Connecticut police observe Jennifer Dulos' vehicle with possible blood splatter
New Canaan Police bodycam footage shows police observing Jennifer Dulos' vehicle in her garage with apparent blood splatter.
Connecticut police body camera footage from May 24, 2019, presented in court Thursday appears to show blood in Jennifer Dulos' New Canaan garage the day she disappeared.
The footage was played during the first day of suspect Michelle Troconis' trial. Troconis was dating Dulos' estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, at the time of Dulos' death and is charged with conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit evidence tampering, evidence tampering and hindering prosecution.
New Canaan Police Department Sgt. Aaron LaTourette was the first to testify Thursday and recounted seeing what appeared to be blood splatter in Dulos' garage and on her Range Rover while conducting a welfare check at her home around 7 p.m. May 24, 2019, after she did not show up for a doctor's appointment earlier that day.
"There was a red mark on the grill area of the vehicle," LaTourette testified Friday, adding that it drew his "attention because it didn't match the color of the grill or the vehicle."
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"There was a red mark on the grill area of the vehicle," LaTourette testified Thursday, adding that it drew his "attention because it didn't match the color of the grill or the vehicle." (New Canaan PD)
Police have previously said they suspect Fotis Dulos violently attacked Jennifer in the garage and then drove away with her body. Authorities gained entry to the house May 24, 2019, using a key code next to the garage door, which a babysitter shared with authorities.
"I thought it could possibly be a deer strike," LaTourette testified, noting, however, that there was no damage to the vehicle.
Michelle Troconis listens to arguments at the start of her trial Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in Stamford, Conn. (Richard Harbus/Dailly Mail via AP, Pool)
Body camera footage played in court shows officers photographing the Range Rover and pointing out possible blood splatter on and around the vehicle. One officer reports seeing "blood splatter on the lower portion of the car, and it looks like it's been buffed or scraped" in the video. They also found what looked like a bloody shoe print on the floor of the garage.
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Another officer can be heard saying, "Usually if you hit a deer with your car, you take it to the car wash. Especially if it's a Range Rover."
Two responding officers say the sight of apparent blood is "strange" in light of the missing persons case.
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The next witness to testify Thursday was New Canaan Police Sgt. Scott Romano, who responded to reports of an abandoned SUV that belonged to Dulos on Lapham Road near a park that same day. Officers could not start the vehicle because its battery had died, so they had it towed to the police department for processing, he said.
Michelle Troconis listens to arguments at the start of her trial Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in Stamford, Conn. (Richard Harbus/Dailly Mail via AP, Pool)
Jennifer Dulos was a 50-year-old mother of five when she disappeared. She had been married to Fotis Dulos 13 years.
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Fotis, Troconis and Fotis' civil lawyer, Kent Mawhinney, were each charged with conspiracy to commit murder, and all three suspects denied having any involvement in Dulos' death. Fotis was released on $6 million bond, and Troconis was released on $2 million bond.
Jennifer Farber Dulos disappeared May 24, 2019. (New Canaan Police Department)
Shortly after the charges were filed against him, Fotis died by suicide. He was hospitalized for days due to carbon monoxide poisoning before he was pronounced dead.
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"It has been more than four years and seven months since Jennifer Farber Dulos was murdered and disappeared," Jennifer's family said in a statement Wednesday, according to FOX 61. "We, her family and friends, have waited patiently, understanding that the justice process moves slowly and deliberatively [sic], especially given the disruption of a global pandemic.
Fotis Dulos died by suicide in 2019, shortly after he was charged with murdering his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos. (Kassi Jackson/Hartford Courant/TNS/Sipa USA)
"We remain deeply grateful to the state’s attorney’s office, the Connecticut State Police and the New Canaan Police for their tireless dedication to this case and the related, ongoing criminal investigation."
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Troconis, now 47, has pleaded not guilty and has insisted she did not know what was going on when Fotis disposed of various garbage bags from his truck while she sat in the passenger seat after Jennifer disappeared. She also claims she does not know anything about a written timeline of their activity that day that police obtained as evidence.
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