Judge: No Contact Between Suspects In Missing New Canaan Mom Case

STAMFORD, CT — The two suspects in the disappearance of New Canaan mother-of-five Jennifer Farber Dulos are not to have any contact in the case, following a judge's ruling on Friday.

Stamford Superior Court Judge Gary White also granted 44-year-old Michelle Troconis' request to be able to leave the state between June 30 and July 17 "to stay with a responsible party completely unconnected with this case who has known the defendant since she was 15 years of age when the defendant lived with her family for one year."

Where Troconis will be going was not disclosed, but a bail commissioner indicated in court that it would be somewhere in New York.

Troconis and ex-boyfriend Fotis Dulos, the estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos, both have been charged with evidence tampering and hindering a prosecution in connection with Jennifer Dulos' disappearance.

Jennifer Dulos has been missing since May 24, and Troconis and Fotis Dulos are accused of discarding clothing and other items stained with Jennifer Dulos' blood. Additionally, Fotis Dulos' DNA was found mixed with Jennifer Dulos' blood found inside her home following the disappearance, according to State's Attorney Richard Colangelo.

In court Friday, Colangelo wanted to ensure that Troconis understood the gravity of the request to travel out of state.

"If we are going to allow this, there should be a very short leash. That this should be something like house arrest," Colangelo said.

Judge White ordered that GPS monitoring continue to be in effect, and Troconis also cannot leave the property during the more than two-week period. The judge also said that Troconis and her attorney, Andrew Bowman, must provide the court with the exact location and information on the party she will be staying with.

As for the no-contact ruling, White also extended that to include no contact between Troconis and any of Jennifer Dulos and Fotis Dulos' family, friends and children.

Both before and after the hearing, Bowman and Troconis declined to comment.

On Thursday, Fotis Dulos' attorney, Norm Pattis, called on the state to drop the charges against Troconis, who he said can provide an alibi for his client for the morning of May 24 when Jennifer Dulos is believed to have disappeared.

And on Friday, Pattis filed a motion to temporarily halt the divorce proceedings because Jennifer Dulos remains missing.

"Obviously, Fotis wants to see his children. We will address that in due course. In the meantime, we do not see how the divorce action can fairly and equitably proceed in her absence," Pattis said in a statement to Patch and other news outlets. "Her counsel continues to chest thump in the apparent absence of a client. We are asking the court to stop the wasteful charade."

Colangelo made no indication that Pattis' request for Troconis' charges to be dropped would be granted, and Troconis is next scheduled to appear in court on July 18. Fotis Dulos' next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 2.

In the meantime, the New Canaan police investigation into the disappearance continues, though where detectives are concentrating efforts was not immediately known.

New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski said on Thursday that a report that there was police activity in the case on Welles Lane, the road where Jennifer Dulos lives, was not true.

"Within the last thirty minutes, we were contacted by multiple media outlets regarding police activity in the area of Welles Lane. These are false reports," New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski stated to Patch and other media outlets on Thursday afternoon.

"These false reports happen on occasion; however, to date, we have received over 1,000 tips, so we urge everyone with information to call the tip line, 203-594-3544, or e-mail tips and information to FindJenniferDulos@newcanaanct.gov or anonymously submit information at www.FindJenniferDulos.com."