Murder of Jennifer Dulos
Jennifer Dulos went missing in Connecticut on May 24, 2019. She was 50 years old at the time of her disappearance. Authorities suspect that she was killed in a violent attack at her home in New Canaan. Her husband, Fotis Dulos, and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, have been arrested on charges of tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution in connection with the disappearance.
Police suspect that Fotis Dulos 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 Fotis Dulos and Troconis went to Hartford, Connecticut, to dispose of garbage bags containing items with Jennifer Dulos' blood on them on the night that Jennifer disappeared.
Jennifer and Fotis Dulos were in the midst of both a contentious divorce and child-custody proceedings.[1]
Background
Jennifer Farber Dulos (born September 27, 1968) graduated from Brown University and later earned a master's degree in writing from New York University Tisch School of the Arts. Jennifer was a stay-at-home mother; she also wrote a blog.
Fotis Dulos (born August 6, 1967) also graduated from Brown University and later earned an MBA in finance from Columbia Business School. Fotis started his own business as a luxury home developer.
The couple married in Manhattan in 2004 and moved to Farmington, Connecticut. They started a family and eventually had five children, two sets of twins and another daughter.[2]
Disappearance
Jennifer Dulos was last seen on May 24, 2019, when she dropped her children off at New Canaan Country School. That same day, she missed a doctor's appointment in New York City, and two of her friends reported her as missing that evening.
That same night, police found blood, which they later discovered belonged to Jennifer, in the garage of her New Canaan home. Police also found evidence of Jennifer being the victim of a serious assault. That same evening, Fotis Dulos and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, were captured on video dumping garbage bags, which contained Jennifer's blood, in 30 trash bins in Hartford, Connecticut.[3]
Jennifer's car was later found near Waveny Park in New Canaan.
At the time Jennifer went missing, she and her husband were estranged and engaged in a tumultuous divorce. They were also involved in contentious child-custody proceedings. The couple's children are living with Jennifer's mother, Gloria Farber, to whom a judge granted temporary custody.
Fotis Dulos has hired attorney Norm Pattis to represent him. In an interview, Pattis appeared convinced that Jennifer was dead prior to being hired to represent Fotis.[4]
2020 arrests
On January 7, 2020, Fotis Dulos was arrested at his home by Connecticut State Police and charged with capital murder, murder, and kidnapping in relation to the disappearance of Jennifer. His former girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, was also arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Fotis Dulos's friend and former attorney, Kent Douglas Mawhinney (often misreported as Mahwinney), was also detained on January 7 and charged with conspiracy to commit murder.[5] Despite these arrests, the body of Jennifer is yet to be found.[6]
Following these arrests, court documents released highlight the backgrounds of Dulos and Mawhinney.
It is believed that Fotis (and possibly Troconis) drove down to New Canaan using Fotis’ work truck on the morning of May 24, 2019. Fotis was likely lying in wait in Jennifer's home, waiting for her return. Fotis likely attacked Jennifer and restrained her with four zip ties. To cover up the murder, Fotis used ten rolls of paper towels to clean up the blood left behind. It is still unclear how Fotis killed Jennifer. Soon after, the housemaid reported to authorities that she had restocked the paper towels in the home a few days before Jennifer went missing, and that the paper towels were missing after Jennifer disappeared.
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 K9 dogs discovered the grave in August 2019, but no body was found in the grave, and said items were found to have been removed.[7]
See also
- Crime in Connecticut
- List of people who disappeared mysteriously: post-1970
- Murder conviction without a body
References
- ^ Missing mom's body was in truck used by estranged husband, his girlfriend told police
- ^ How a Conn. Couple's 'Stereotypically Perfect' Marriage Went Sour Before Mom of 5 Disappeared
- ^ What happened to Jennifer Farber Dulos? Everything we know about estranged husband Fotis Dulos
- ^ Local defense attorney weighs in on case of missing mom
- ^ Fotis Dulos’ former attorney arrested at gunpoint in Jennifer Dulos case
- ^ Fotis Dulos arrested for murder of estranged wife Jennifer Dulos
- ^ Shallow 'human grave' found before Connecticut mom Jennifer Dulos' disappearance