This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/nyregion/fotis-dulos-jennifer-dulos.html

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 4 Version 5
Jennifer Dulos Case: Husband, Fotis, Is Charged with Murder of Missing Conn. Woman Jennifer Dulos Case: Husband, Fotis, Is Charged with Murder of Missing Conn. Woman
(30 minutes later)
The estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos, a mother of five who went missing from her home in an affluent area of Connecticut last year, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with her murder, his lawyer said. The estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos, a mother of five who went missing from her home in an affluent area of Connecticut last year, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with her murder.
The husband, Fotis Dulos, 52, was arrested at his home in Farmington, Conn., at around 11 a.m., said the lawyer, Norm Pattis. The husband, Fotis Dulos, 52, was charged with two counts of murder and kidnapping, the Connecticut State Police said in a statement.
Mr. Dulos’s girlfriend, Michelle C. Troconis, 44, was also arrested on Tuesday, a state police official said. A third arrest was also expected in the case, the official said. Mr. Dulos’s girlfriend, Michelle C. Troconis, 44, was also arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder, the state police said.
The official did not provide further details on the charges. Mr. Pattis said that in addition to Mr. Dulos, the authorities were seeking to charge one other person with murder and a third person for conspiracy to commit murder. A third person was also expected to be arrested, according to a state police official and Mr. Dulos’s lawyer, Norm Pattis. Neither of them provided further details.
A Connecticut State Police spokeswoman said officials would provide an update later on Tuesday afternoon. Ms. Dulos’s disappearance in May led to a statewide search that had law enforcement agencies looking for her across much of Connecticut last year.
Ms. Dulos’s disappearance launched a statewide search that had law enforcement agencies looking for her across much of Connecticut last year.
The police flew helicopters and drones over a sprawling suburban park, solicited private surveillance footage and spent weeks rooting through a trash facility looking for evidence. Her remains were never found.The police flew helicopters and drones over a sprawling suburban park, solicited private surveillance footage and spent weeks rooting through a trash facility looking for evidence. Her remains were never found.
All the while, people across the country were drawn in by the disappearance of Ms. Dulos, who had been in the middle of a volatile custody battle with her estranged husband when she was reported missing.All the while, people across the country were drawn in by the disappearance of Ms. Dulos, who had been in the middle of a volatile custody battle with her estranged husband when she was reported missing.
The case received national media attention and spurred a host of armchair sleuths to search online for clues and post frequently about them on social media.The case received national media attention and spurred a host of armchair sleuths to search online for clues and post frequently about them on social media.
“Although we are relieved that the wait for these charges is over, for us there is no sense of closure,” said Carrie Luft, a longtime friend of Ms. Dulos’s who has been speaking on behalf of her family, in a statement.“Although we are relieved that the wait for these charges is over, for us there is no sense of closure,” said Carrie Luft, a longtime friend of Ms. Dulos’s who has been speaking on behalf of her family, in a statement.
“Nothing can bring Jennifer back,” Ms. Luft said. “We miss her every day and will forever mourn her loss.”“Nothing can bring Jennifer back,” Ms. Luft said. “We miss her every day and will forever mourn her loss.”
For months, investigators had been focused on Mr. Dulos. He and Ms. Troconis were charged with hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence in June. Another evidence tampering charge was later added, in September.For months, investigators had been focused on Mr. Dulos. He and Ms. Troconis were charged with hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence in June. Another evidence tampering charge was later added, in September.
The two have pleaded not guilty to the previous charges against them and were released on bond. The two have pleaded not guilty to the previous charges against them and have been free on bond.
Ms. Dulos, 50, was last seen on May 24. That morning, law enforcement officials said, she drove her children to a private school in New Canaan, Conn., a wealthy community located about 45 miles north of Midtown Manhattan.Ms. Dulos, 50, was last seen on May 24. That morning, law enforcement officials said, she drove her children to a private school in New Canaan, Conn., a wealthy community located about 45 miles north of Midtown Manhattan.
The authorities began investigating Ms. Dulos’s disappearance after she failed to make several appointments in New York City that day, and her friends grew concerned.The authorities began investigating Ms. Dulos’s disappearance after she failed to make several appointments in New York City that day, and her friends grew concerned.
Investigators went to her $3.5 million home that night and found blood stains and spatters that led them to conclude that she had been the victim of a serious physical assault. They also discovered Ms. Dulos’s blood mixed with Mr. Dulos’s DNA on a faucet, as well as evidence of an attempt to clean up the scene.Investigators went to her $3.5 million home that night and found blood stains and spatters that led them to conclude that she had been the victim of a serious physical assault. They also discovered Ms. Dulos’s blood mixed with Mr. Dulos’s DNA on a faucet, as well as evidence of an attempt to clean up the scene.
As they widened their search, investigators also found Ms. Dulos’s car abandoned about three miles away near Waveny Park, a vast expanse that was initially the focus of the search for Ms. Dulos.As they widened their search, investigators also found Ms. Dulos’s car abandoned about three miles away near Waveny Park, a vast expanse that was initially the focus of the search for Ms. Dulos.
Mr. Dulos was arrested and taken into police custody at around 11 a.m. on Tuesday, according to Mr. Pattis. One of the murder charges against him carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Mr. Dulos and Ms. Troconis were sent to separate Connecticut jails ahead of their arraignment hearings. Mr. Dulos was being held on a $6 million bond, and Ms. Troconis was being held on a $2 million bond, officials said.
Officials said in an earlier arrest warrant that they believed that Mr. Dulos had been “lying in wait” for Ms. Dulos in New Canaan, and that he carried Ms. Dulos’s body from her home in her own car.
The police first spoke with Mr. Dulos the day after his estranged wife was reported missing. The two had been locked for years in a bitter divorce battle that involved hundreds of court filings in which the two exchanged accusations as they argued about visitation rights and custody of their children.
The couple had been married for 13 years when Ms. Dulos initiated divorce proceedings in June 2017. At the time, she immediately asked for an emergency order that would give her sole custody of the couple’s three sons and two daughters.
In an affidavit, Ms. Dulos said that she was worried that Mr. Dulos would kidnap the children and take them to Greece, where he was raised. She also said she feared that Mr. Dulos, who had recently purchased a gun, might hurt her or their children.
Mr. Dulos denied the allegations. In the time that followed, the two of them traded accusations, with court proceedings in the custody case turning into a ceaseless litany of complaints, both deeply serious and seemingly mundane.
In an arrest warrant from September, the police said they believed that Mr. Dulos had borrowed a red Toyota truck from a work colleague on the day that Ms. Dulos was reported missing. The car was later found to contain traces of her blood.
Through surveillance footage, the police traced the truck traveling to New Canaan, where it was parked just 100 feet from the spot where Ms. Dulos’s car would later be discovered, the warrant said.
Cellphone records would show that later that evening, as the authorities were investigating Ms. Dulos’s home, Mr. Dulos and Ms. Troconis had driven to Hartford, according to arrest warrants. Officials have said that the pair dumped trash bags filled with evidence there, including clothing and a kitchen sponge stained with Ms. Dulos’s blood.
In August, Ms. Troconis admitted to the police that she placed a stained rag into a black garbage bag similar to the ones found in Hartford, according to an arrest warrant. She also told the police that she believed Mr. Dulos cleaned up the borrowed truck believed to have been used in Ms. Dulos’s disappearance.
During a number of police interviews, Ms. Troconis said she could not account for Mr. Dulos’s whereabouts on the morning of Ms. Dulos’s disappearance, according to the warrant.
She also admitted that she and Mr. Dulos provided false alibis on handwritten documents in their Farmington home, the warrant said.
The pages, which detectives referred to as “alibi scripts,” outlined their supposed activities and phone calls on the day that Ms. Dulos disappeared.
The notes included events that Ms. Troconis later admitted had never happened and alibi witnesses who were “determined to be false,” the warrant said.
When Mr. Dulos and Ms. Troconis were first arrested, the charges were viewed as a major break in the investigation. But the months that followed brought no news of Ms. Dulos’s whereabouts and no indication of whether she was dead or alive.
All the while, detectives searched for evidence. They searched properties owned by Mr. Dulos’s luxury real estate development company, as well as a pond where Ms. Dulos said in court filings that Mr. Dulos had taken their children water skiing.
The state police and a number of cadaver dogs spent close to a month searching a Hartford garbage facility for clues with no apparent breakthrough.
Mr. Dulos has been free on two separate $500,000 bonds and has repeatedly denied any involvement in his wife’s disappearance.
Since Ms. Dulos was reported missing, her five children have been in the care of Ms. Dulos’s mother, Gloria Farber, who has filed for custody of the children.
Ms. Farber and Mr. Dulos have been locked in a custody battle for months as the investigation into Ms. Dulos’s disappearance continued.