UPDATE: Fotis Dulos, Accused Of Murdering His Estranged Wife, Dead After Suicide Attempt
The Connecticut man is in critical condition after he tried to fatally poison himself with carbon monoxide.
Fotis Dulos arrest, January 7, 2020 [Hartford Courant/Getty]
UPDATE 1/31/20:
As reported by NBC News, Fotis Dulos has died two days after an apparent suicide attempt at his Farmington home. Dulos was taken to a Connecticut hospital and then flown to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, New York, for oxygen therapy treatment in a hyperbaric chamber.
Dulos' attorney Norm Pattis told reporters, "It's been a truly horrific day for the family filled with difficult decisions, medical tests and meeting the requirements to determine death. Having said that, we want to thank everybody for their interest. And as to those who contend that Mr. Dulos' death reflects a consciousness of guilt, we say no. We say it was more of a conscience overworn with the weight of the world that was too busy to listen and that wanted a story more than it wanted the truth."
Read more: NBC News, Stamford Advocate
ORIGINAL POST 1/29/20:
The Connecticut man accused of murdering his estranged wife and disposing of her body remains in critical condition after he attempted suicide, police say.
On Tuesday, officers performed a wellness check at Fotis Dulos’ home in Farmington because he was late to a bond adjustment hearing. They found the 52-year-old Greek real estate developer with signs of medical distress sitting in a running Chevy Suburban filled with carbon monoxide, West Hartford’s WVIT-TV reported.
Paramedics performed CPR on Dulos. He was then transported to UConn Health Center and later airlifted to Jacobi Hospital in New York City for treatment in a hyperbaric chamber.
At the time of his suicide attempt, Dulos was out on bond and under house arrest. However, he was facing the possibility of going back to prison because of issues with the collateral he used to secure his $6 million bond.
On May 24, 2019, Jennifer Dulos, 50, dropped off her five children at school in New Canaan and vanished.
According to an arrest warrant obtained by WVIT-TV, a concerned friend let police into Jennifer’s home, where officers “located several stains on the garage floor and on a vehicle parked in the garage, which had the appearance of bloodstains.”
Among other evidence, investigators also located garbage bags containing clothing and sponges stained with Jennifer’s blood, according to the arrest warrant.
Public court records show the Duloses were locked in a divorce battle at the time she disappeared. According to a 2017 affidavit, Jennifer was “terrified for [her] family’s safety” and claimed her “husband has a history of controlling, volatile and delusional behavior,” WVIT-TV reported.
On Jan. 7, Dulos was formally rearrested and charged with murder, felony murder, kidnapping in the first degree, hindering prosecution in the first degree and two counts of tampering with physical evidence. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
His ex-girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, 45, and his civil attorney friend, Kent Mawhinney, 54, are charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Police allege the two created fake alibis to help Fotis Dulos cover up his wife’s murder, the Stamford Advocate reported.
Defense attorney Norm Pattis said in a Tuesday interview with WVIT-TV that the “potential for a bond revocation was devastating news” to Dulos, but he couldn’t speculate on his client’s motives for attempting suicide.
Read more: CrimeFeed, CrimeFeed, The New York Times