The arrest warrant for murder charges against Fotis Dulos includes a list of evidence from police, but that list does not include the body of Jennifer Dulos.
Dr. Henry Lee is a renowned forensic scientist at the University of New Haven. He said in nearly 60 years of investigations, he's worked on a little more than 100 murder cases where there was no body.
“Most of the time eventually the body shows up. But still have a lot of cases the body even today, still don’t know,” said Lee.
Lee is not involved in the death investigation of Jennifer Dulos, or the upcoming murder trial of Fotis Dulos.
He said cases like this one are no different than others, and it’s up to the prosecution to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. There are three things he believes the prosecution must establish.
“First the person is missing, second the missing person is murdered, the third, the accused is somehow involved in such a murder,” said Lee.
Lee said one of those elements might be in place, according to the medical examiner’s statements included in the Dulos arrest warrant.
“She suffered one or multiple injuries and because of the amount of blood was found,” said Lee. “An individual cannot survive, that shows a murder taking place.”
But he reiterated that it’s up to the prosecution to convince a jury of the crime. It has happened in the past.
On Jan. 8, 1990, exactly 30 years ago, Richard Crafts was sentenced to 50 years in the murder of his wife. It’s known as the infamous “Wood Chipper” case in Newtown.
In June 2010, George Leniart was sentenced to life in prison in the 1996 death of April Pennington.
Both convictions were without a body. The Leniart conviction was overturned in 2016 by the state Appellate Court, which ordered a new trial.
Lee said investigators, attorneys and forensic scientists need to work together closely to build these cases.
“Just like writing a historical book to reconstruct the pieces together,” he said.
