Update: On Tuesday, the Hartford Courant reported that Fotis Dulos, husband of Jennifer Dulos, attempted suicide and was taken to the hospital immediately. Reports state that he was unresponsive when found, but still has a pulse. Dulos is facing murder charges after his wife’s disappearance. On Thursday, Dulos was declared dead after two days in critical condition.
This story was originally published on January 9, 2020.
The case of Jennifer Dulos, a Connecticut woman and mother of five who went missing last May, has just taken another turn. On Tuesday, her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, was charged with her murder, ending months of speculation about how this case would ultimately play out.
Fotis Dolus was arrested and charged on three counts: capital murder, murder, and kidnapping. The charges come in tandem with the discovery of a shallow “human grave” on the property of a members-only club just before her disappearance. Fotis’ friend, Kent Mawhinney, was also arrested in conjunction with Dulos’ disappearance as a third party.
Mawhinney reportedly founded the Windsor Rod and Gun club where two members stumbled upon a hole that was 6-feet long and 2-feet wide. Jay Lawlor, one of the witnesses who found the grave-shaped hole, also described a blue tarp and bags of lime inside that he unequivocally said were “for trying to rid of a body,” according to police records.
Fotis’ girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, was the third party to be charged in the Dulos case. She, too, is facing conspiracy to commit murder.
“Although we are relieved that the wait for these charges is over, for us there is no sense of closure,” Jennifer’s family said in a public statement. “Nothing can bring Jennifer back. We miss her every day and will forever mourn her loss.”
Fotis and Troconis were each arrested twice last year — once in June and once in September — on charges of evidence tampering in connection with Jennifer’s disappearance. But this development marks the first real sign of progress in a case that’s been ongoing for nearly a year. Last September, Fotis went so far as to say that he believed his wife was still alive in an interview with NBC’s Dateline.
Jennifer and Fotis got married in 2004 and separated in 2017. In the two years prior to her disappearance last May, the exes were engaged in an ongoing custody battle. Jennifer had previously accused Fotis of “irrational, unsafe, bullying, threatening, and controlling behavior.” Additionally, he reportedly also owes Jennifer’s parents $1 million in loans.
According to The New York Times, court filings suggest Jennifer was concerned that Fotis could potentially “harm her or their five children.” She was last seen dropping her kids off at their school, located near her home in suburban Connecticut on the morning of May 24, 2019. Investigators later searched her home, where they saw blood stains and spatters. Her car had been abandoned in a local park a few miles away.
DNA evidence ultimately linked Fotis to the crime scene in Jennifer’s home. Detectives wrote in arrest warrants that someone had attempted “to clean up” anything that would’ve been incriminating. Jennifer’s body has yet to be found, and her husband is currently being held on a $6 million bond.
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