Connecticut developer Fotis Dulos charged with murder

Dulos is being held on a $6 million bond

Fotis Dulos (AP Images/ Erik Trautmann)
Fotis Dulos (AP Images/ Erik Trautmann)

Connecticut developer Fotis Dulos has been arrested and charged with murder in the case of his missing and estranged wife Jennifer Dulos.

The wife of the 52-year-old builder has been missing since May 2019. Dulos was charged Tuesday with capital murder, murder and kidnapping, according to NBC News. His girlfriend Michelle Troconis was also arrested on Tuesday and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Fotis Dulos is being held on a $6 million bond, and Troconis is being held on a $2 million bond.

Kent Mawhinney, a lawyer and friend of Fotis Dulos, has also been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and is being held on a $2 million bond.

Fotis Dulos and Troconis were both previously arrested in June and September over Jennifer Dulos’ disappearance, and they have both pleaded not guilty to multiple charges against them.

Investigators say that Fotis Dulos, CEO of the Farmington development firm Fore Group, took an employee’s red Toyota pickup that surveillance footage spotted moving between Farmington and Jennifer Dulos’ town of New Canaan on the day she disappeared. Another camera captured the truck parked 100 feet from where her abandoned car was found later in the day.

On the passenger seat of the Toyota, police found a blood-like substance, which lab testing linked to Jennifer Dulos’ DNA, according to arrest warrants.

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Jennifer Dulos was last seen returning to her home in New Canaan, which was put up for sale as of late November.

Prior to the sensational murder case, Fotis Dulos was arguably best known as a successful developer whose company had racked up dozens of awards over the years from the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Connecticut.

His attorney Norm Pattis told NBC he was “confident about our odds” in the case.

“We said long ago, ‘bring it on,’” he said. “They did, we’re here, and we’re ready.”

Jennifer Dulos’ family released a statement saying they are “relieved” by the new charges but still felt “no sense of closure.”

“Nothing can bring Jennifer back,” they said. “We miss her every day and will forever mourn her loss.” [NBC] — Eddie Small