Naman Shrestha
When the mother of five, Jennifer Dulos, went missing from her New Canaan house in 2019, her loved ones began worrying about her whereabouts and well-being. As the police investigated the case, new details constantly kept emerging, helping them shape the timeline of the matter as well as close in on the perpetrator/s. In NBC’s ‘Dateline: A Life Interrupted,’ not only do we get an in-depth account of Jennifer Dulos’ case, but we also get to hear from her loved ones and experts through exclusive interviews.
Jennifer Dulos Went Missing From Her Home and is Presumed Dead
Banker Gloria Ortenberg and philanthropist Hilliard Farber’s life changed for the better when they gave birth to Jennifer Rebecca Dulos (née Farber) on September 27, 1968, in New York. Growing up in the caring arms of her parents and her elder sister Melissa Irene Farber, she turned out to be a kind and compassionate human being. For education, she attended Brown University, from where she graduated in 1990, before earning a master’s degree in writing from the New York University Tisch School of Arts. However, it was during her time at the former that she met a fellow peer named Fotis Dulos, only for him to get married to another Brown graduate in June 2000.
However, Fotis and Jennifer began exchanging emails a short while later, while the former was still married to his first wife. This ultimately culminated in the former getting a divorce in 2004, just to tie the knot with Jennifer a month later in Manhattan. The new couple then moved to Farmington, Connecticut, to begin the new chapter of their life, where they welcomed a total of five children and named all of them after Greek Orthodox saints. They had three sons named Petros, Theodore, and Constantine; and two daughters named Christiane and Cleopatra Noelle; out of which two sets were twins.
Gradually, although Jennifer did write for Patch and had a blog of her own, she primarily served as a homemaker to stay close to her children. However, things turned around for the worse when she disappeared from her New Canaan residence on May 24, 2019. After dropping her kids off at New Canaan Country School in the morning, she’d reportedly returned home. Yet, she then missed two doctors’ appointments for the same day in New York City and didn’t even respond to any of her friends reaching out, raising alarms. So, at around 7 in the evening, her loved ones reported her missing.
According to reports, detectives subsequently scoured across Jennifer’s house, only to find her blood spattered on the door, floor, plus a wall in the garage, and on some exterior parts of her vehicle. Her kitchen also had a few traces of her blood, making them suspect murder. Jennifer’s disappearance led to the launch of an extensive investigation by the police, which led them to the perpetrator/s. However, even though officials couldn’t find her remains, her loved ones presumed she’d died on May 24 itself because of how uncharacteristic it was of her to just vanish. It was more than four years later, on October 24, 2023, that she was legally declared dead.
Jennifer Dulos’ Complicated Divorce and Custody Battles Became the Reason for Her Death
Over the years, Jennifer and Fotis Dulos’ marriage began deteriorating and certain cracks began surfacing. In fact, as per records, she’d started hinted at marital issues in her blog back in 2012 itself. In one of her posts, she reportedly wrote, “I wish I were a strong person and that confrontation did not both scare and appall me.” As more time passed, Fotis began having an independent life, spending little to no time with his wife. At the same time, she suspected that he was having an extramarital affair with a fellow athlete, Michelle Troconis.
So, in 2017, Jennifer filed for divorce and moved from their home in Farmington to a rented house in New Canaan, along with the children. Allegedly, in retaliation, Fotis threatened to kidnap their youngsters if she did not come to an understanding with him in relation to some of the terms in the divorce settlement. Since he had recently bought a gun, this threat weighed quite heavy on his estranged wife. In his defense, he later claimed he’d purchased the weapon legally for home security and self-defense, all the while denying making any kinds of threats. The court thus decided to give both parents temporary joint custody until their divorce proceeding was finalized, but she soon requested an emergency order of custody a couple of times after Fotis violated some court orders regarding the same.
Consequently, in March 2018, although Jennifer and Fotis were initially instructed to share joint legal custody, the sole physical care was awarded to the former. When it came to her estranged husband subsequently connecting with their five children, be it meetings or phone calls, it was always supervised and monitored. Then came Jennifer’s vanishing amidst the divorce proceedings on May 24, 2017, as mentioned above, shortly following which it came to light that the blood in the kitchen was a mixture of both hers and Fotis. Authorities also believed she had been seriously assaulted. When investigators checked out the neighbor’s security camera footage, they saw Jennifer’s Chevrolet Suburban leaving the house, possibly driven by Fotis who was allegedly driving her lifeless body to get rid of it. Much later in the same evening, surveillance footage showed Fotis and Michelle dumping trash bags across thirty bins in Hartford.
When officials searched these trash bags, they found bloodstained clothing, cleaning items, and zip ties, with the blood being Jennifer’s. But then, what allowed them to zero in on Fotis was the fact it was his DNA that was present on the inside of a glove found in one such black bag. Since Michelle also seemingly helped him dispose off these, both of them were suspected of being involved in the disappearance and possible murder of Jennifer. When certain evidence also hinted that Fotis’ attorney/friend Kent Mawhinney might also have something to do with it, all three of them were arrested. In January 2020, while Fotis was charged with murder, Michelle and Kent were charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
Though its imperative to note that Fotis and Michelle had already been indicted for tampering with evidence as well as hindering prosecution. At the time, Jennifer and Fotis’ children — all below 13 — were sent to live under the care of the former’s mother, Gloria Farmer, in New York City. In the same month, Fotis attempted suicide by poisoning himself with carbon monoxide and was found unresponsive at his Farmington residence. The first responders managed to save him and rushed him to UConn Medical Center. Later, the doctors suggested that he must undergo hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and for that, he was airlifted to Jacobi Medical Center. But despite all these efforts, Fotis took his last breath on January 30, 2020.
In light of the horrifying case of Jennifer Dulos, a bill named “Jennifer’s Law” was introduced in March 2021 that extended the meaning of domestic violence to also include coercive control. After signing it into law, the bill went into effect starting in October 2021. As for those allegedly responsible in this matter, the former lover of Fotis Dulos, Michelle Troconis, stood trial for her involvement in early 2024. After a couple of months, in March 2024, the jury convicted her of all charges including conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence, and hindering prosecution. Currently, she awaits sentencing as she faces up to 50 years in prison for her crimes. Coming to Kent Mawhinney, he’s still awaiting trial upon pleading not guilty.
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