Jennifer Dulos: Family wants her to be declared dead for 'closure', but judge says more information needed
NEW CANAAN, CONNECTICUT: Though the investigation into Jennifer Dulos' death continues, what her family is truly seeking at the moment is closure. Unfortunately for them, they are not able to have her declared legally dead yet, as the Conneticut probate judge has announced that more information is needed before she can officially put the matter to rest. The normal waiting period for declaring a person dead is seven years - however, this waiting period can be waived in court, providing sufficient evidence has been brought forth before a judge. In this case, when attorney Christopher Hug brought the case before Judge Evelyn Daly on October 22, she said that she needed more time to study the issue and determine if more witnesses were needed to be called in to testify before she made her final ruling.
Jennifer Dulos, 50, a Conneticut mother of five, went missing May 24, 2019. Her estranged husband Fotis Dulos, 51, was arrested along with his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, 44, in connection to the case after evidence was uncovered tying them to the crime. Fotis Dulos was arrested for the crime of killing her in her New Canaan home and then driving off with her body. Jennifer Dulos' body has never been found, and Fotis himself committed suicide a month after being arrested, in January 2020.
Police believe that Fotis brutally assaulted Jennifer in her own garage. Zip ties and blood spatter discovered at the scene imply to the police that a violent altercation happened in the garage, and that Jennifer was tied up before being driven elsewhere. They also believe that Fotis did not act alone - he has been captured on video tape with his then-girlfriend Michelle Troconis throwing away zip ties into trash cans around Hartford.
The case has also drawn controversy in terms of Jennifer having faked her own murder to frame her husband after their divorce, in a manner similar to the Gillian Flynn's 'Gone Girl.' Fotis' lawyer at the time, Norm Pattis, suggested that Jennifer once wrote a manuscript with a plot similar to 'Gone Girl', and might have used that story as inspiration to hurt her husband. Jennifer's family has repeatedly denounced this theory, and Gillian Flynn herself expressed anger at the accusation.
Christopher Hug manages Fotis Duloss estate, according to Oxygen.com, and bank officials have written that they can't access certain funds that are needed to pay off creditors of said estate. In order to unfreeze those funds, it's necessary for the court to rule that Jennifer Dulos died before he did. Hug's motion puts forth the argument that Jennifer Dulos corpse was dismembered and disposed of, which is why her body hasn't been found.
Jennifer Dulos' family has joined in on this request for the legal declaration of Jennifer's death. Her mother, Gloria Farber, who holds custody of Jennifer's five children, is represented by attorney Richard Weinstein, who has joined with Hug in asking for the declaraction. Farber and the children "really want closure," Weinstein, told ABC News on Friday. "The kids read every article, Gloria reads every article. And it just opens up these wounds."
"We don't want to be dealing with this two and three years from now," he said. "We want the [Fotis] Dulos estate resolved and eventually we can open up her [Jennifer Dulos'] estate and get her estate resolved."
"I don't know of anybody who actually believes that Jennifer is alive," Weinstein added.