A Bloomfield attorney is facing murder-related charges in connection with Jennifer Dulos’ disappearance.
Up until his arrest Tuesday, few knew about the alleged involvement of Kent Mawhinney in the Dulos investigation. His arrest warrant identifies him as a friend and attorney to Fotis Dulos.
The warrant says there is evidence that Mawhinney may have spoken via phone with Dulos on the day Jennifer Dulos went missing. Also in that warrant, there is mention of what appeared to be a shallow grave on the property of a hunting club he founded more than a decade ago - the Windsor Rod and Gun Club in East Granby.
The warrant details that:
- "Mawhinney had reached out to another club member in March/April 2019."
- "He had said he wanted to get back into the club and had inquired how to get back onto the property.”
According to neighbors, the gun club is quiet during the week.
“Usually on Saturdays we’ll wake up to hear hunters in the field over there. There’s usually just some guns going off and every once and a while you’ll see some game,” neighbor Nikola Dokmanovic said.
According to the warrant,
- "On 5/18/19 [Two members] went hunting on [the] Windsor Rod & Gun Club..."
- "they uncovered two barbeque grill grates which had been placed over a hole dug into the ground. Small branches and leaves had been placed on the grill grates to hide the pit beneath."
- "...described the hole as, 'One hundred percent a human grave.' Inside the hole, [he] found a blue tarp and two unopened bags of Lime."
Lime, according to the arrest warrant affidavit, could be used to dispose of remains. No trace of any human remains was ever found on the property after State Police were contacted to investigate.
Dokmanovic said he never noticed any major police activity at the club.
“I mean as far as police presence all I’ve ever seen was just a couple of, road pickups if you will,” he said.
He added that his mother told him there was a great deal of activity on the property recently, including several pickup trucks at night, though the family is unclear if that was police activity.
Mawhinney appeared in court on Wednesday.
“Look at the warrant. I struggle to find the case the state will eventually prove here, to show an agreement, to show a conspiracy, and I don’t think it’s a strong case against Mr. Mawhinney,” the attorney who was in court for the hearing on the bond Wednesday said.
