FOTIS DULOS PLOT REVEALED
Lead investigators: Dulos may have shaved his head to frame colleague; new evidence could lead to Jennifer’s body
NEW CANAAN — The two lead investigators in the Jennifer Dulos case have revealed how they believe her estranged husband may have tried to frame his former employee and how new evidence with “high potential” could finally lead them to the 50-year-old mother’s remains.
In an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media, Det. John Kimball, of the Western District Major Crimes Unit, and New Canaan Police Officer Thomas Patten provided new details into the case that rocked the New Canaan community and grabbed international headlines.
Fotis Dulos faced murder and other charges when he died of an apparent suicide in January. He was accused of
then once we were able to turn that into a definitive, that changed a lot.”
As police were gathering this evidence in New Canaan, they say Fotis Dulos was tampering with other key evidence involving Gumienny.
In the days after the disappearance, Fotis Dulos took Gumienny’s phone and likely erased some of the contents, including the web search history and phone calls made on May 25 and 26, Kimball said.
After taking Gumienny’s pickup truck to be detailed at an Avon car wash, Fotis Dulos told his employee to throw out the back seats, the arrest warrant stated. Fotis Dulos continued to pressure Gumienny, who eventually removed the seats but never discarded them because he became suspicious of his employer’s behavior, the warrant stated.
After speaking with investigators, Gumienny turned over the seats and tests revealed one of them contained Jennifer Dulos’ blood, according to the warrant.
Gumienny expects to be called by the state to testify if Michelle Troconis and Kent Mawhinney take their cases to trial, Urso said.
Troconis, the former girlfriend of Fotis Dulos, is on house arrest while charged with conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution.
Mawhinney, a former attorney for Fotis Dulos, remains jailed on $2 million bond while charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
They have each pleaded not guilty to the charges, but the criminal proceedings have been slowed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Mawhinney has not appeared in court since February and his next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 24. Troconis has only had one court appearance in recent months and is scheduled for a hearing on Oct. 1.
The investigators declined to discuss specific information because of the pending cases, but said they are continuing to pursue leads.
“This is definitely an active investigation,” Kimball said. “Every day, there is new information. We just got information in this morning. Some of the new information is more valuable than some other new information. There is definitely work that remains to be done in this case. We are very positive and very hopeful that we will be able to locate Jennifer and bring some closure to her family.”
Last weekend, when police discovered a woman’s remains in Watertown, Patten and Kimball immediately became interested. But it wasn’t Jennifer Dulos — a familiar letdown that occurs every time a body is found.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Patten said. “Our goal from the outset has been to find Jennifer. Any news that comes forward is always viewed hopefully. But there has been many ups and downs. There have been a lot of hopeful times and there has been a lot of disappointment.”
Kimball believes the amount of plotting that occurred leading up to the crime has affected their ability to find Jennifer Dulos.
“There has been several indications in this investigation that there was a lot of pre-planning,” Kimball said. “I would not be surprised if this was a case where we would not have a hiker happen upon something. I think it’s more likely that Jennifer is going to be located as a result of overt investigative efforts. … I think it’s very likely that she was placed somewhere where we’re going to have to find her rather than someone just stumbling upon her.”