Lawyer Claims Missing Mother Jennifer Dulos Took Thousands From Estranged Husband Before Disappearance
STAMFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork) -- Will medical records for Jennifer Dulos, the Connecticut mother of five who vanished in May, help her estranged husband beat the charges against him?
That was one of the issues heard during a contentious morning in court Friday, CBS2's Tony Aiello reports.
Norm Pattis, the defense attorney for Fotis Dulos, asked Judge John Blawie to lift the veil of privacy and review Jennifer Dulos' medical records.
The prosecution objected.
"This is exactly what this is. It's a fishing expedition to determine what these records are," state attorney Richard Colangelo said.
Pattis says the records show Jennifer Dulos underwent $14,000 in medical testing in the three months prior to her disappearance. Pattis claims the records will show charges for blood work and diagnostic and reproductive testing.
The defense attorney says it could help prove his theory that Jennifer Dulos disappeared on her own accord.
RELATED STORY: Estranged Husband Breaks Silence As Lawyer Says Jennifer Dulos May Have Carried Out 'Revenge Suicide'
"Ms. Dulos may have been despondent at or about the time she disappeared," Pattis said.
The judge denied the request for now.
WEB EXTRA: Timeline Of Investigation Into Jennifer Dulos's Disappearance
Fotis Dulos is charged with taking bloody evidence from his wife's home and disposing of it. The two were going through a bitter divorce.
Her whereabouts and condition remain a mystery.
"There are no murder charges in this case," Pattis said.
RELATED STORY: Report: Bloody Shirt, Bra Of Missing Connecticut Mom Jennifer Dulos Found
During a fight with prosecutor Colangelo over a proposed gag order, Pattis claimed Jennifer Dulos had taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from her husband before she vanished in May.
"There's a lot that I could say and haven't said. For example, we're aware of a lot of missing money that was taken from Mr. Dulos' accounts by Jennifer. I haven't gone to the press with that," Pattis said.
Colangelo replied that Pattis has given the media incorrect information, such as claiming Dulos' co-defendant and former girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, took and passed a lie detector test.
The prosecutor says that "never happened."
The judge says he will rule on the gag order request in September. The defense attorney says if he is ordered not to talk to the media, Fotis Dulos will hire a private PR firm instead.
The prosecution also complained Fotis Dulos may be using his sister to communicate with his five children. The three boys and two girls are living in Manhattan. Jennifer Dulos' mother, Gloria Farber, has custody.
