Attorney charged in Dulos homicide will be released on bond to see dying father
STAMFORD — A Superior Court judge has agreed to reduce the bond for the attorney charged in the Jennifer Dulos homicide so he can visit his ailing father in Florida.
Kent Mawhinney has been jailed on $2 million bond at the Cheshire Correctional Institution since his arrest in January on a conspiracy to commit murder charge. However, a judge on Thursday agreed to his attorney’s request to reduce the bond to $246,000.
In a court filing this week, Mawhinney’s attorneys said their client’s parents were willing to post a property they own in Manchester valued at $196,000 and $50,000 in cash for his release.
“Mr. Mawhinney’s father is currently battling lymphoma and prostate cancer, which has metastasized to his spine and his ribs,” the filing reads. “At age 86, it is taking its toll and limiting his daily activities substantially.”
The request filed this week in state Superior Court in Stamford by attorneys Lee Gold and Jeremy Donnelly noted Mahwinney’s “more than 20 years” of practicing law and his three children living in Connecticut as his ties to the state.
The request argued Mahwinney “is not a flight risk” and is seeking to be released so he could spend time with his father in Florida and help his sister care for him before he dies.
Mahwinney, who has pleaded not guilty, remained in custody on Thursday and it was not immediately known when he will be released.
According to the conditions of his bond, Mawhinney will need
to appear in court before being released. His attorneys did not respond to messages seeking comment.
In a court filing Wednesday, Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo did not object to Mawhinney posting a reduced
bond or traveling to Florida. He stipulated that Mahwinney seek the court’s permission before otherwise traveling out of state.
Under the conditions of his release signed by Judge John Blawie, Mahwinney must surrender his passport to author
ities. He will be allowed to travel to Florida to visit his father “provided that his proposed itinerary is approved by the office of adult probation,” according to the order.
He will also be tracked by a GPS device, which he’ll be responsible for keeping charged at all times.
Michelle Troconis, who is also released on bond as she faces conspiracy to commit murder and other charges in the case, has also been monitored by GPS as a condition of her release.
With a warrant out for his arrest, Mawhinney eluded authorities for hours before he was taken into custody at gunpoint in Tolland on Jan. 7.
Earlier that day, his longtime friend and former client, Fotis Dulos, was charged with murder and kidnapping in the death and disappearance of Jennifer Dulos. Troconis was also arrested that day on a conspiracy to commit murder charge.
Mawhinney also faces charges of spousal sexual assault, disorderly conduct and seconddegree unlawful restraint, as well as violation of a protective order stemming from incidents that occurred last year involving his estranged wife.
Police have accused Mawhinney of trying to create an alibi for Fotis Dulos the morning Jennifer Dulos vanished.
According to his arrest warrant, Mawhinney was also connected with a gun club where witnesses described finding a “human grave” in the days leading up to the disappearance. However, investigators said the hole was later found covered up and there were no signs of Jennifer Dulos ever being there, according to the arrest warrant.
Fotis Dulos, who died in January from an apparent suicide, was accused of attacking his estranged wife in the garage of her New Canaan home on May 24, 2019.
Jennifer Dulos has never been found, but is presumed dead based on the evidence found in her garage, arrest warrants state. The state’s chief medical examiner said the evidence suggested the 50-year-old mother of five would not have survived the attack without immediate medical attention.