Missing Connecticut mother of 5 had "motive to disappear," lawyer says
New Canaan, Conn. -- Relatives of a Connecticut mother of five who has been missing for a month are criticizing her estranged husband's lawyer for suggesting she staged her own disappearance in a plot similar to the book and movie "Gone Girl." The backlash comes after the lawyer said Jennifer Dulos "had the imagination, means and motive to disappear."
Dulos vanished May 24 in New Canaan, Connecticut. Her husband, Fotis Dulos, and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, are charged with evidence tampering and hindering prosecution - accused of discarding evidence containing Jennifer Dulos' blood.
CBS New York reports that Fotis Dulos' lawyer, Norman Pattis, said that Jennifer Dulos once wrote a novel similar to "Gone Girl," the 2012 book and 2014 movie in which a wife stages her own disappearance to frame her husband for murder.
A spokeswoman for Jennifer Dulos' family on Monday called Pattis' suggestion "false and irresponsible."
"We are continuing our investigation of Ms. Dulos's disappearance, and believe it to be entirely consistent with the evidence to conclude that she was not a victim of foul play at the hands of third parties. Efforts to distance Ms. Dulos from a Gone Girl-type scenario are well-meaning, to be sure. But the fact remains that Ms. Dulos remains accountably 'Gone,' and had the imagination, means and motive to disappear," Pattis said in a statement.
Carrie Luft, Jennifer Dulos' friend and family spokesperson, rebuffed his theory, saying it "makes no sense," CBS New York reported.
Luft says Jennifer Dulos wrote her book nearly two decades ago, before "Gone Girl" was published and before she was dating Fotis Dulos.
"Jennifer's novel is not a mystery. It's a character-driven story that follows a young woman through relationships and self-discovery over a period of years," Luft said in a statement.
She went on to say, "Evidence shows that Jennifer was the victim of a violent attack in her New Canaan home."
Investigators say Fotis Dulos' DNA was found mixed with his wife's blood on a kitchen faucet in that home. There was also blood spatter and clean-up attempts.
Jennfier Dulos' family says they are heartbroken, and the "false and irresponsible allegations" hurt the children.
Meanwhile, Connecticut State Police and K-9's sifted through tons of trash every day to find any trace of the 50-year-old woman.
Investigators say that same day, surveillance video from Hartford showed her estranged husband and his girlfriend throwing away garbage bags containing items with Jennifer Dulos' blood on it. For weeks, investigators have been at the city's waste facility.
New Canaan police in a statement Tuesday say the search through tons of trash at the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority in Hartford concluded at 7:30 p.m. Monday.