NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Fotis Dulos, the man accused of murdering his estranged wife Jennifer Dulos, has died, according to his attorney.
Dulos had been hospitalized since his apparent suicide attempt on Tuesday, when he was discovered suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.
“It's been a truly horrific day for the family,” said attorney Norm Pattis during a news conference announcing the death.
While the 52-year-old was pronounced dead at around 5 p.m. at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, Pattis says his death does not mean Dulos had a guilty conscious.
“To those who contend that Mr. Dulos' death reflects a consciousness of guilt, we say no,” Pattis said.
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Police originally found Dulos unresponsive at his Farmington home on Tuesday after he failed to show up for an emergency bon hearing in Stamford. When they found him in the garage, they said the engine was running and the air was thick with exhaust.
While still in the hospital, a judge then raised his bond to $6.5 million and order him to be rearrested should he have recovered.
Dulos insisted he had nothing to do with his estranged wife’s disappearance and earlier in the day, the Hartford Courant reported investigators had searched found a note in his home, in which he declared his innocence in her presumed death.
The paper reports police did not find any evidence that could lead them to the whereabouts of the 51-year-old mother of five, who has been missing since May 24.
Three weeks ago, police in Connecticut charged Dulos with murder in Jennifer's disappearance. Prosecutors say he and his former girlfriend, 44-year-old Michelle Troconis, were seen dumping garbage bags with several suspicious items, including duct tape, zip ties and a sponge with Jennifer’s DNA on it. Dulos’ former attorney was also accused of helping.
Suspicions grew when an Associated Press report claimed Dulos had a history of violence towards the mother of his five children and had once tried to run her over with his car outside her New Canaan home after she filed for divorce.
Police allege Dulos may have continued his aggression two years later. They believe he attacked her in her garage, where a large amount of her blood was found.
Pattis insists that was not the case. He added that Dulos’ family also believes he is innocent and his suicide attempt was reflective of his exhaustion from media attention.
“We say it was more a conscience over worn with the weight of the world that was too busy to listen and that wanted a story more than it wanted the truth,” he said.
The attorney said he does not blame anyone for Dulos’ death but, “We wonder why, in the court of public opinion, the presumption of innocence was so quickly satisfied.”
Pattis says he and they family will continue to defend Dulos in court against state prosecutors in the trial, which is expected to continue with Troconis and Dulos' former attorney, Kent Mawhinney.
They have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and are accused of helping Dulos cover up the presumed killing by creating bogus alibis, among other actions.
Police had suggested a possible financial motive, saying Dulos was $7 million in debt and would have had some access to the children's trust funds if Jennifer died. The truth of that remains unclear in the wake of Dulos' death.
Both Troconis and Mawhinney are out on $1.5 million bond.