HARTFORD, Conn. _ Police who searched the Farmington home of Fotis Dulos found a note proclaiming his innocence but did not find other evidence that would lead them closer to finding the body of his estranged wife, Jennifer Farber Dulos, according to law enforcement sources.
Detectives from the State Police Western District Crime Squad completed their search of Dulos' home late Wednesday night, hours after obtaining a search warrant to enter the home to look for any notes or documents related to the disappearance of his estranged wife, who has been missing since May 24. Sources say the note police found claims innocence and makes references to Dulos' attorneys having information that proves Dulos did not commit the murder.
Meanwhile, members of Dulos' family are expected to visit him at a New York hospital Thursday, where Dulos has been in critical condition and on life support following a suicide attempt earlier this week.
All was quiet outside the visitor information desk at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx around 8:30 a.m. Thursday when Dulos' attorneys, Norm Pattis and Kevin Smith, entered the hospital.
While Pattis described Dulos' condition as "dire" Wednesday afternoon, he had no comment to give on Dulos' condition Thursday morning as he entered the hospital. Pattis did say there might be a public statement later in the day.
Dulos, 52, is being guarded by New York police but will remain subject to the jurisdiction of Connecticut authorities while hospitalized in New York.
A Connecticut judge ordered Dulos' re-arrest Wednesday for failing to appear in court and increased his bond by half a million dollars to $6,500,000. The re-arrest was a legal technicality for his failure to appear at successive hearings on the amount of his bond _ on Tuesday, when he tried to take his life, and Wednesday, when he remained hospitalized and incapacitated. Criminal defendants who miss court appearances are routinely charged. When, or if Dulos recovers sufficiently to participate in a rescheduled hearing, State's Attorney Richard Colangelo said in court he would agree to vacate the charge.
It took nearly two days for state police to get a search warrant to enter Dulos' home because there was no crime committed by his suicide attempt. The search also was hindered by the fact police needed to have a second set of detectives known as a "taint team" review any documents recovered in the home to ensure Dulos' attorney/client privilege rights were protected.
Dulos, accused of killing Farber Dulos, attempted suicide at his home in Farmington shortly before noon Tuesday. He had learned earlier in the morning that his $6 million bond was to be the subject of an emergency court hearing. Among other things, questions had arisen about whether real estate he posted as collateral had been overvalued. Had the bond been revoked, Dulos could have been jailed while awaiting trial.
Farmington police found Dulos in medical distress inside his Chevrolet Suburban when they were summoned to his home by a caller who the police said was worried about his welfare.
The police found Dulos in his garage, in the front seat of the Suburban. The garage doors had been closed and a vacuum cleaner hose had been clamped onto the tail pipe and run into the interior of the vehicle. Dulos was unconscious and later would be diagnosed as suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Jennifer Farber Dulos, 51, has not been seen since May 24 when she dropped her children off at school in New Canaan. Dulos, a luxury home builder, and Farber Dulos had been in the middle of a contentious two-year divorce at the time of her disappearance. A probate judge last year granted custody of their five children to their maternal grandmother, Gloria Farber.
In a 35-page arrest warrant affidavit supporting Dulos' murder charge, state police detectives said they found Dulos' DNA on an inside doorknob to the mudroom of Farber Dulos' New Canaan home, along with his DNA and her blood mixed on a faucet in the home.
After tracking Dulos' phone to the North End of Hartford on the day Farber Dulos went missing, investigators said they found surveillance video showing a man they say is Dulos throwing out garbage bags in the area of Albany Avenue, the affidavit said.
In the trash, investigators reported finding a number of items, including zip ties, a bloodstained poncho, a sponge and a bloodstained paper towel with Farber Dulos' DNA on it, the affidavit said.
