House Arrest Lifted For Suspect In Jennifer Dulos Disappearance Case

STAMFORD, CT — While not a free man, Kent Mawhinney, one of two remaining suspects in the four-year-old disappearance of Jennifer Farber Dulos, will again be permitted to travel out of state, a judge decided.

Additionally, during Monday's hearing in Stamford Superior Court, Judge Gary White lifted Mawhinney's house arrest status.

"We're not asking for removal of the GPS," said Mawhinney's attorney Jeffrey Kestenband. "My client has been fully compliant with the terms of his release for the past five months."

Mawhinney, who faces a conspiracy to commit murder charge in the case, was released from jail in December, after he was accused of tampering with the GPS monitor he was ordered to wear.

Late last month, Kestenband filed two court motions seeking to modify the terms of Mawhinney's release to remove the house arrest component, and to allow him to travel to Massachusetts this month.

"No allegation has ever been made that Mr. Mawhinney attempted to flee during the two years that he was on pretrial release, including during the multiple times that he traveled outside of Connecticut," Kestenband wrote in the brief, obtained by Patch. "Nor has there even been an allegation that Mr. Mawhinney presented a danger to the community during his more than two years on pretrial release."

Supervisory State’s Attorney Michelle Manning, who is prosecuting the case, did not object to the Mawhinney's requests.

"The State's main concern is that the GPS device remain," she told the court.

Mawhinney sought to travel to Cape Cod with his 88-year-old mother, who cannot drive long distances due to blindness in one eye, to visit an 84-year-old uncle of his who is in poor health.

"This court has granted Mr. Mawhinney permission to travel to Cape Cod (and Florida) multiple times during the pendency of this case since his January, 2020 arrest," Kestenband wrote. "He has always timely returned to Connecticut on all prior occasions."

Mawhinney and Michelle Troconis have both been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, accused of assisting the late Fotis Dulos in the disappearance of Fotis' estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos.

Jennifer Dulos, a mother of five, vanished from her New Canaan home on May 24, 2019, and is presumed to be dead. Despite extensive searches in various parts of the state, her body has not been found.

Fotis Dulos was accused of kidnapping and murdering her, but he never stood trial, because he took his own life in January 2020. The Duloses were in the midst of a contentious divorce and custody fight at the time of Jennifer's disappearance.

Both Mawhinney, a former attorney and friend of Fotis, and Troconis, Fotis' ex-girlfriend, are accused of helping him formulate an alibi.

Troconis and Mawhinney have pleaded not guilty, but Mawhinney is expected to testify against Troconis.

In a related a matter last week, Troconis' attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, met with prosecutors in a closed hearing about evidence in the case. The two sides had sought to disqualify each other over the handling of some evidence, but came to an agreement not to call the other attorney to testify, according Schoenhorn.

"I maintain what I've said all along, that it's nonsense," Schoenhorn told Patch. "There is no basis whatsoever that I would be able to testify to anything that would be relevant to the case."

Troconis, who no longer lives in Connecticut, was in Stamford for last week's hearing. Her arm was in a sling, seen as she was leaving court with her father, Dr. Carlos Troconis.

According to Schoenhorn, she tore tendons in her shoulder when she "had an accident on ice" after the GPS device was removed from her ankle.

The Dulos case

• Shocking Details Revealed In Case Of Missing New Canaan Mom
• Jennifer Dulos Case: New Updates As Mystery Remains Unsolved
• New DNA Evidence Disclosed In Jennifer Dulos Disappearance
• Michelle Troconis' Attorney Files Dulos Brief With CT Supreme Court
• Jennifer Dulos Case: Suspect Michelle Troconis Not Living In CT
• 6 Facts About Jennifer Dulos Murder Case