Fotis Dulos returned to court on Friday morning for a pre-trial hearing as the investigation into his estranged wife’s disappearance continues.
He and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, 44, have been charged with hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence in connection with the case of Jennifer Farber Dulos, who vanished on May 24 after dropping her kids off at school in New Canaan, Connecticut.
Dulos, 51, is due to appear at Superior Court in Stamford at 10am for a hearing to discuss recently-filed motions.
According to the Hartford Courant, several motions have been filed by Dulos’ defense attorney, Norm Pattis, including a request to unseal Farber Dulos’ medical records, a motion to have the charges against Dulos dismissed due to ‘insufficient evidence’ and a motion demanding the state’s attorney turns over the surveillance tapes which allegedly shows Dulos disposing of trash on Albany Avenue.
Meanwhile Stamford/Norwalk State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo has filed a motion requesting a gag order in the case preventing all lawyers talking to the media.
Speaking ahead of the hearing, when asked about the gag order, Dulos’ lawyer Pattis told DailyMail.com: ‘There’s not going to be a gag order, don’t worry about it.’
Fotis Dulos returned to court on Friday morning for a pre-trial hearing as the investigation into his estranged wife’s disappearance continues
Dulos will be in court for a hearing to discuss recently-filed motions, including a request to unseal Jennifer’s medical records and to have the charges against Dulos dismissed due to ‘insufficient evidence’
The mother-of-five vanished on May 24 after dropping her kids off at school in New Canaan, Connecticut, as police believe she was the victim of an assault
Dulos has also asked for a report made by a psychiatrist as part of the couple’s bitter divorce case to be unsealed.
Pattis has argued that it is ‘necessary to Dulos’ defense’ and claim Jennifer had motive to cast suspicion on her estranged husband.
In a motion for return of property, Pattis requests the return of Dulos’ vehicles which had been seized by police during the investigation.
‘Mr Dulos endured the expense of renting motor vehicles of business and professional use while the State remains in possession of his motor vehicles…. ‘Whatever searches of the seized vehicles law enforcement though [sic] necessary are long-since completed.’
He requests the return of a ‘Ford Raptor truck, Chevrolet Suburban, a Cherokee, a server, a MacBook Pro 15 computer, other computers, 2 iPhones, a hard drive, two external drives and personal papers.’
In another motion, to preserve evidence, Pattis requests that law enforcement involved in the search for Jennifer Dulos ‘take all reasonable steps to preserve all documents, audio or visual recordings’ including witness reports, dispatcher tapes, rough notes and videotapes and photos taken from civilian and government devices.
‘Such articles, documents or tapes may be destroyed before the Defendant is able to move for more complete discovery and disclosure.’
Fotis was clean shaven and dressed smartly when he appeared in court on Friday
Another motion by the defense states that they have ‘come into the possession of billing records involving Ms Dulos prepared by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’ for $14,000 of tests for ‘blood work, diagnostic treatment and ”lab-reproductive” coding between February and April 2019
The motion reads: ‘The defendant seeks the medical records to evaluate whether Ms Dulos alarmed by her diagnosis and fearing that she might be able to raise the children on her own, took steps to cause her own disappearance in such a way as to raise suspicions about Mr Dulos’
Another motion by the defense states that they have ‘come into the possession of billing records involving Ms Dulos prepared by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’ for $14,000 of tests for ‘blood work, diagnostic treatment and ”lab-reproductive” coding between February and April 2019.
The motion reads: ‘The defendant seeks the medical records to evaluate whether Ms Dulos alarmed by her diagnosis and fearing that she might be able to raise the children on her own, took steps to cause her own disappearance in such a way as to raise suspicions about Mr Dulos.’
‘The defendant seeks information about the diagnosis and treatment Ms Dulos received in the weeks before her disappearance as such information may shed light on what may have motivated her to disappear.
‘At the time of her disappearance, Ms Dulos and Mr Dulos were engaged in highly contentious matrimonial litigation and Ms Dulos told Mr Dulos she would do anything she had to make sure he did not get custody of their children.’
Specialized forces also spent three weeks looking trough piles of trash with cadaver dogs at a facility in nearby Hartford (above). One spokesperson said the amount of time spent there had been ‘worth it’ but have not revealed any findings as of yet
The hunt for the missing mother-of-five has cost police nearly $600,000 in overtime, in the state-wide search for her including at Fotis Dulos’ Farmington home (above)
Prosecutors had filed an order asking that ‘counsel for both sides’ be prevented from making statements that will end up in the media.
Pattis filed in opposition, claiming that the state’s motion amounted to a ‘gag order’ and should be denied, as Dulos ‘is within his rights to make comments necessary to mitigate recent adverse publicity…’
He wrote: ‘This is a case that has generated publicity worldwide. In the few court appearances Mr Dulos has thus far had, the gallery of the court has been filled with press, and a bank of reporters awaits the arrive and departure of the parties outside the courthouse. Mr Dulos has not solicited this attention. Although the State has not charged Mr Dulos with any crime directly related to the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos, the undersigned first appeared in this matter and was asked by one or more members of the press as he walked into the building: ‘Where’s Jennifer?’
‘Public speculation that Mr Dulos had a role in his wife’s disappearance and/or death is widespread. Such speculation has had a devastating effect on Mr Dulos’ personal and professional life. He is entitled, as a matter of law, to rebut claims and sinuations that he is any way responsible for her disappearance.’
The property developer has been free on bail since June 11 after posting $500,000 bail.
At that hearing, Colangelo told the court that DNA of Dulos had been found mixed with his estranged wife’s blood on a faucet in the kitchen of her home in New Canaan, where she lived alone with her children.
On the same day, Dulos appeared in family court in his orange jumpsuit for a custody hearing involving his five children, who have been living with their grandmother Gloria Farber in New York City since their mother disappeared.
At the hearing, Dulos invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
The property developer has been free on bail after posting $500,000 bail in June, as well as his girlfriend Michelle Troconis (right), who was similarly charged
The court was told DNA of Dulos had been found mixed with his estranged wife’s blood on a faucet in the kitchen of her home in New Canaan, where she lived alone with her children
Troconis was also released after posting $500,000 bail in June and is due to appear back in court on August 19. Both are wearing GPS ankle monitors.
Jennifer Dulos and Fotis Dulos were embroiled in a bitter divorce and child custody case at the time of her disappearance.
The hunt for the missing mother-of-five has cost police nearly $600,000 in overtime, Greenwich Time reported on Thursday.
The investigation involved special units which combed through a trash plant with cadaver dogs for three weeks and divers searching a shallow pond in Waveny Park, where Jennifer’s car was found.
The search also included Dulos’ multiple properties and a reservoir near the family home in Avon.
Authorities also searched trash cans along a four-mile stretch on Albany Avenue in West Hartford, where surveillance video revealed a man who appears to be Fotis Dulos disposing of trash bags.
One bag contained Jennifer’s bloodied shirt, a bra and blood-soaked sponges, according to arrest reports.
Investigators also found bloodstains in the garage of her New Canaan home, which they believe were the result of a ‘serious physical assault.’
The Courant also reported that a man on Albany Avenue who was rummaging in trash cans around the time of Jennifer Dulos’ disappearance found a bloody pillow and a knife.
He later traded the knife for a rock of crack cocaine, according to the report.
No new active searches will be carried out for Jennifer Dulos, according to police, who will now focus on examining evidence they already have obtained.
More than 1,200 tips and 80 videos have been gathered during the investigation.