Fotis Dulos, husband of missing mom Jennifer Dulos, arrested on murder charge
Fotis Dulos was arrested Tuesday on a murder charge that could send him to prison for life without parole Tuesday in the disappearance of his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos, Connecticut state police said.
Dulos’ ex-girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, and his former civil lawyer, Kent Mawhinney, were also arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder, state police said.
The police department in New Canaan, where Jennifer lived before she went missing, tweeted the word “Justice!” shortly after Dulos was nabbed.
Dulos, 52, was charged with capital murder, murder and kidnapping, state police said.
Connecticut abolished its death penalty in 2012, which means the top charge carries a sentence of life in prison without parole, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Both Dulos and Troconis, 45, were previously arrested twice, on charges of tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution, in the search for Jennifer, who was 50 when she went missing on May 24.
They had each been free on $500,000 bail.
Dulos, a luxury home builder, was busted at his sprawling home in Farmington, with overhead video shot by Hartford’s Fox 61 News showing him led out in handcuffs by cops wearing bulletproof vests.
In a prepared statement, Jennifer’s family and friends thanked authorities for the “tireless commitment and diligent, painstaking work that have led to these arrests,” which they say “speak for themselves.”
“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,” the statement added.
Fotis and Jennifer were in the midst of a bitter divorce battle when she was last seen dropping off their kids at school in New Canaan.
Extensive searches by authorities have failed to find a trace of her beyond a bloodstained shirt she’s believed to have been wearing when she disappeared, according to the Hartford Courant.
But police say they have surveillance video that shows Fotis dumping bags that held items with Jennifer’s blood in Hartford, driving a pickup truck to New Canaan on the morning she disappeared and getting his truck washed and detailed days later.
Jennifer’s DNA was also found on the truck’s seat, according to cops.
Both Fotis and Troconis were being held at the Troop G headquarters on $6 million and $2 million bail, respectively, that was set in their arrest warrants.
Fotis’ lawyer, Norm Pattis, spoke briefly to reporters there around 1:30 p.m. and said his client and Troconis would appear in court in Norwalk on Wednesday.
Asked if authorities had developed additional information, Pattis said, “I would hope so, because based on what we’ve seen so far, there was insufficient evidence to get to second base.”
“My hunch is it was a long and thorough investigation,” he said.
“I believe they waited until they believed they could make their best shot.”
The state police said it would make copies of the arrest warrants against Fotis and Troconis later Tuesday.
Mawhinney, who formerly represented Fotis in a civil suit filed by Jennifer’s mom, was charged in July with violating a protective order for Mawhinney’s estranged wife by having Fotis contact her for an attempt at reconciliation.
During a May phone call, Fotis offered Mawhinney’s wife a room in his home so the estranged couple could meet there, telling her that “I am going through a divorce myself and I know what it’s like,” according to reports.
Additional reporting by Gabrielle Fonrouge