Missing Mom Case: Fotis Dulos Denied Wife's Medical Records

NEW CANAAN, CT — Fotis Dulos, the estranged husband of missing New Canaan mom Jennifer Farber Dulos, will not be able to view his wife's medical records as part of his defense, following a decision Friday by Stamford Superior Court Judge John Blawie.

Norm Pattis, Fotis Dulos' attorney, sought the records because he believes there possibly could be information in them about Jennifer Dulos' state of mind in the months leading up to her disappearance on May 24. Fotis Dulos and his ex-girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, have been charged with evidence tampering and hindering a prosecution in connection with the disappearance. Troconis' next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 19.

Jennifer Dulos, Pattis claimed, had more than $14,000 worth of bills for tests and medical appointments paid by her insurer between February and April, and said she may have been despondent.

"We have questions about her stability," Pattis said, adding that in the contentious divorce proceedings between Jennifer and Fotis Dulos, she had vowed that he would never be allowed to have a relationship with their five children.

State's Attorney Richard Colangelo called the request for the records "a fishing expedition," which Blawie appeared to agree with, but the judge said Pattis could re-file his request at a later date.

In addition to the ruling on the medical records, Friday's hearing also featured an impassioned plea by Pattis for the judge not to issue a gag order on the parties involved in the case, as requested by Colangelo.

"Some of the statements made have been out of bounds," Colangelo said, referring to the litany of statements Pattis has made in the press about the case, including that Troconis passed a polygraph test ("it didn't happen," Colangelo said), and the floating of the "Gone Girl" theory.

Pattis vehemently denied his statements have been out of bounds, and stressed that he was only responding to "adverse media allegations and attention."

He added that law enforcement "sources" have been leaking information on a regular basis, which has been unfair to his client.

"Am I supposed to let that pass?" Pattis asked the judge, adding that he could also leak information, and claimed that Jennifer Dulos had taken "a lot of money" from Fotis Dulos' account before her disappearance. "We're not going to sit back and be crucified by the press."

Colangelo said that Pattis is attempting to prejudice a potential jury, and Blawie, while not entirely agreeing, seemed to lean toward granting the gag order when he said Federal Judge Amy Barrett Jackson recently ruled for a gag order in the Paul Manafort case.

Blawie said he needed more time to make a decision on the gag order and gave counsel a couple of weeks to draft further arguments about it.

In other motions, Blawie denied a request to move Fotis Dulos' GPS monitoring device from his ankle to his wrist, but granted a request to have two vehicles - a Chevrolet Suburban and a Jeep Cherokee, returned to him from authorities.

Other items confiscated by police in the investigation, including laptops, cell phones, a Ford Raptor pickup truck and personal papers, among others, will not be returned because Colangelo convinced the judge that authorities are still combing through those items for evidence.

Blawie also upheld an earlier motion that Fotis Dulos and Troconis continue not to have any contact with each other.

Fotis Dulos' next scheduled court appearance is Sept. 13.