Fotis Dulos and his girlfriend Michelle Troconis are free on bail after being charged in the murder of his wife Jennifer — and Troconis was taken straight to a hospital from court for undisclosed health problems.
Dulos, 52, was released from custody on a $6 million bond on Thursday, two days after his arrest in Connecticut, after being fitted with a GPS ankle monitor at Stamford Superior Court.
His head held high as he walked out of the courthouse, Dulos did not answer questions from the press as he walked briskly to a waiting SUV.
Troncis, 45, made her own $1.5 million bail on a conspiracy to murder charge, but instead of walking out of the courthouse she was rushed in an ambulance to a nearby hospital.
Both suspects paid fees to bail bondsmen who posted their full bonds, with Dulos paying $420,150 and Troconis paying $105,150, according to WTIC-TV. Dulos’ financial woes and deep debt were detailed in his arrest warrant.
Sources said a Dulos family friend delivered a cashier’s check for more than $100,000 that allowed him to make bail.
Jennifer, 50, was last seen alive dropping the couple’s five kids off at school on May 24, amid a contentious divorce and custody battle with her husband. Her body has never been found.
Fotis Dulos (far right) breathes free air after spending two nights in Connecticut jail
Dulos, 52, was released from custody on a $6 million bond on Thursday
His head held high as he walked out of the courthouse, Dulos did not answer questions from the press as he walked briskly to a waiting SUV
Jennifer Dulos (above) disappeared on May 24 and her body has never been found
Addressing the media outside the courthouse, one of Dulos’ attorneys Kevin Smith said: ‘He is relieved as you might expect, and we are looking forward to the process of defending this case.’
Civil attorney Kent Douglas Mawhinney, 53, a close friend of Dulos, remains jailed in lieu of a $2 million bail after being charged with conspiracy to murder for allegedly securing a makeshift grave site ahead of the murder.
Meanwhile, it emerged that police seized an ax from the garage of Dulos’ home in Farmington when they arrested him on Tuesday.
Connecticut State Police have not publicly disclosed why they seized the ax, or whether they consider it a possible murder weapon.
Dulos’ attorney Norm Pattis dismissed the ax as irrelevant and inconsequential.
‘We’d heard for weeks that they were looking for an ax,’ he said at a press conference on Wednesday. ‘If there was going to be significance to it, I doubt it would be sitting in plain view when they came into the house.’
Fotis Dulos is released from Stamford Superior Court on 6 million dollar bond
One of Dulos’ attorneys Kevin Smith said: ‘He is relieved as you might expect, and we are looking forward to the process of defending this case’
Michelle Troconis’ mother Marisela Arreaza and sister Claudia Troconis-Marmol arrive at court on Thursday morning to greet her as she is freed on bond
The mother and sister were on hand to meet Michelle Troconis after she spent two nights in jail. After arriving at the courthouse they rushed to a nearby hospital
Michelle Troconis was taken in an ambulance to this hospital in Stamford
Arrest warrants reveal for the first time that cops suspect Dulos may have killed Jennifer in order to get his hands on their children’s trust funds, worth more than $2 million, which had been set up by Jennifer’s parents.
Dulos was deeply in debt with $4.5 million in outstanding loans, and battling lawsuits from Jennifer’s mother claiming he owed her another $2.5 million, according to the warrant.
The warrants also reveal that Troconis told investigators that she had intimate relations with Dulos twice on the day Jennifer disappeared. Once, she said, was that morning before breakfast at around 6.40am — when police believe Dulos was actually driving a borrowed truck to Jennifer’s home.
Troconis claimed they became intimate again around 5pm in the driveway of a home Fotis was working on, where they were interrupted by Dulos’ employee. Cops suspect that the couple were actually cleaning vehicles involved in the murder.
Jennifer’s nanny Lauren Almeida was revealed as a key witness in the arrest warrants, which stated that she immediately suspected something was wrong when she found that Jennifer was not at home on the morning of May 24.
Almeida told investigators that she found the back door unlocked and Jennifer’s tea and granola bar sitting on a kitchen counter, and her handbag lying on the floor in the doorway between the mudroom and the kitchen.
Dulos, second from right, stands with his crack legal team at his arraignment on Wednesday
Michelle Troconis, center, is arraigned on conspiracy to commit murder charges Wednesday
Attorney Kent Mawhinney is arraigned on conspiracy to commit murder charges in the case of missing mother of five, Jennifer Dulos, in Stamford Superior Court on Wednesday
The nanny was shocked to discover there were only two rolls of paper towels in the cabinet, after stocking it with a brand-new 12-pack the prior day.
‘I just sat there and wondered what had happened last night that they used ten rolls of towel rolls,’ she said in a statement to investigators.
The nanny told investigators that she sent text messages to Jennifer Dulos’ phone during that same afternoon, but they all went unanswered.
At around 4pm, Almeida dialed Jennifer’s phone, but it went straight to voicemail.
‘Immediately my stomach sank, and I had a feeling that something was wrong,’ Almeida told investigators.
‘In the almost seven years that I have worked for Jennifer I NEVER EVER had a hard time reaching her and NEVER had an issue with her phone being off.’
Jennifer (left) filed for divorce in 2017, and Fotis Dulos became romantically involved with Michelle Troconis (with him right at a work event)
Jennifer disappeared from her home (above) in New Canaan on May 24. Her nanny arrived and found the back door unlocked, and Jennifer’s purse on the floor
According to police, when Almeida learned that Jennifer did not appear for a child’s orthodontist appointment that afternoon, her ‘first thought was that Fotis did something.’
When police showed Almeida investigation photos of Jennifer Dulos’ home, the nanny noticed that a cleaning supply bucket with cleaning supplies inside was missing from the garage.
The nanny is believed to be currently still helping care for the five children, who are staying with Jennifer’s mother Gloria Farber in her Fifth Avenue apartment in Manhattan.
Fotis is due back in court on February 28. Troconis is due in court on February 7, and Mawhinney is set to appear on February 20.