The estranged husband of missing mom Jennifer Dulos was denied bond reduction on Tuesday after a prosecutor argued that the man’s DNA was found mixed with Jennifer’s blood in her home.
Stamford Advocate reports that although 51-year-old Fotis Dulos’ defense lawyer Norm Pattis requested a bond reduction from $500,000 to $100,000, State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo revealed that investigators determined that Dulos’ DNA was found mixed with Jennifer’s blood in the kitchen sink of her New Canaan home. In turn, Colangelo requested a bail increase to $850,000.
Jennifer vanished on May 24. Dulos is the primary suspect and is currently in jail on hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence charges, in connection with her disappearance.
Judge John Blawie ultimately denied both requests and kept Dulos’ bail at $500,000. Dulos made bail later in the day. However, he’s required to wear a monitor on his ankle and turn over his passport, as his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, who was arrested on the same charges as Dulos, had to do when she posted bail last week.
Pattis also requested that Dulos’ trial be expedited to August. Blawie denied the request, stating that the request would need “significant discovery” before it could be approved.
“If he becomes eligible then, I assure you, the court will accommodate him,” Blawie added.
While in court on Tuesday, both Dulos and Troconis pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
Meanwhile, Jennifer remains missing as authorities continue to search for her.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Jennifer was last seen on Friday around 8 a.m. while dropping her children off at the New Canaan Country School in the prominent New Canaan community. Police later found her vehicle, a black 2017 Chevrolet Suburban, parked off of Lapham Road. Jennifer was nowhere to be found. A cleaning service arrived to her home at noon on Friday but Jennifer was not there.
Jennifer also missed several appointments Friday, including one at 11 a.m. and one at 1 p.m. Since she vanished, she has not used her cellphone or her credit cards.
Search dogs and search teams scoured through wooded areas by Jennifer’s home, as well as a 300-acre park, bodies of water and a cornfield.
Bitter Divorce and Custody Battle
As the search continues to unfold, court documents obtained by the Stamford Advocate shed light on the lengthy and tumultuous child custody battle between Jennifer and her husband
“I am afraid of my husband,” Jennifer said, according to court documents. “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.”
“During the course of our marriage, he told me about sickening revenge fantasies and plans to cause physical harm to others who have wronged him. I am afraid for my safety and the physical safety and emotional well-being of our minor children…..I believe him to be highly capable and vengeful enough to take the children and disappear.”
The pair share five children together, who are now between the ages of 8 and 13. According to court documents, Jennifer said her husband was “obsessed” with water skiing and tried to get their children involved in the sport as well.
Fotis reportedly insisted that their children become “world-class skiers” and would train them for 11 hours per day, which Jennifer considered excessive and dangerous for the kids.
When one of the children wanted a break from training, Fotis Dubos allegedly broke a ski on a rock in a fit of rage. Another child, according to court documents, developed mental health issues from alleged the intense, severe training.
“We are all terrified to disobey my husband,” Jennifer wrote.
Fotis Dubos, according to his lawyer, denies the allegations. He reportedly claimed that his children had their own choice and he never forced them to ski.
Jennifer also claimed that her husband bought a handgun, and she feared what he was capable of doing with it, given his “controlling, volatile, and delusional behavior.” Fotis Dubos later handed the gun over to police upon request.
Jennifer filed for divorce in 2017, after 13 years of marriage. Prior to the divorce, the family lived in Farmington with Fotis, but Jennifer took the children and moved to a New Canaan rental home. The home is situated in an area that was once was called “one of the nation’s wealthiest communities,” according to CNN Money.
Since Jennifer’s disappearance, all five children have been staying with her mother in New York. An armed guard watches over the kids at all times. The attorney recently filed a request asking a judge to allow Fotis Dubos to see his children. The judge denied the request, but approved a request by Jennifer’s mother to obtain emergency custody of the children.
Police Find Evidence of Foul Play
While obtaining DNA from Dulos , authorities found security footage of him in a Hartford neighborhood shortly after Jennifer disappeared. Police said the man made 30 stops at Hartford-area trash bins, where he disposed of incriminating evidence.
Police also announced that the case is being treated as a criminal investigation.
“The criminal investigation into this case is continuing and it does involve securing search warrants,” New Canaan Police Lt. Jason Ferraro said. “No comment at this time will be offered on details relating to locations of search warrants or details of what items are listed on the search warrants.”
Previous searches focused on the New Canaan community where Jennifer was last seen. Authorities reportedly found blood inside Jennifer’s home the day she vanished.
Other evidence and information authorities found in relation to Jennifer’s disappearance are, according to an arrest affidavit,
- Bags of blood-stained clothing and sponges
- Stains of blood on Jennifer’s garage floor
- Blood spatter in numerous areas of Jennifer’s home
- Obvious attempts to clean up the scene
- Altered Connecticut license plates that belonged to Dulos
- Security footage of Dulos driving his Ford pickup to various locations, dropping trash bags into different public trash receptacles
- Security footage of Troconis “leaning out of the passenger seat of the Ford pickup and either placing something on the ground or picking up an item”
Police later arrested Dulos and Troconis at a hotel in Avon.
Dubos and Troconis had allegedly been having an affair for around a year before Jennifer filed for divorce, according to court documents. Troconis has “ties to Argentina,” as her child lives there, and the father of her child owns a ski resort in Argentina, court documents also state.
After she made bail, Troconis reportedly met with investigators several times, although she claimed she had no idea what happened to Jennifer. Pattis added that Troconis was not in town when Jennifer vanished, according to WPLR.
“I’m told by people with information that the girlfriend was never at the New Canaan home that day — the day the wife went missing — and that she can prove she never was there and that law enforcement may be satisfied. That is a very significant fact in this case.”
The story continues to develop. Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Feature Photo: Jennifer Dulos/Handout]
