

The case was covered in a 2021 Lifetime television film, Gone Mom: The Jennifer Dulos story, with Annabeth Gish as Jennifer Dulos and Warren Christie as Fotis Dulos.[44]

Jennifers' Law

Main article: Jennifers' Law (Connecticut)

In May 2021, a domestic violence bill – so-called "Jennifers' Law" – received near unanimous support in the Connecticut State Senate.[45] The proposed law is named after Jennifer Dulos and other victims of domestic violence in Connecticut, Jennifer Magnano, who was murdered in 2007 by her husband, Scott Magnano, in Terryville, Connecticut. Scott Magnano committed suicide immediately after murdering his wife, in front of their three children.[46] On June 28, 2021, Governor Ned Lamont signed the bill into law.[47]

See also

References

  1. ^ Tomlinson, Pat (January 18, 2022). "Kent Mawhinney, charged in Jennifer Dulos disappearance, has case put on trial list". Stamford Advocate. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  2. ^ "Missing mom's body was in truck used by estranged husband, his girlfriend told police". www.cbsnews.com.
  3. ^ a b "Who is Jennifer Farber Dulos?". Latest Bios. July 2020.
  4. ^ "Wealthy CT woman murdered". Latest Bios. July 2020.
  5. ^ a b c "Fotis Dulos: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy News. July 2020.
  6. ^ "Fotis Dulos' first marriage to Hilary Aldama ended quickly". Hartford Courant. July 2020.
  7. ^ "How a Conn. Couple's 'Stereotypically Perfect' Marriage Went Sour Before Mom of 5 Disappeared". PEOPLE.com.
  8. ^ "NYC Times FARBER--Hilliard Obituary". NYC Times. July 2020.
  9. ^ "The loneliness and turbulence in the marriage of missing New Canaan mother Jennifer Farber Dulos". Hartford Courant. July 2020.
  10. ^ "Jennifer Dulos home for sale". ncadvertiser. July 2020.
  11. ^ "A timeline of the Jennifer Dulos, Fotis Dulos case". ABC News. July 2020.
  12. ^ "Jennifer Dulos: Inside the Turbulent Marriage of the Missing Connecticut Mother of 5". The New York Times. June 5, 2020.
  13. ^ Pagones, Stephanie. "Fotis Dulos says in-laws owe him $1M from unpaid work, unaccounted payments". Fox News.
  14. ^ "Jennifer Dulos home for sale". Ncadvertiser. July 2020.
  15. ^ a b c "Jennifer Dulos evidence details". Newsweek. July 2020.
  16. ^ "Jennifer Dulos home for sale". Ncadvertiser. July 2020.
  17. ^ EDT, Jenni Fink On 8/9/19 at 11:45 AM (August 9, 2019). "Everything we know about Fotis Dulos, Connecticut man charged in estranged wife's disappearance". Newsweek.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ a b "What happened to Jennifer Dulos". Eonline. July 2020.
  19. ^ Matt McFarland, Kaitlyn Naples. "Local defense attorney weighs in on case of missing mom". Pattis & Smith Law Firm.
  20. ^ "Jennifer Dulos 1 year on". ABC News. July 2020.
  21. ^ "Jennifer Dulos 1 year on". ABC News. July 2020.
  22. ^ Backus, Lisa; Tomlinson, Pat (January 7, 2020). "Fotis Dulos' former attorney arrested at gunpoint in Jennifer Dulos case". The Hour.
  23. ^ "Fotis Dulos arrested for murder of estranged wife Jennifer Dulos". ABC News.
  24. ^ "Shallow 'human grave' found before Connecticut mom Jennifer Dulos' disappearance". NBC News.
  25. ^ "Who is Jennifer Farber Dulos?". Latest Bios. July 2020.
  26. ^ "Fotis Dulos released on bond in Jennifer Dulos murder case". ABC News.
  27. ^ "Michelle Troconis Issues Statement on Disappearance of Jennifer Dulos". NBC News.
  28. ^ "Troconis denied hearing to remove GPS tracking device". Stamford Advocate. July 10, 2020.
  29. ^ Stewart, Doug (October 19, 2020). "Kent Mawhinney released on bond". WTIC-TV. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  30. ^ Vigdor, Neil; Gold, Michael (January 28, 2020). "Fotis Dulos, Charged With Killing His Wife, Jennifer, Attempts Suicide". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  31. ^ "Attorneys Speak Out After Fotis Dulos Suicide Attempt: 'The Situation Is Grim'". January 28, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  32. ^ Altimari, Dave. "Police say Fotis Dulos in critical condition after attempted suicide". courant.com. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  33. ^ Polansky, Rob. "Fotis Dulos in critical condition after attempted suicide". WFSB. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  34. ^ a b "Fotis Dulos In Critical Condition After Apparent Suicide Attempt At His Connecticut Home". CBS Local. January 29, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  35. ^ Rosenberg, Rebecca; Moore, Tina; Fitz-Gibbon, Jorge (January 28, 2020). "Fotis Dulos transported to Jacobi Medical Center after suicide attempt". New York Post. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  36. ^ Gola, Pankaj (July 29, 2021). "Jennifer Dulos Children's Names and Ages". fox24x7.com. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  37. ^ "Dulos' 5 kids visited him before he was taken off life support". NY Post. July 2020.
  38. ^ Chakraborty, Barnini (January 30, 2020). "Fotis Dulos, Connecticut man charged in wife Jennifer Dulos' murder, dead after suicide attempt, lawyer says". Fox News. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  39. ^ "Fotis Dulos, charged with killing his estranged wife, dies after suicide attempt". NBC News. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  40. ^ "Dulos meticulously planned his suicide". NY Post. July 2020.
  41. ^ Murphy, Dennis (September 10, 2019). "The Disappearance of Jennifer". Dateline NBC. Season 2019. NBC. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  42. ^ Murphy, Dennis; Mankiewicz, Josh; Morrison, Keith; Holt, Lester; Canning, Andrea (September 3, 2022). "The Day Jennifer Disappeared". Dateline NBC. Season 28. Episode 39. NBC. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  43. ^ "New Jennifer Dulos documentary". June 2020.
  44. ^ "Gone Mom: The Disappearance of Jennifer Dulos". Lifetime. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  45. ^ "'Jennifers' Law' receives near unanimous support in state Senate". May 19, 2021.
  46. ^ "#Her name was Jennifer Magnano".
  47. ^ Agogliati, Mike (June 28, 2021). "Lamont signs "Jennifer's Law" expanding domestic violence definition". WFSB News. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
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