Estranged husband of Connecticut mom Jennifer Dulos has been released on bond
The estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos, a mother of five who vanished last year in Connecticut, and his former girlfriend were released from custody on Thursday, attorneys and court officials said.
Fotis Dulos was arraigned Wednesday on charges of murder, felony murder and kidnapping. His ex-girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, as well as his friend and former attorney, Kent Mawhinney, were each arraigned on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder.
Dulos’ bond had been set at $6 million while Troconis’ bond was set at $1.5 million. Both made bond and were released Thursday. They will remain under house arrest and wear ankle monitors. Mawhinney’s status was unclear.
Kevin Smith, one of the attorneys representing Fotis Dulos, told reporters that his client was “relieved.”
“We are looking forward to the process of now defending this case going forward in court,” Smith said, noting his inability to discuss the case due to a gag order.
Jennifer Dulos disappeared nearly eight months ago in New Canaan, Connecticut, after she dropped her children off at school. Friends reported her missing after she failed to show up for appointments and they hadn’t heard from her for 10 hours.
Her body has not been found but authorities believe she is dead.
Fotis Dulos has denied wrongdoing and his attorney has said the murder case against him lacks sufficient evidence. Troconis’ attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
Both Fotis Dulos and Troconis were previously arrested on suspicion of evidence tampering in the disappearance. They pleaded not guilty in September to evidence tampering after investigators found a “bloodlike substance” with Jennifer Dulos’ DNA in a truck he had access to the day she disappeared.
Shallow grave was found before Dulos went missing
Hunters discovered a shallow grave, a tarp and bags of lime a week before Jennifer Dulos went missing, according to an arrest warrant released Tuesday.
Mawhinney originally found the land and helped secure it years ago for the Windsor Rod & Gun Club. He was no longer a member, and according to one of the hunters, Mawhinney asked him in March or April 2019 whether he could get back onto club property. One of the hunters told him where a key was hidden.
On May 18, 2019, two hunters at the Windsor Rod & Gun Club discovered a hole that was 2 feet wide and 6 feet long, hidden by grill grates and sticks. One of the hunters described the hole as “One hundred percent a human grave,” according to the warrant.
The hunters found a blue tarp and two bags of lime in the hole. The hunters removed the grill grates and moved debris around so nobody would fall into it.
Police got a search warrant for Mawhinney’s cell phone records from February through September 2019 and found Mawhinney’s cell phone connected on two occasions to a tower that appears to service the Windsor Rod & Gun Club — once on March 29 from 1:09 p.m. until 1:43 p.m., and then again on May 31 at 11:04 p.m.
In August, law enforcement, including the State Police Canine Search and Rescue Teams, searched the site and surrounding property but did not locate any signs of human remains. There was also no sign of the tarp or bags of lime, either, the warrant said.
