Police question, search home of estranged husband
NEW CANAAN — Police have obtained DNA samples from Fotis Dulos, the estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos, a mother of five who has been missing for more than a week, sources told the Hartford Courant.
The Courant said investigators suspended a search at Farmington properties associated with Fotis Dulos, including his home on Jefferson Crossing, for the day and are expected to resume the search on Sunday.
Fotis Dulos was detained and questioned by police Friday night, a story from the Daily Mail said. Police returned to his home with a search warrant, the Hartford Courant reported.
The media has been kept out of the private Jefferson Crossing in Farmington, where Fotis Dulos’ residence is located. A Hearst Connecticut Media reporter was turned away by two police officers when he tried to approach the home.
Shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday, New Canaan Police Lt. Jason Ferraro issued a release indicating no arrests had been made, and that law enforcement would not comment on who they had questioned.
“The criminal investigation into this case is continuing and it does involve securing search warrants. No comment at this time will be offered on details relating to locations of search warrants or details of what items are listed on the search warrants,” Ferraro said.
Fotis Dulos and his girlfriend, Michelle Traconis, were seen outside his Farmington home around 6 p.m. Friday speaking with authorities, according to the Daily Mail. Authorities then entered and remained inside for about an hour, the Daily Mail reported.
The couple left in their own car and was followed by police, according to the Daily Mail.
The Courant reported the Dulos was taken to Troop L in Litchfield Friday night after police showed up at his Jefferson Crossing home in Farmington. Detectives had a search warrant seeking DNA and hair samples, sources told the Courant. After providing the samples, the sources said, Dulos was allowed to leave and wasn’t detained or questioned at the Troop L barracks.
Shortly before police arrived at Fotis Dulos’ home, authorities were seen searching for the first time in nearby Hartford. Some two dozen state troopers and firefighters searched the Upper Albany section of the city, first focusing on a storm drain outside of Scotts’ Jamaican Bakery. However, Hartford Deputy Fire Chief Harry Tulier told the Hartford Courant no evidence was found.
The Courant reported that investigators obtained surveillance footage of Dulos in a Hartford neighborhood where police did their extensive search for evidence Friday.
Search teams checked nearby backyards and looking in trash bins, which residents told state troopers were empty because the garbage had been picked up earlier in the day, the Courant reported.
Fotis Dulos, 51, declined to speak to Hearst Connecticut Media when a reporter knocked on his door Friday afternoon.
His estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos, 50, was last seen dropping off their five children at New Canaan Country School on May 24. Her SUV was recovered on Lapham Road near Waveny Park after she was reported missing later that night.
A source close to the investigation told Hearst Connecticut Media that investigators found blood in Dulos’ home last Saturday.
In an effort to find someone who may have witnessed something when Jennifer Dulos’ SUV was parked on the side of the road, police stopped motorists Friday morning on Lapham Road and handed out missing person flyers.
A statement from family and friends of Jennifer Dulos released Friday said they remain “hopeful” she will return home safely.
“We miss her beyond measure — her five young children, her family, her friends, colleagues, and neighbors, as well as countless people who have never met her but who have responded to the spirit of grace and kindness that Jennifer embodies,” the statement reads.
Dulos has been involved in a two-year divorce case with Fotis Dulos. In court documents, she said she was afraid of her estranged husband and was fearful he would retaliate against her for seeking a divorce.
Jennifer Dulos’ mother, Gloria Farber, has been in her own legal battle with Fotis Dulos. Farber and her late husband’s estate have filed a lawsuit against Fotis Dulos, accusing him of failing to repay $1.7 million in loans he used to purchase properties and build homes for his business, The Fore Group.
When reached by phone on Friday, Gloria Farber declined to comment.
On Thursday, police searched a property on Mallard Lake Road in Pound Ridge, N.Y., which records show is owned by Jennifer Dulos’ late father Hilliard Farber. The home is about a 15-minute drive from Dulos’ New Canaan residence.