How The State Is Building Its Case In The Jennifer Dulos Murder

NEW CANAAN, CT — In the end, after months of investigative legwork and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of police overtime and other expenses, prosecutors believe the murder of Jennifer Farber Dulos came down to the age-old motive that has tripped up other suspected killers: Money.

Fotis Dulos, the estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos who is charged in her murder, was in the midst of a nasty — and expensive — divorce from Jennifer, and a bitter — and expensive — child custody fight over their five children. He is also in massive amounts of business debt involving lawsuits and his luxury home building business.

That "debt exposure" at the time of Jennifer Dulos' murder was $7 million, authorities allege.

But what some accused killers appear to never realize is that their money troubles don't go away if they commit murder to try to get their hands on some quick cash.

In fact, their financial picture can turn even more bleak, because once they are caught they may end up exhausting all those funds through legal bills to defend themselves.

See Related:

• 2 Of 3 Suspects Bond Out In Jennifer Farber Dulos Murder Case
• 6 Facts About Jennifer Dulos Murder Case

• Warrant Details Possible Motive On Why Jennifer Dulos Was Killed And Why Police Believe She Is Dead
• New Details On How Jennifer Dulos May Have Died: Warrant
• Fotis Dulos Will Be Charged With Murder, His Attorney Predicts
• Michelle Troconis' Lawyer Says Homicide Charge Possible: Filing

The Search For Jennifer

Jennifer Farber Dulos was reported missing from her New Canaan house on May 24, after she had dropped off her children at school. She has not been seen since, and prosecutors say that there has been no activity on her bank accounts since May 23.

The mystery over her whereabouts led to extensive searches throughout portions of southern Connecticut; Pound Ridge, NY; Farmington; Avon; and the Hartford area.

On the same day that Jennifer Dulos was reported missing, Fotis Dulos and then girlfriend Michelle Troconis are believed to have dumped bags containing bloody clothing, sponges and other items - some of which tested positive for Jennifer Dulos' blood - along Albany Avenue in Hartford, according to authorities.

Vintage French Bicycle

Prosecutors allege that Fotis Dulos was "lying in wait" for Jennifer Dulos at the New Canaan home and attacked her in the garage, where police found blood evidence and what appeared to be attempts to clean up the scene.

To get to the home, prosecutors say that Fotis Dulos may have ridden a vintage French bicycle, because someone was seen on surveillance video riding what appears to be a Mercier bicycle in New Canaan toward Jennifer Dulos' home on the day that she disappeared.

The French Mercier bicycle is important because Fotis Dulos owned such a bike, authorities say, and pieces of it were found among the garbage that they collected in connection with the case, including a name plate consistent with such bicycles.

After attacking her, Fotis Dulos "packaged" Jennifer and drove her in her Chevrolet Suburban to Waveny Park in New Canaan and placed her and the bicycle in a borrowed pickup truck and drove off, prosecutors allege. He is believed to have left the Suburban at the park, where police later found it, according to authorities.

All of that occurred between about 8:05 a.m. and 10:25 a.m. on May 24, prosecutors say.

'Alibi Scripts'

Over the next several hours, Fotis Dulos and Troconis are accused of discarding the items. In subsequent interviews with authorities, Troconis' account of that time period changes, in part based on information from "alibi scripts" that police found at Fotis Dulos' Farmington home, which authorities say Fotis and Troconis wrote.

At first, Troconis, who was living in the Farmington home at the time, told authorities that she had seen Fotis on the morning of the 24th, but in a later interview she admitted that she had not seen him that day until the early afternoon. Prosecutors believe this gave him time to commit the murder.

In addition to the physical evidence obtained by state and New Canaan police, authorities also have obtained hours of surveillance video, phone records and information from a host of acquaintances, business associates and potential witnesses through multiple interviews.

Kent Mawhinney's Role

One person interviewed may be able to shed some light on the murder, because he may helped Fotis Dulos commit it. That person is attorney Kent Mawhinney, a personal friend of Fotis' who represented him in past legal matters.

Like Troconis, Mawhinney's accounts of the days surrounding Jennifer's disappearance changed in interviews with authorities, from not speaking to Fotis Dulos to speaking to him. Phone records obtained by authorities showed calls between Fotis Dulos and Mawhinney during the period.

But Mawhinney claimed that he fell in his home and suffered a concussion on the day after Jennifer Dulos' disappearance. The fall broke the screen of his cell phone, he said, which caused him to replace it — potentially discarding evidence — and also caused him to forget certain events, such as whether he and Fotis had any contact with each other around that time.

Mawhinney's main link to the crime may involve the Windsor Rod & Gun Club in East Granby, a sportsmen's facility for which Mawhinney helped to secure property.

Was It A Grave?

Two members of the club found a grave-like hole — with bags of lime next to it — on the property a few days before Jennifer Dulos disappeared.

Prosecutors believe Mawhinney may have dug the hole, but did not dispose of a body there and later filled it in and removed the lime.

At the very least, it appears that prosecutors believe that Mawhinney might know something about the murder, and charged him partly in an attempt to entice him to flip on Dulos.

Like Troconis, Mawhinney was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, but he remains in custody, unable to post bond on bail of $2 million.

Mawhinney also has other legal troubles, namely a sexual assault charge against him filed by his estranged wife, who is divorcing him.

Her attorney told NBC Connecticut that Mawhinney's estranged wife questions whether the grave-like hole in the East Granby woods was meant for her and not Jennifer Dulos.

Pattis Seeks To Dismiss All Charges

Norm Pattis, Fotis Dulos' criminal attorney, has filed a motion Friday seeking to have the charges against his client dismissed, in part because the murder, felony murder and kidnapping violations were not levied through a grand jury indictment, writes the Stamford Advocate.

The three suspects are scheduled to appear back in Stamford Superior Court next month, Troconis on Feb. 20; Mawhinney also on Feb. 20; and Fotis Dulos on Feb. 28.