Dulos defendant Mawhinney due back in court

STAMFORD—Kent Mawhinney, charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the disappearance and death of Jennifer Dulos will appear in state Superior Court Monday.

Stamford Judge John F. Blawie said as Mawhinney awaits his trial to be scheduled, there would be no need to schedule future case hearings unless a new motion is filed or new information arises.

Mawhinney, who has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, remains free on $246,000 bond while wearing an electronic monitoring device.

His attorney, Jeffrey Kestenband, declined comment Saturday and the subject of the hearing was not immediately available.

Mawhinney is accused of aiding Fotis Dulos in the disappearance and death of his estranged wife Jennifer Dulos by trying to provide an alibi for his friend during the period she went missing the morning of May 24, 2019. She is presumed dead by police and her family. Her remains have not been found. Mawhinney opted to take his case to trial in January.

Mawhinney and Michelle Troconis, the former girlfriend of Fotis Dulos, are the remaining defendants in the case. Fotis Dulos died two days after a suicide attempt in January 2020, about three weeks after he was charged with murder in his estranged wife’s death. The couple was involved in an acrimonious divorce and custody battle when Jennifer Dulos disappeared.

Fotis Dulos was living in couple’s Farmington home with Troconis at the time. She also has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and is free on bond. Prosecutors have indicated that Mawhinney will testify against Troconis if she takes her case to trial.

Arrest warrants detail how investigators believe that Mawhinney attempted to create an alibi for Fotis Dulos the morning of the disappearance.

Mawhinney was also connected with an East Granby gun club where witnesses told investigators they found a “human grave” leading up to the disappearance, according to an arrest warrant. Investigators wrote in the arrest warrant that the hole was later covered up and no remains were found at the site.

Mawhinney briefly eluded state police on Jan. 7, 2020, as they sought to take him into custody, officials said. He was later apprehended at gunpoint during a Tolland traffic stop.

Fotis Dulos was believed to have been “lying in wait” for his estranged wife at her New Canaan home after she dropped off their five children at school around 8 a.m. on May 24, 2019, according to an arrest warrant. Investigators said Jennifer Dulos was the victim of a “serious physical assault” in the garage of the home. The state’s chief medical examiner determined she suffered wounds that were not survivable without immediate medical attention.