The estranged husband of missing mother Jennifer Dulos says he thinks she’s still alive, but he won’t say how or why he came to that conclusion.
In an upcoming episode with “Dateline” NBC, 51-year-old Fotis Dulos sits down with host Dennis Murphy to talk about Jennifer, his estranged wife who mysteriously vanished in May from her upscale Connecticut home. The pair touched on several topics concerning Jennifer, including her role as a mother.
Dulos reportedly said he thought Jennifer was a great mother, adding that he hoped she would day continue to be an “excellent mother.”
Jennifer and Fotis Dulos share a total of five young children together, who currently live with their maternal grandmother after a judge granted her custody earlier this year, following their mom’s disappearance.
“She was a great mother. I think she was an excellent mother. And I hope that she continues to be an excellent mother,” Dulos told Murphy.
When questioned about Jennifer’s whereabouts, Dulos was a bit more cryptic.
Dennis Murphy: “Do you believe Jennifer is alive?”
Fotis Dulos: “I do.”
Dennis Murphy: “Against all circumstantial evidence or common understanding of the…”
Fotis Dulos: “I’d like not to discuss this.”
Dennis Murphy: “But in your mind?”
Fotis Dulos: “Per my, per my…”
Dennis Murphy: “In your mind”
Fotis Dulos: – “Per my attorney’s advice. So I think we should..”
Dennis Murphy: “I understand. But in your mind, she’s alive.”
Fotis Dulos: “Yes.”
Dennis Murphy: “Fotis, did you have anything to do with Jennifer’s disappearance?”
Fotis Dulos: “I did not. But I’d like to leave it at that.”
Dennis Murphy: “Right. But you can say that much.”
Fotis Dulos: “Absolutely.”
The interview with Dulos is part of NBC’s hour-long special, “The Disappearance of Jennifer Dulos.” Along with Dulos’ interview, Murphy also spoke with Jennifer’s friends and family, and Dulos’ lawyer. The show scheduled to premiere Monday at 10pm/9c.
Dulos’ Second Arrest
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Dulos was arrested Wednesday on tampering with evidence charges after his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, told investigators about a truck the man borrowed from his friend around the time Jennifer vanished from her upscale New Canaan home. This is the second time authorities arrested Dulos in connection with his estranged wife’s disappearance.
According to court documents obtained by the Stamford Advocate, Troconis told investigators Dulos had the truck cleaned shortly after his estranged wife’s disappearance. When detectives asked her why the truck was cleaned, Jennifer allegedly referenced to blood inside the vehicle.
“You showed me the picture of the blood in the door. It’s because the body of Jennifer at some point was in there.”
Fotis Dulos Arrest Warrant by Leigh Egan on Scribd
The arrest warrant stated Dulos later offered to replace the back seats in the truck, according to the truck owner, Pawel Gummienny. The owner reportedly told police that Dulos instructed him to get rid of the old seats “so they would not be found.”
Gummienny claimed he held onto the old seats, in the event authorities asked for them.
Investigators obtained the old seats from Gummienny and performed a swab test on a “blood-like substance,” which matched Jennifer’s DNA.
Further, investigators accused Dulos of “lying in wait” for Jennifer to come home on May 24, when security footage captured her walking into her home at around 8:30 a.m.
“At the time this footage was recorded, (Fotis) Dulos is believed to have been lying in wait at 69 Welles Lane for his wife to return home,” the warrant read.
Troconis also admitted she lied to detectives when she gave Dulos an alibi on the morning Jennifer vanished, according to the arrest warrant. Troconis allegedly fessed up that she had no idea where Fotis Dulos was between 6:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. on May 24.
In the last few hours, huge developments in the case of missing mom Jennifer Dulos. We have the latest at Crime Online #nancygrace #oxygen #injusticewithnancygrace #crimestories #crimeonline #siriusxm
Posted by Nancy Grace on Thursday, September 5, 2019
Authorities believe a “serious physical assault” happened to Jennifer, and the “the crime and the cleanup are believed to have occurred between 8:05 a.m. and 10:25 a.m.”
Investigators noted that Jennifer’s SUV left her residence at some point on May 24, but they think Fotis Dulos was behind the wheel.
Authorities with the Western District Major Crimes Squad arrested Dulos at his home in Farmington on Wednesday afternoon. He has since posted $500,000 bail and pleaded not guilty.
A day after Dulos’ arrest, Troconis was also arrested for a second time on a tampering with evidence charge. She, too, bailed out and pleaded not guilty.
Desperate Search for Jennifer Dulos
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Jennifer was last seen on May 24 around 8 a.m. while dropping her children off at the New Canaan Country School in the prominent New Canaan community in Connecticut. 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 at her home at noon on Friday but Jennifer was not there.
Jennifer also missed several appointments that day, 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. Authorities also spent days searching at a large dump facility and scouring Fotis Dulos’ property in Farmington.
Dulos and Troconis were arrested in June after authorities said the pair tampered with evidence in connection to Jennifer’s disappearance. According to the arrest affidavit, investigators found,
- Bags of blood-stained clothing and sponges that Dulos allegedly dropped into trash cans at businesses in Connecticut
- Stains of blood on Jennifer’s garage floor
- Blood spatter in numerous areas of Jennifer’s home
- Dulos’ DNA mixed in with Jennifer’s blood on her kitchen faucet
- 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”
Both bailed out of jail shortly after and both are required to wear a GPS monitor on their ankles.
Bitter Custody Battle
Court documents obtained by the Stamford Advocate shed light on the lengthy and tumultuous child custody battle between Jennifer and her estranged 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.
Court documents also state that Fotis reportedly insisted that their children become “world-class skiers.” He would allegedly train them for 11 hours per day, something Jennifer considered excessive and dangerous for the kids.
“We are all terrified to disobey my husband,” Jennifer wrote.
Fotis Dubos, according to his lawyer, denied 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 Dulos 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. Dulos remains at the Farmington home, where he’s required to wear a GPS monitor on his ankle and have no contact with his girlfriend, as well as his children, who now live their maternal grandmother.
Anyone with information regarding Jennifer’s disappearance is urged to call the New Canaan Police Tip Line at 203-594-3544.
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[Feature Photo: Jennifer Dulos/Handout]
