In court filing, Fotis Dulos says he wants to see his girlfriend
Fotis Dulos, charged in connection with the May 24 disappearance of his estranged wife Jennifer Farber Dulos, is asking a Superior Court judge to clarify whether he can see his current girlfriend, who also faces charges tied to the case of the missing New Canaan mother of five.
Dulos and Michelle Troconis have both been charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution, according to court records. Both are free after each posted $500,000 bail.
On Monday, Dulos’ lawyer Norm Pattis filed a motion seeking clarification of Judge John F. Blawie’s release order which barred them from contacting each other. In the motion, Pattis said Troconis was overheard saying she still loved Dulos, believed he had nothing to do with the disappearance of Farber Dulos and felt badly he had been accused of foul play.
“We have learned that Ms. Troconis believes in his innocence, and loves him still. We see no reason why the two of them should not be free to live as they see fit,“Pattis said. The motion to clarify Dulos’ conditions of release said Dulos “would like to make contact with Ms. Troconis to thank her for her kind words.”
Dulos has returned to the Farmington home he shared initially with Farber Dulos and more recently with Troconis, who has been living in an Avon hotel since her release from jail. The two have not been together since state police arrested them late last month.
On Sunday, Troconis was allowed to go back to the Farmington house on Jefferson Court to get her belongings. Dulos wasn’t allowed to be present when Troconis was there with her representatives. Only Dulos’ legal representatives were allowed to follow Troconis through the house in what was described as a tearful return for her.
The charges against Dulos and Troconis stem from video surveillance footage that shows a man and woman resembling Dulos and Troconis discarding trash in bins along Albany Avenue in Hartford on May 24, the day Farber Dulos went missing, according to court records. Police have said DNA from blood found on towels, clothes and sponges retrieved from the Albany Avenue bins matches Farber Dulos.
Sources familiar with the investigation said the video obtained from Hartford police shows the man dumping at least two garbage bags into the trash bins.
State police recovered one of the bags before it was picked up and taken to the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority’s trash-to-energy plant in Hartford’s South Meadows. Since garbage pickup was delayed by one day because of Memorial Day, most of the trash from the Albany Avenue area had not been incinerated.
Dulos and Troconis have pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges. Troconis is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Stamford on July 18. Dulos’ next court date is Aug. 2 at the same courthouse.