Estranged husband of missing Connecticut mom caught on camera dumping bloodied items in 30 locations along highway
The estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos, the missing Connecticut mother-of-five, was caught on surveillance footage dumping old license plates and garbage bags filled with items that were splattered with her blood at more than 30 locations across the area, according to his arrest warrant. Fotis Dulos and his girlfriend Michelle Troconis appeared in front of a judge for the first time at Norwalk Courthouse on Monday, June 3.
Fox News reported that they were charged with evidence tampering and hindering prosecution in relation to Jennifer's disappearance, who was last seen alive on May 24. Troconis' bond was set at $500,000 and she posted bail that same afternoon. She was seen trying to hide her face under a jacket as she left the court with an ankle monitor on her leg. Fotis' bond was also set at $500,000 and he still remains in custody.
Authorities stated that a man and a woman who matched the descriptions of Fotis and Troconis were seen in a Ford pickup truck dumping items "at over thirty locations" on a four-mile stretch close to Hartford on the day of Jennifer's disappearance, the arrest warrant revealed. The warrants show blood spatter and evidence of clean up attempts that were also found at 50-year-old Jennifer's New Canaan home.
"Investigators came to the consensus that a serious physical assault had occurred at the scene, and Jennifer Dulos was the suspected victim," police wrote in the warrants. The case has stunned residents of New Canaan, a wealthy suburb of New York City, which is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) away from the affluent Hartford suburb where Fotis and Troconis lived in a large home that Jennifer and the children left two years ago.
Judge Stephanie McLaughlin rejected requests by both Fotis and Troconis to lower their $500,000 bail after a prosecutor cited the seriousness of the allegations and said more charges are expected.
Jennifer went missing on May 24 after dropping her kids off at school and missing appointments that day. She has not been found since. She and Fotis have been embroiled in a contentious divorce and child custody case for the past two years. Their children range in age from eight to 13 and include two sets of twins. Police have searched locations in several towns including a park in New Canaan where Jennifer's vehicle was found and the Hartford suburb home in Farmington.
The arrest warrants said clothing, kitchen sponges and other items with Jennifer's blood were found at various locations in Hartford in garbage bags police believe were dumped by Fotis and Troconis, based on surveillance videos and cellphone location data. New Canaan police have said they are investigating her disappearance both as a missing person case and a criminal matter.
Jennifer is the daughter of the late Hilliard Farber, who ran Chase Manhattan Bank's bond trading desk before founding his own brokerage firm in 1975. Fotis is a developer of expensive homes who borrowed money from his wife's parents to buy properties, according to a lawsuit filed against Fotis by Jennifer's mother, Gloria Farber. The lawsuit in Connecticut state court claims Fotis has failed to repay Gloria about $1.7 million in loans given to him.
Court documents filed in the divorce case stated that Jennifer feared Fotis would harm her in some way in retaliation for her filing for divorce, and she noted he had a gun. Jennifer had primary custody of the children, with their father getting to see them every other weekend.
After Jennifer went missing, Fotis asked the divorce case judge to grant him custody of the children. In a motion filed last week, he said the five children are staying with 85-year-old Gloria in New York City and are being protected by an armed bodyguard. A hearing in the divorce case is scheduled for Wednesday, June 5, after getting postponed last week.
With AP inputs.
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