Jennifer Dulos, a Connecticut woman who went missing in May 2019, has been declared legally dead in the eyes of a court, almost five years after her disappearance.
NBC Connecticut reported that a Connecticut judge recently granted a request filed by Jennifer's mother, the guardian of her five children, to have the 50-year-old declared legally dead to protect the family's assets. A declaration signed by Judge William P. Osterndorf and obtained by the outlet said that "overwhelming evidence submitted to the Court supports the claim that Jennifer sustained non-survivable injuries."
"Extensive efforts have been made by local and State Police authorities to locate her body," the document read. "To date, more than four years have passed and the body of Jennifer has not been located. Neither Jennifer's mother, children or other family members and friends have been contacted by Jennifer since May 24, 2019. The inescapable conclusion is Jennifer is dead."
The legal ruling came ahead of the trial against Michelle Troconis, who has been accused as an accomplice in the case assisting Jennifer's late estranged husband Fotis Dulos, to cover up her presumed murder.
Jennifer Dulos was involved in a high-profile and widely publicised case that gained national attention.
Hollywood Turns True Crime Tale into TV Movie - Gone Mom: The Disappearance of Jennifer Dulos
Gone Mom: The Disappearance of Jennifer Dulos is a Lifetime TV movie based on the real life story of Jennifer Dulos, the wealthy mother-of-five from Connecticut, who mysteriously vanished.
Rich-born Jennifer Dulos left her life as a struggling writer behind when she married Fotis Dulos, a Greek expat she knew when they were both at Brown University. Then one day, Jennifer vanishes.
On May 24 2019, 50-year-old Jennifer Dulos went missing after dropping her children off at school. Suspicions quickly directed towards her charming, yet temperamental Greek-American husband, real estate developer Fotis Dulos, with whom she was in the midst of a nasty contentious divorce and custody battle.
Authorities suspected Jennifer Dulos was killed in a violent attack at her home in New Canaan, Connecticut. Her husband Fotis Dulos and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, were arrested on charges tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution in connection with Jennifer’s disappearance. Later, the two along with Fotis’ attorney Kent Mawhinney, faced additional charges related to Jennifer’s murder. Fotis died by suicide in January 2020.
Lifetime TV aired its own take on the true-crime story called, Gone Mom: The Disappearance of Jennifer Dulos, starring Annabeth Gish (Sons of Anarchy, The West Wing) in the lead role. The TV movie with an all-woman team behind Gone Mom, carefully steered the approach to honour Jennifer in a dramatised take rather than sensationalised.
Gish in the title role had said “We wanted this to be through a female lens with that sensitivity and to not make it exploitative. My intention throughout has been to honour Jennifer. It's delicate."
The actress recounted reading the script as a 'chilling moment’, being the same age as Jennifer and also having children, that it was a resonant topic and a compelling example of life not being as it seems when the curtain is pulled back.
The disappearance of Jennifer Dulos timeline:
- Jennifer filed for divorce in 2017 and bitter custody ensued.
- Jennifer was last seen on May 24, 2019.
- Dulos and Troconis were captured on cameras that same night disposing of garbage bags.
- Dulos was charged with murder in January 2020.
- Dulos committed suicide later that month.
- Troconis was charged with Conspiracy to Commit Murder, she pled not guilty. Out on bond, still awaiting trial and has been wearing a GPS monitoring device on her ankle since June 2019. March 2022 she lost a legal ruling when a judge denied her request to have some charges dropped in the Jennifer Dulos disappearance case.
- Jennifer's and Fotis' five children remain in the custody of their grandmother.
- January 2024 Jennifer Dulos has legally been declared dead after missing for close to 5 years.
- Michelle Troconis's trial is expected to start later this week (January 2024).
Jennifer's tragedy inspired "Jennifer's Law", proposed legislation in Connecticut broadening the definition of domestic violence abuse to further protect potential victims.
The doco-movie Gone Mom: The Disappearance of Jennifer Dulos, is available to watch on Australia's Foxtel cable network via the Lifetime channel and in America on Lifetime TV, both are cable-pay-subscription networks.
Fotis Dulos, charged with murdering his wife, dies after suicide attempt
