Jennifer Dulos Update: Court Drops Charges Against Fotis Dulos, Estate's Lawyer Plans To Appeal

The murder and kidnapping charges against the late Fotis Dulos for his alleged involvement in the disappearance of his wife, Jennifer Dulos, were dropped by a Connecticut judge Tuesday.

Connecticut Superior Court Judge Gary White sided with Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo’s request to have Fotis Dulos’ charges placed under a nolle. This means the charges are dropped but gives the state 13 months to refile charges before they are completely dismissed. It also lifts the gag order that prevented anyone involved in the case from talking about evidence.

Colangelo filed the request after Dulos died in a New York City hospital on Jan. 30, two days after attempting suicide in his home in Farmington, Connecticut. He attempted suicide after being called to court for an emergency hearing over discrepancies in the $6 million bond he posted.

Dulos was being charged with murder, capital murder and kidnapping.

Authorities are still searching for Jennifer Dulos, who was reported missing in May 2019.

Norm Pattis, the lead attorney for Dulos’ estate, said he is going to appeal the judge’s decision and take the case to court. He filed a motion on Jan. 31 to have Dulos’ estate stand trial in his client’s name in an effort to clear him of all charges in court.

Pattis argued that someone else kidnapped and killed Jennifer Dulos, allegedly dumping the evidence at Fotis Dulos’ home in Farmington as part of a setup. He said this explains why his client was allegedly seen in Hartford dumping trash bags that reportedly contained his wife’s bloody clothing. Pattis also said that Dulos was not driving a red Toyota pickup truck that belonged to one of his employees that had reportedly been seen near where his wife’s Chevrolet Suburban was found.

“If Ms. Dulos is in fact dead, we have reason to believe she met her end at the hand of a third party unrelated to Mr. Dulos and without his knowledge,” Pattis told reporters outside the Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford. “Obviously, we were working on the development of that evidence to present at trial in September, but there will be no trial.”

Pattis said he knew who allegedly killed Jennifer Dulos, but would not say who it was.

While the charges were dropped against Dulos, his mistress Michelle Troconis is still being charged for her alleged role in his wife’s disappearance.

She was reportedly seen with Dulos dumping the bags of bloody clothing in Hartford around the time Jennifer Dulos was reported missing. Traconis was originally charged with hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence in May. Another count of tampering with evidence was added in September for reportedly cleaning up the pickup truck used in Jennifer Dulos’ alleged death. The last charge added was conspiracy to commit murder for Traconis’ alleged part and was charged alongside Dulos’ friend and former lawyer, Kent Mawhinney.

Traconis was released after posting her $1.5 million bond and remains on house arrest until her next scheduled court appearance on March 20.

Mawhinney was accused of providing a reportedly false alibi for Dulos around the time the bags were dumped in Hartford. He remains in jail with bond set at $2 million until his next scheduled court appearance on March 31.