Friday, 3 May 2024

Missing Connecticut mom of 5 may have disappeared in ‘Gone Girl’ scenario, husband claims

One month after her disappearance, the estranged husband of the missing Connecticut mother of five is claiming his wife might have staged her own disappearance, like in the book and film “Gone Girl.”

Jennifer Dulos, 50, was last seen in Connecticut on May 24. She had been in the midst of a contentious two-year divorce and custody battle when she went missing.

Her husband, Fotis Dulos, 51, and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, 44, were arrested in early June on charges of evidence tampering and hindering prosecution. Surveillance footage showed the pair discarding items that had his wife’s blood on them, and prosecutors said Fotis Dulos’s DNA was found in Jennifer’s home. Both Fotis and Troconis pleaded not guilty, and are out on bail.

The search for Jennifer has largely focused on the properties of her estranged husband, who was a real estate developer.

On Sunday, Norm Pattis, a lawyer for Fotis Dulos, claimed his office has found a mystery novel Jennifer wrote that reminds them of “Gone Girl,” a best-selling book later adapted into an Oscar-nominated film where a woman stages her own disappearance and frames her husband for her murder.

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“We have been provided a very dark 500-plus page novel Jennifer wrote,” the statement said. “We don’t know what had become of Jennifer but the “Gone Girl” hypothesis is very much on our mind.” Pattis didn’t say who provided this novel or when it was supposedly written.

The statement also says representatives for Fotis are investigating $14,000 worth of medical bills in Jennifer’s name recently discovered before her disappearance.

Family of Jennifer said in a statement on Friday that Jennifer earned an MFA in writing from NYU, and described her as a “brilliant and creative” person. They said “she cares about her children more than anything in the world,” and are asking anyone with tips to contact the police.

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