Family: Changing the name of ‘Jennifers’ Law’ is ‘deeply offensive’

Advocates for “Jennifers’ Law” — a proposed bill to expand the state’s definition of domestic violence that was inspired by two Connecticut women who police say were killed by their spouses — say they oppose removing the two women from its name.

The legislation was first introduced by state Sen. Alex Kasser, D-Greenwich, as Senate Bill 1060, known colloquially as “Jennifer’s Law” for Jennifer Farber Dulos. The New Canaan mother, who disappeared in May 2019 after dropping off her children at school, is believed to have been killed by her estranged husband, police said in arrest warrants in the case.

The bill’s name was changed to Jennifers’ Law last month to include Jennifer Magnano, a Terryville resident who police said was shot and killed by her ex-husband in a murder-suicide in 2007.

Last week, the bill was broadened into a wider domestic violence proposal known as SB-1091, officially titled “An Act Concerning a Study of Criminal Laws of This State.”

But domestic violence advocates, including Magnano’s children, said they oppose removing the women’s names from the bill.

“It is deeply offensive to take our mother’s name off this law. We have been fighting so hard for her not to be just another statistic,” Jessica Rosenbeck, Magnano’s eldest daughter, said in a statement released Wednesday by the nonprofit Connecticut Protective Moms.

The group is one of the bill’s main supporters.

Magnano’s son, David Magnano, said removing the name would add salt “to the gaping wound” felt by victims of domestic violence. Including the names in the bill “humanizes the needs of so many voiceless victims in a way that no random sequence of letters and numbers ever could,” he said.

Jennifer and Fotis Dulos were involved in a two-year divorce and custody dispute when she disappeared.

While Jennifer Dulos has never been found, police said she is presumed dead based on evidence they found in her garage, according to arrest warrants. Fotis Dulos died in January 2020 from a suicide while facing murder and other charges in his estranged wife’s death and disappearance.

A spokeswoman for Jennifer Dulos’ family has not commented on the removal of her name from the bill.

The proposed bill is designed to include manipulative, coercive behavior advocates say can trap victims in abusive relationships. Jennifer Dulos had sought emergency custody of her children and a protective order against Fotis Dulos, but was denied because she was unable to show her estranged husband had physically abused her, according to court documents.

Actress Evan Rachel Wood, who testified in support of the bill and alleged she was abused by her former partner, singer Marilyn Manson, called on lawmakers to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. “Dozens of domestic violence survivors risked retaliation and harm to testify in support of Jennifers’ Law. Some even testified from hiding because telling their stories creates real danger,” Wood said in a statement released through Connecticut Protective Moms. “We call on legislators to honor all victims of domestic violence, including those who have not survived, by retaining the name of this legislation.”

The bill passed the judiciary committee last week in a 34-4 vote. Lawmakers noted the original bill was only “colloquially” known as “Jennifer’s Law.” “It’s an insult to strike our mother’s name from this law, to try to make it anonymous when her death is the reason for the law,” said Emily Thiebault, who is also a daughter of Jennifer Magnano.

The bill would add coercive control to the state’s definition of domestic violence, meaning victims would be able to cite controlling or manipulative actions when requesting a protective order or other actions under the state’s family violence laws. The bill is modeled after the Phoenix Act, a bill passed into law last year in California as part of a campaign founded by Wood, a statement from Connecticut Protective Moms said.

Some suggested during testimony that the bill, if enacted into law, could complicate domestic violence and child custody cases.

Laura Richards, an expert who testified in support of the bill, also called for the two women to be included in its name. “The bill is pioneering and enshrines the definition of coercive control in law, making the abuse visible for the first time in Connecticut. But attempts to erase the names of the women the bill was conceived from are truly shocking,” Richards said.

Richards previously served as head of the homicide prevention unit at New Scotland Yard, according to Connecticut Protective Moms.