Source: Dulos home focus of search, on verge of being sold

FARMINGTON — Dozens of law enforcement investigators working on the Jennifer Dulos case conducted an extensive search Tuesday of one of the properties owned by her estranged husband’s real estate development company that is on the verge of being sold.

State Police Western District Major Crimes detectives returned to 80 Mountain Spring Road in Farmington “for investigative purposes, following up on old leads,” Trooper First Class Pedro Muniz said.

Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo Jr. declined to comment about the search.

A source close to the case said the 10,000square-foot home listed for nearly $1.7 million is under contract to be sold.

People’s United Bank filed for foreclosure of 80, 84, and 88 Mountain Spring Road on March 31, 2020, court documents said. The three properties were owned by Fotis Dulos’ high-end real estate development company, Fore Group.

In a 16-page foreclosure complaint, attorneys for the bank indicated they sent Fotis Dulos a notice of default on the mortgages for the properties on Jan. 24, 2020 — four days before he attempted suicide at his Jefferson Crossing home.

By that point, at least two other properties owned by Fotis Dulos were also in foreclosure — his Jefferson Crossing home and a New Canaan property he was developing for sale.

A court agreed to the foreclosures on the three Mountain Spring Road properties on Sept. 25, 2020.

Investigators have been searching for Jennifer Dulos since she vanished on May 24, 2019. Blood evidence found in the garage of her New Canaan home indicated the 50-year-old mother of five was the victim of an attack that she could not have survived without immediate medical attention, according to arrest warrants provided by state police last year.

In the hours after Jennifer Dulos was last seen, police said her estranged husband spent most of that afternoon at 80 Mountain Spring Road, according to arrest warrants.

The warrants said Fotis Dulos told his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, to meet him at the Mountain Spring Road property and to bring a vacuum, mop, paper towels, Clorox spray and garbage bags to clean the property “in preparation for a client meeting the next morning,” the warrants said.

The two arrived that day in separate vehicles sometime between 2:15 and 3 p.m., the warrants said.

Troconis told investigators Fotis Dulos was already at the property when she arrived, the warrants stated. Troconis said she then went back to their home on nearby Jefferson Crossing to retrieve another vacuum when the first one she brought didn’t work, the warrants said.

While she was inside the Mountain Spring Road home later that afternoon, Troconis said Fotis Dulos came looking for more paper towels because he had “spilled something” in a pickup truck that belonged to one of his employees, the warrants stated.

Authorities said Jennifer Dulos’ blood was found on the seat in the truck that police believe Fotis Dulos used to drive to and from New Canaan that morning, the warrants stated.

Later that night, police said Fotis Dulos and Troconis were seen on surveillance video driving around Hartford, arrest warrants state. The video shows Fotis Dulos making several stops and dumping bags that were later determined to contain his wife’s blood and clothing, arrest warrants stated.

Jennifer Dulos’ body has never been found and a hearing is set for next month in Farmington Probate Court where a judge will listen to arguments whether to declare her dead.

Fotis Dulos, died Jan. 30, 2020, from an apparent suicide while he was facing murder, kidnapping and other charges in the case. He left a note claiming his attorneys had proof of his innocence.

Troconis and Fotis Dulos’ friend and former attorney, Kent Mawhinney, have each pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder charges. Troconis has also pleaded not guilty to tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution charges.