Connecticut prosecutors said in court Tuesday that there is new evidence that links 51-year-old Fotis Dulos to the scene that authorities say suggested Jennifer Dulos was the victim of a violent crime. Jennifer, a 50-year-old mother of five, had been locked in a bitter divorce from her estranged husband, whom she said she feared.
Jennifer was last seen on May 24 dropping off her kids at school. Between then and now, authorities searched her home and found blood stains and spatters in multiple places. According to arrest warrants, there was also evidence that a person or people tried to clean the scene and that cell phone records show that Fotis was in the area the night Jennifer disappeared.
State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo now says that Fotis Dulos’s DNA was mixed with Jennifer’s blood — which was found in the sink at her home in New Canaan, Connecticut, the Stamford Advocate reported.
The pertinent question: How did Fotis’s DNA end up at Jennifer’s New Canaan home?
Colangelo attempted to use this evidence to ask for an increase of Dulos’ bond from $500,000 to $850,000. Judge John Blawie denied this, while also denying the defense’s request to reduce bond to $100,000.
Fotis Dulos, in case you missed it, recently hired Norm Pattis—Alex Jones‘s lawyer–to represent him in this case. Fotis Dulos is not the only defendant in this case. Both he and his 44-year-old girlfriend have been charged for hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence in connection with Jennifer’s disappearance.
Prosecutors expect additional charges.
Last week, however, Troconis and her lawyer voluntarily met with police, indicating that she might cooperate against Fotis Dulos. Troconis also accompanied police to the residence she shared with Fotis — the one that formerly housed Jennifer Dulos and her five children, ages 8 to 13. It’s not yet clear what Troconis has told authorities.
Unlike Dulos, Troconis posted bail and his been subject to GPS monitoring. Pattis said he expects his client to post bail as well. Fotis Dulos would also be subject to GPS monitoring, would have his passports confiscated and would be prohibited from straying beyond a 15-mile radius from his Farmington home.
Over the course of the investigation, authorities allegedly found sponges and clothing stained with Jennifer’s blood in trash cans.Surveillance footage also allegedly showed that a black Ford Raptor pickup truck made 30 stops along a four-mile stretch of road on May 24, the day Dulos disappeared. Fotis Dulos has a black Ford Raptor, and video showed him pulling into his driveway that night at 8:10 p.m., authorities said. Troconis, meanwhile, was allegedly caught on camera “leaning out of the passenger seat of the Ford pickup and either placing something on the ground or picking up an item.”
Pattis claimed Troconis 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.”
Despite Troconis’ seeming cooperation, and despite the evidence authorities have presented, Pattis has asked for trial to be moved up to August.
“Mr. Dulos is tired of sitting back and hearing people pick apart his motives,” Pattis said, according to the Stamford Advocate. “We are ready for trial now.” Judge Blawie said that right now that’s not going to happen, as the case will involve “significant discovery.” The judge didn’t rule this out altogether, however.
[Image via CBS New York screengrab]
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