Police arrested Fotis Dulos at his Farmington home Wednesday afternoon in connection to the disappearance of his estranged wife Jennifer Dulos – a mother of five missing since May.
State police say he faces an additional charge of tampering with evidence. Fotis Dulos' attorney, Norm Pattis, says his client will plead not guilty. He was freed on $500,000 bond.
"It's an exhausting fight, I love my children, that's about it," Fotis Dulos says after being released.
According to the arrest warrants, Fotis Dulos was borrowing his former employee's Toyota Tacoma the morning of May 24, the day Jennifer Dulos went missing. Authorities believe the vehicle was being used to transfer Jennifer Dulos' body.
It also says Michelle Troconis, Fotis Dulos' girlfriend, admitted she previously lied to authorities and she was not with her boyfriend the morning of May 24. She says when she was him in the afternoon that day in Farmington, she saw Fotis Dulos cleaning what he described as spilled coffee out of his former employee's Toyota Tacoma. She also admitted it did not smell like coffee.
On May 29, five days after Jennifer Dulos went missing, surveillance video at Russell Speeders Car Wash allegedly shows Fotis Dulos inside paying for the detailing and cleaning of his former employee's vehicle.
Pattis questions the validity of the additional charge.
"There isn't much here that we haven't heard before and I question the wisdom of these charges," Pattis says. "The requirement to make another bond seems simply like a stunt on the state department trying to wear down our will to resist."
In a statement Pattis sent to News 12, he says, "It is difficult to see why the state waited for months to serve this warrant. It was unnecessary. Apparently, Michelle has changed her tune and a handyman is telling tales to deflect attention from himself. We wish the state police spent more time looking for Jennifer and less trying to build a case against Fotis. We will plead not guilty to these charges next week in Norwalk."
Fotis Dulos and Troconis, have been free on bail since their arrest in early June. They both have been charged in connection to the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos for hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence.
Police say security cameras appeared to capture them throwing out items in Hartford, some of which tested positive for Jennifer Dulos' blood. She has been missing since May 24.
Fotis Dulos has not been allowed to contact his five children or his girlfriend. He is expected to be back in court on Sept. 12.