Bloody clothing found dumped in Hartford trash bins in search for missing mom
A man matching the description of the estranged husband of a missing Connecticut woman was seen on video dumping garbage bags in multiple trash bins in Hartford the night she disappeared, police say in newly released arrest warrants. Investigators later determined the items in the bags, including clothing and a sponge, tested positive for the blood of Jennifer Dulos, who vanished May 24, New Canaan police said in the arrest warrants for 51-year-old Fotis Dulos and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, 44.
Police arrested Fotis Dulos and Troconis on Saturday. They are facing charges that include tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and hindering prosecution in the first degree.
Both appeared in court Monday and were ordered held on $500,000 bond, reports CBS affiliate WFSB. They were also ordered to turn in their passports, court officials in Norwalk told the station.
Police say more charges are expected.
The warrants say neither Fotis Dulos nor Troconis have cooperated in the search for Jennifer Dulos, 50, a mother of five who was last seen leaving her children's school. Her car was found abandoned in a park after she missed several appointments and was reported missing by friends.
Police officers who responded to the woman's New Canaan home May 24 found apparent blood stains on the garage floor and on a vehicle in the garage, the warrant says. A search warrant later uncovered multiple areas of suspected blood spatter and evidence that someone had tried to clean the crime scene, the warrant says.
Police said in the warrant they believe a "serious physical assault" had occurred in the home, and Jennifer Dulos was the suspected victim.
Data on the phones of Fotis Dulos, a luxury home developer, and Troconis, an event coordinator who previously worked at ESPN in Argentina and Chile, shows that the two had traveled to Hartford the night of Jennifer Dulos' disappearance, the warrant says.
Surveillance video in Hartford shows a man matching Dulos' appearance driving a car that appeared to be his black Ford pickup truck, stopping at over 30 locations along a four-mile stretch of Albany Avenue and dumping several trash bags in multiple trash bins, according to the warrant. A woman who matched Troconis' description is seen at one point leaning out of the truck's passenger window, the warrant says, and either placing something on the ground or picking something up.
Video also shows the man inserting something into a storm grate. Investigators later found a FedEx mailer package containing Connecticut license plates with the tag numbers altered with tape and adhesive, according to the warrant. State Department of Motor Vehicle records determined they were canceled tags linked to a vehicle registered to Fotis Dulos.
Later that night, the same truck and man were seen on home surveillance video returning to Fotis Dulos' Farmington residence, the warrant says.
Investigators on Sunday were also searching another Farmington property developed by Dulos' building company, the Fore Group, reports the Hartford Courant. The arrest warrant says Dulos spent time at the home the night of his wife's disappearance before traveling to Hartford.
Fotis and Jennifer Dulos had been involved in a contentious divorce and custody battle since Jennifer Dulos filed for divorce in 2017. According to the Stamford Advocate newspaper, in 2017 court documents, the woman said she was "afraid" of her husband, describing his "irrational, unsafe, bullying, threatening and controlling behavior."
She also claimed Fotis Dulos had threatened to kidnap their children and take them to his native Greece. Fotis Dulos denied the claims.
The couple's five children are safe and in the custody of Jennifer Dulos' mother, who claims Fotis Dulos owes her more than $2.5 million. Court documents reveal Fotis Dulos may have had financial troubles.
Friends describe Jennifer Dulos as a warm person and a devoted mother.
