Monday marks exactly one month since Jennifer Dulos, a mother from New Canaan, disappeared and one month since police started an exhaustive search for answers.
Jennifer's husband, Fotis Dulos, and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, have both been charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution in connection with her disappearance.
Both Fotis and Troconis pleaded not guilty.
Fotis' lawyer, Norm Pattis, released a statement saying: “We have been provided a very dark 500-plus page novel Jennifer wrote. We are reviewing it now. We are also investigating new information regarding $14,000 worth of medical bills re tests just before she disappeared. We don’t know what had become of Jennifer but the “Gone Girl” hypothesis is very much on our mind.”
In response to that statement, a spokesperson for Jennifer's family, Carrie Luft, released their own written comments saying: "I read Jennifer’s novel in installments as she was completing the manuscript. She finished the draft around 2002. (This was before she was dating Fotis Dulos.) Her book has nothing to do with Gone Girl (published in 2012). Jennifer’s novel is not a mystery. It’s a character-driven story that follows a young woman through relationships and self-discovery over a period of years. Like all of Jennifer’s writing, it expresses a deep longing for human connection and the need to be accepted as one’s true self.
"Trying to tie Jennifer’s absence to a book she wrote more than 17 years ago makes no sense. Evidence shows that Jennifer was the victim of a violent attack in her New Canaan home. As of today, she has been missing for a month. This is not fiction or a movie. This is real life, as experienced every single day by Jennifer’s five young children, her family, and her friends. We are heartbroken. Jennifer is not here to protect her children, and these false and irresponsible allegations hurt the children now and into the future."
It's been more than a month since Jennifer was last seen and police are still referring to her case as a missing person's case. Police spent the better part of the last month searching for clues related to Jennifer's disappearance.
Local
State police provided us with video of them searching inside of the MIRA trash facility in Hartford.
In the video, you can see investigators combing through piles of garbage using rakes, shovels and other tools including heavy equipment.
They're searching for any evidence about Jennifer.
A source tells NBC Connecticut that troopers are specifically looking for evidence that might have been picked up by a garbage truck and shredded inside the facility days after Jennifer disappeared.
City surveillance cameras captured a man police said matched the appearance of Jennifer's estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, throwing away bags of garbage along Albany Avenue in Hartford the day Jennifer disappeared.
Pattis said Fotis Dulos is presumed innocent and should not be kept from those he loves, including the children and his girlfriend.
"We filed a motion this afternoon to clarify whether existing court orders permit him to have contact with Ms. Troconis, and I have filed my appearance in his family case where we will seek visitation with, and custody of, the children.
“We have learned that Ms. Troconis believes in his innocence, and loves him still. We see no reason why the two of them should not be free to live as they see fit."
Family spokesperson Carrie Luft told NBC Connecticut on Monday that she is "concerned about these continued attacks and the ludicrous theories Pattis is putting out there."
The family and friends of Jennifer released a new statement on Friday. It reads in part:
“Many people have asked for more details about Jennifer, as a person, a mom, a friend. Jennifer is brilliant and creative—she graduated with honors from Brown University and earned an MFA in writing from NYU. As a teen, she was a nationally ranked junior squash player,” Luft said.
“Much more important, Jennifer is a deeply genuine person, compassionate and trustworthy. She is also subtly hilarious. She loves silly movies as much as she loves great literature. An avid traveler, she delights in learning about other people and has imbued her five children with this love of discovery. She cares about her children more than anything in the world.”
She was reported missing later that night after she missed several appointments and her friends became concerned when they could not reach her.
As the search continues, police have dedicated a website, FindJenniferDulos.com, and an email address, FindJenniferDulos@newcanaanct.gov, to the investigation.
