Jennifer Dulos

Case background and investigation

Jennifer Farber Dulos, a 50-year-old mother of five, was last seen on the morning of May 24, 2019, after dropping her children at school in New Canaan, Connecticut. A neighbor's camera captured her returning home around 8:05 a.m. She missed several appointments that day, and when friends could not reach her, she was reported missing that evening. She has never been found.

Her disappearance came amid a bitter divorce and custody dispute with her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, whom she had accused in 2017 court filings of potentially trying to harm her. By 2018 she had been awarded sole physical custody of the couple's children, with Fotis limited to supervised visitation. Investigators searching her Welles Lane home reported finding blood consistent with Jennifer's in the garage and on a vehicle. Police also recovered surveillance footage of Fotis Dulos discarding garbage bags along Albany Avenue in Hartford the evening she vanished; authorities said the bags contained bloodstained clothing and cleaning items.

In January 2020, prosecutors charged Fotis Dulos with capital murder, murder, and kidnapping. He maintained his innocence. Before he could stand trial, he attempted suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning at his Farmington home and died on January 30, 2020. Because he was never tried, he was never convicted, and the allegations against him were not tested at trial.

Two other people were charged in connection with the case. Michelle Troconis, Fotis Dulos's girlfriend, and Kent Mawhinney, his former attorney, were each charged in early 2020. Troconis pleaded not guilty and went to trial in 2024. On March 1, 2024, a jury found her guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence, tampering with physical evidence, and hindering prosecution. Prosecutors said she helped clean a vehicle believed used in the crime, burned evidence, and manipulated Fotis Dulos's cellphone to help build a false alibi. On May 31, 2024, Judge Kevin A. Randolph sentenced Troconis to 20 years in prison, suspended after 14 and a half years, followed by five years of probation; one conspiracy-to-tamper count was vacated on double jeopardy grounds. She has maintained her innocence and signaled intent to appeal.

Kent Mawhinney was charged with conspiracy to commit murder. His case resolved separately, with reporting indicating a comparatively short jail term of about 11 months.

Jennifer Dulos's body has never been recovered despite extensive searches across Connecticut. A probate court declared her legally dead in 2023. Although the case is often described in coverage as a presumed homicide, no one has been convicted of killing her, and her remains have not been located. As of 2026, the disappearance is unresolved in the sense that Jennifer has never been found and the person charged with her murder died before any verdict; the only murder-related trial conviction is that of Michelle Troconis for conspiracy and related offenses. Details attributed to prosecutors and investigators reflect their allegations and trial evidence rather than adjudicated findings against the deceased.