Judge will decide whether Jennifer Dulos is dead
FARMINGTON — Evelyn Daly has overseen some gut-wrenching conservatorship, psychiatric commitment and guardianship cases during her 14 years as the Farmington Regional Probate Judge.
But she’s going to tread on new ground Thursday when she hears evidence on why she should declare Jennifer Dulos dead.
For the past 10 months, Daly has overseen the Probate Court proceedings involving the estate of Fotis Dulos. The Farmington real estate developer died Jan. 30, three weeks after being charged with murder and kidnapping in the death and disappearance of his estranged wife.
Police said Jennifer Dulos was attacked in the garage of her New Canaan home on May 24, 2019. The 50-yearold mother’s body has never been found, but police said she is presumed dead based on the blood and other evidence found in her garage.
Attorney Christopher Hug, the court-appointed administrator of Fotis Dulos’ estate, has taken the unusual step of asking the
probate judge to declare Jennifer Dulos dead so he can access $194,000 in an Individual Retirement Account.
Since Fotis Dulos did not have a beneficiary, state law says Hug is unable to use the money in the account to pay debts for the estate unless it is determined that Jennifer Dulos predeceased her husband.
Daly could set a state precedent if she rules Jennifer Dulos is dead. According to an attorney representing Hug and former Farmington Probate Judge J. David Morrissey, no judge has declared a person dead unless the case met the statutory requirement of having been missing for seven years.
“I’ve never had anything like that cross my desk,” said Morrissey, who served as a probate judge for 14 years until 2006 when Daly, a Democrat, won the seat.
Common perception is that probate judges mostly deal with estates of people who died without a will, Morrissey said.
He said the role of a probate judge is complex and includes difficult decisions on whether to terminate parental rights, exert conservatorship over individuals who may be physically or mentally impaired and rule on the commitments of people with psychiatric disabilities.
“That’s a tough one,” Morrissey said of the decision Daly is facing in the Dulos case. “I know there has to be a lot of pressure. But I don’t know how you do that without statutory authority. It’s a precedentsetting decision.”
Longtime friends and colleagues said Daly is up for the challenge.
Daly, who declined to be interviewed, grew up in Massachusetts and has lived in Farmington since 1990.
She graduated from Wheaton College in 1978, attended Trinity College for one year and later went to Western New England College, now a university, where she received her law degree. In 1984, she married Michael Daly, an attorney who practices in Bristol and who serves as the Farmington Democratic Town Committee chairman.
“She’s probably one of the most interesting women I know,” said Barbara Brenneman, the Farmington Democratic Registrar of Voters who works at Town Hall where the Probate Court is located. “She is very well educated, very well groomed, very well positioned professionally, but one of the most genuine human beings I have ever met.”
Daly understands her role as a judge, but handles her responsibilities with kindness and sincerity, Brenneman said.
“She has a very logical mind,” she said. “Whatever she has to do on any case, she’ll think it through.”
Daly was well known for her work as the counsel for the Democrats in the state
House of Representatives. She served as a legal adviser for the Democratic Caucus, examining proposed legislation, said Demetrios Giannaros, a former Farmington state representative.
“She’s very even tempered and treats everyone with respect,” Giannaros said.
Daly also served as counsel for the Aetna Life and Casualty claims department before she ran for probate judge.
She was the first woman and the first Democrat to be elected to the court, which has existed since before the Revolution, her husband said.
Daly has run unopposed in the past two elections. Under her guidance, the court has expanded to include the towns of Burlington and Plainville. For the past several years, she has also been assigned as the probate judge overseeing juvenile proceedings in Hartford that includes cases in more than a dozen surrounding municipalities.
During Thursday’s hearing, Daly will be asked to consider arrest warrants detailing how police say
Fotis Dulos attacked his estranged wife in her New Canaan home and then used her SUV to drive off with her body.
Videos show Fotis Dulos dumping bags of garbage in Hartford on the evening of the disappearance, according to his arrest warrant. The bags contained bloodstained clothing and other items that carried the DNA of Jennifer Dulos, the warrant said.
Based on the evidence, the state’s chief medical examiner, Dr. James Gill, concluded Jennifer Dulos was the victim of a “serious physical assault” and would not have survived the attack without immediate medical attention, the warrant states.
Gill said he has not been asked to testify in the hearing. Jennifer Dulos’ family has approved the use of the warrants to determine if she is dead, court documents said.
It is unclear if Daly will announce her decision during the proceeding.
“Based on my experience, she’ll study all the evidence and all of the information before she makes a decision,” Giannaros said.