STAMFORD, Conn. _ A Superior Court judge Friday warned Fotis Dulos not to violate a gag order he imposed barring parties from talking publicly about the case stemming from Dulos' arrest in connection with the disappearance of his estranged wife, Jennifer Farber Dulos.
Prosecutor Richard Colangelo raised the issue of whether Dulos, 52, of Farmington, violated the order when he gave an interview to the Proto Thema, a Greek publication, on Sept. 27. Dulos talked about the time he spent in lockup and his marriage, saying Farber Dulos became distant after 2010 and "was suffering from serious psychological problems that I didn't immediately understand."
Dulos' lawyers and news organizations are fighting the gag order at the state Supreme Court. Arguments on the appeal there are scheduled for December.
Judge John F. Blawie told Dulos his "statements are clearly not an exception to the order," and warned him to "conform to the gag order" until the higher court makes a ruling. The order prohibits Dulos, lawyers and witnesses in the case and law enforcement officials from discussing a potential guilty plea or commenting on "the character, credibility, reputation or criminal record of a party, victim or witness."
Blawie said extrajudicial comments by the parties carries a "substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing a fair trial in this case," according to the order, imposed last month. Dulos' lawyers said the gag order prejudices his client's right to a fair trial.
Blawie also heard arguments Friday on a defense motion to dismiss the charges against Dulos but did not make a ruling.
Colangelo told Blawie the motion was an attempt to "try and have you dismiss the charges for no reason."
Attorney Kevin Smith, representing Dulos, argued that for the hindering prosecution charge, the state needed a predicate felony charge that he said is not present in the current case. Smith said though the state has implied Dulos murdered his wife, Dulos has not been charged with that crime.
Blawie set Dulos' next court date for Nov. 6.
In charging Dulos, state police investigators said Farber Dulos disappeared May 24 following a violent altercation in her New Canaan home and that Dulos threw away items with her blood on it in trash cans along Albany Avenue in Hartford the night she went missing, records show.
In a 43-page arrest warrant affidavit, investigators wrote that they believe that Dulos was "lying in wait" for Farber Dulos the morning of May 24. They provided surveillance footage of Farber Dulos' SUV leaving her home, saying they also believed that Dulos was driving off with her body in the vehicle.
Court records say surveillance videos show Dulos disposed of at least two garbage bags in Hartford. Police recovered some of the items from the trash that included a Vineyard Vines shirt with blood on it that Farber Dulos was wearing that day. DNA testing showed that blood found on that shirt and other items belonged to Farber Dulos.
The videos, according to court records, also show Dulos dropping a FedEx package into a storm drain in front of his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis. Police retrieved the package that contained license plates to a car previously owned by Dulos that police said had been doctored, court records say.
Troconis, also charged with hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence in connection with Farber Dulos' disappearance, is expected to appear in Superior Court in Stamford Friday afternoon. Both are free after posting bail and are ordered to have no contact with each other.
