Sources: Troconis wasn’t at scene
Fotis Dulos’ attorney says ‘reasons to doubt’ his client was at estranged wife’s home on May 24
Michelle Troconis, the girlfriend of Fotis Dulos, the estranged husband of missing mother of five Jennifer Farber Dulos, was not in New Canaan the day she disappeared and has told police she has no i dea where Farber Dulos may be, according to law enforcement sources.
At the same time, Fotis Dulos’ attorney, Norm Pattis, said late Monday that there “are powerful reasons to doubt” Dulos was “even at the scene of his estranged wife’s home the day she disappeared. I am unaware of any evidence supporting the theory he was involved in foul play.”
As the search for Farber Dulos continued into its 17th day Monday, sources said that investigators have proof that Troconis was neither inside Farber Dulos’ Welles Avenue home nor anywhere near New Canaan on May 24, the last day Farber Dulos was seen alive.
It is unclear what evidence Troconis offered to establish her whereabouts during that time frame but police did confiscate her cellphone and obtained a court order to search it.
NewCanaan police have said they are investigating the case as both a missing persons and a criminal investigation.
Troconis and Fotis Dulos, due to appear in Stamford Superior Court on Tuesday, both have been charged with hindering prosecution and
tampering with evidence. Authorities say Troconis and Dulos were in the North End of Hartford on the evening of May 24, dumping clothing and other items in the trash that later tested positive for Farber Dulos’ blood.
Pattis said Monday that he plans to request “a substantial bond reduction” for Dulos at Tuesday’s court hearing. Both Troconis and Fotis Dulos are expected to enter not guilty pleas.
While Dulos has been unable to post the $500,000 bond a judge ordered him held on, Troconis was able to and she was released on June 3 — the same day she appeared in Norwalk Superior Court — after her parents flew in from Florida and bailed her out. A judge ordered her to wear an ankle bracelet with GPS tracking.
Following her release, Troconis met with state police detectives and prosecutors at least twice, including once at her attorney Andrew Bowman’s office in Westport where she talked to Stamford State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo and state police detectives. Bowman on Monday declined to comment on Troconis’ role in the case.
The next day, Troconis could be seen walking in the backyard of the Jefferson Court house in Farmington that she shares with Fotis Dulos pointing toward woods while detectives searched the area. It is unclear why they brought her to Farmington on Friday.
Sources said Troconis has told state police she has no idea where Farber Dulos may be.
The charges against Troconis and Fotis Dulos stem from video evidence captured by Hartford police that shows a man resembling Fotis Dulos dumping multiple garbage bags into trash bins and dumpsters along Albany Avenue at 7:15 p.m. on the day that Jennifer Dulos disappeared, court records said.
A woman resembling Troconis at one point is seen on video sitting in the passenger seat and either placing something on the ground or picking up an item as Dulos throws out the bags, according to court records. The documents don’t say what she placed on the ground and there is no video evidence that she handled any of the trash bags. State police detectives rushed to Albany Avenue on May 31 and found some of the trash bags that Dulos had thrown out. Court records said DNA testing on some of the bloody clothes, towels and sponges matched Farber Dulos .
Police were too late to get some of the garbage and have spent the last week painstakingly searching through a mountain of trash at the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority’s trash-to-energy plant on Maxim Road in Hartford’s South Meadows. A corps of state police, using German Shepherd cadaver dogs, have been shifting through t he garbage searching for more evidence.
In addition to the Albany Avenue neighborhood in Hartford, police also have searched locations in several towns, including Jennifer Dulos’ home in New Canaan, where she lives with her children, who range in age from 8 to 13, a park near her home where her vehicle was found and several properties in Farmington owned by Fotis Dulos’ company The Fore Group.
Farber Dulos has been missing since May 24 when she was last seen dropping her children off at the New Canaan Country Day School around 8 a.m. Police believe that she was attacked in her Welles Avenue home sometime between 8-11 a.m. A cleaning woman entered the home around noon. She wasn’t reported missing until 7 p.m. that night. When New Canaan police entered the garage area of her home, they found dark stains believed to be blood on the floor as well blood spatter and evidence of a cleanup.
Her black Chevy Suburban was later found on Lapham Road near Waveny Park where at least three searches have taken place.
On Monday New Canaan police announced they had created a website seeking tips on Farber Dulos’ whereabouts.
“In addition to the tip line, 203-594-3544, to further gather information regarding Jennifer’s disappearance we now have a dedicated e-mail FindJenniferDulos@newcanaanct.gov and website www.FindJenniferDulos.com ,” Chief Leon Krolikowski said.
“We will not rest until we find Jennifer,” Krolikowski said.