Jennifer Dulos’ friend: Kids said goodbye to father
The Dulos children received closure with their father by visiting him in a New York hospital before he died, a spokeswoman for Jennifer Dulos’ family said Saturday.
Carrie Luft, a longtime friend of Jennifer Dulos who has served as a spokeswoman for her family, said the children “wished to say goodbye to their father, which we arranged with the assistance of hospital personnel.”
Fotis Dulos, 52, died Jan. 30 at Jacobi Medical Center in New York from an apparent suicide. He faced murder and other charges in the death and disappearance of his estranged wife, who was last seen on May 24.
“Five children have lost both parents in the span of eight months,” Luft said. “Tragically, the children have not been — and may never be — able to say goodbye to their mother, Jennifer, who remains missing.”
Luft said the priority is to ensure the well-being of the five Dulos children and to protect their privacy. The children have been in the care of Jennifer Dulos’ mother, Gloria Farber, who is seeking permanent custody of them.
Fotis Dulos was found inside a running vehicle in the garage of his Farmington home on Jan. 28 by police officers who were conducting a welfare check when he didn’t show up at a bond hearing in Stamford that day.
The hearing was intended to address an issue with the collateral used for his $6 million bond on murder, felony murder and firstdegree kidnapping charges. A Stamford judge could have sent Dulos back to jail until the bond issue was resolved.
In a note left in his car, Dulos said, “I refuse to spend even an hour more in jail.”
Since Dulos’ death, the focus of the case has shifted to his former girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, and his friend and former attorney, Kent Mawhinney.
Like Dulos, Troconis, 45, was charged last year with two counts of tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution. Troconis and Mawhinney, 54, were charged in January with conspiracy to commit murder.
Mawhinney is also facing charges of sexual assault and violating a protective order for alleged incidents involving his own estranged wife. A judge on Friday said Mawhinney could be near a deal for those charges pending “discussions” in the Jennifer Dulos case.
According to arrest warrants, a medical examiner determined Jennifer Dulos likely suffered a “non-survivable” injury. She was last seen on a neighbor’s security camera returning to her New Canaan home after dropping off her children at a nearby school around 8:05 a.m. May 24.
Police believe Fotis Dulos was waiting and attacked his estranged wife in the garage of her Welles Lane home, arrest warrants state.
Dulos and Troconis were caught on video that night in Hartford dumping bags that were later determined to contain Jennifer Dulos’ blood and clothing, according to arrest warrants.
Jennifer Dulos’ blood was also found on the seat of a pickup truck belonging to an employee of Fotis Dulos, according to arrest warrants. Police say Fotis Dulos used the truck on the day his wife was killed, arrest warrants said.