It’s been 42 days since Jennifer Dulos was last seen, as she dropped her kids off at school in New Canaan, Connecticut.
Her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, and his then-girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, were arrested June 1 and charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and hindering prosecution in relation to Jennifer Dulos’ May 24 disappearance.
But New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski told CNN’s Jean Casarez in an exclusive HLN interview he is “confident there will be additional charges in the future” in the case, adding it is “very possible that charges already filed will be upgraded.”
“I am confident there will be additional charges in the future and what we know specifically is that Fotis Dulos and Michelle Troconis have been arrested for two charges of tampering with or fabricating evidence and hindering prosecution,” Krolikowski said.
When asked if others could be charged in Jennifer’s disappearance, Krolikowski said, “We will see.”
Fotis Dulos was released June 11 on $500,000 bond. He and Troconis have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
State’s Attorney Richard J. Colangelo had argued for a higher bond for Fotis Dulos, citing what he said was investigators’ discovery of the man’s DNA in a mixture of Jennifer Dulos’ blood in a faucet inside her New Canaan home. Jennifer Dulos lived at that home with the couple’s five children after she split from her husband in 2017.
But Superior Court Judge John F. Blawie denied a prosecutors’ request and kept the bond at $500,000, which Fotis Dulos eventually posted.
Jennifer Dulos, 50, was last seen driving a 2017 Chevrolet Suburban on May 24 in New Canaan, police said. Her friends reported her missing after she missed appointments and they hadn’t heard from her for 10 hours. Authorities found her car near a park, not far from her house.
Fotis Dulos’ attorney, Norm Pattis, said his client had no motive to harm his wife.
A wide-ranging search
Approximately two dozen investigators are working on the local, state and federal level “gathering evidence, interviewing people, putting all the little pieces of the puzzle together so that we can come to a conclusion,” Krolikowski added.
“This is probably one of the most impactful and dynamic investigations the state of Connecticut has ever seen. It is such a complex investigation. There are so many things to do and pieces to put together that it just takes time.”
Krolikowski asked the public to be patient in waiting for developments because “investigators are putting together a very clear and concise case and that will come in the future.”
“(The) public should know that everyone who is involved in this investigation … their last thought at night is Jennifer and their first thought in the morning is Jennifer. That’s what everyone is committed to.”
Relatives and friends of Jennifer Dulos have asked the public not to lose sight of her case. In a statement in June, they asked for any information about her disappearance or whereabouts.
“Jennifer’s family, friends, and above all her children are living in limbo — missing her embrace, her lilting laugh, her bedtime back rubs, her gentle strength. Please know that the children are safe and loved and supported in every respect. But more than anything in the world, they long to know where their mother is.”
Heated custody battle
Jennifer and Fotis Dulos have been embroiled in a custody battle since 2017, and Jennifer Dulos has accused her husband of having revenge fantasies, exhibiting “irrational, unsafe, bullying, threatening and controlling behavior” and saying he would abscond with their five children to another country, according to her custody petition. She also said he owned a gun.
Before her disappearance, Jennifer Dulos had told officials she was afraid of Fotis Dulos and feared that filing for divorce would enrage him, court documents indicate.
Fotis Dulos denied making any threats or bullying her, according to court filings.
Since their mother went missing, the Dulos children, ages 8 to 13, have been living with their maternal grandmother at her New York City apartment, according to court documents.
In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Jean Casarez, Fotis Dulos’ divorce attorney, Richard Rochlin, says they may agree to let Jennifer Dulos’ mother Gloria Farber have temporary custody of the estranged couple’s five children, though Fotis Dulos would want interim access to the children through phone calls.
Rochlin says Fotis Dulos is a loving father and misses his children terribly.
The evidence
Investigators looking into the woman’s disappearance discovered stains that tested positive for human blood on her garage floor as well as evidence of attempts to clean up the scene of what investigators concluded was “a serious physical assault … and Jennifer Dulos was the suspected victim,” arrest warrants said.
The day she went missing, surveillance cameras captured someone matching the description of her estranged husbandgetting out of his truck and putting “multiple garbage bags into various trash receptacles” in the Hartford area, authorities said. Detectives later recovered clothing and household goods from trash receptacles with Jennifer Dulos’ blood on it.
