The attorney for Connecticut man Fotis Dulos argued with the judge Thursday during the arraignment for another tampering with evidence charge in the disappearance of the defendant’s estranged wife Jennifer Farber Dulos. Attorney Norm Pattis started attacking the state’s case, but the judge cut him off.
“This business of seriatum arrests–” Pattis said.
“Counsel, this is not the time for the closing arguments,” said the judge.
“Oh, it is a time for it, judge,” said Pattis.
The judge told him he could wait for trial, if there is one.
“If the state waited before publishing its warrants and having the deputy commissioner Department of Public Safety talk about the tests that were out there, we would wait,” said Pattis. “But since the state can’t, we won’t. We’re eager for this fight, and when the state’s ready: Bring it.”
“Well, this is neither the highlight for ESPN,” said the judge.
“No, it’s a court of law, and we have to sit silently while we read these allegations, and warrants,” said Pattis.
The judge cut him off one more time by setting the next hearing for October 4.
Fotis Dulos pleaded not guilty on Thursday to another tampering with evidence charge in the disappearance of his estranged wife Jennifer Farber Dulos, who was declared missing May 24.
“We’ll have plenty to say about the evidence that the state has claims to have amassed when and if we get a chance fully to review it,” defense lawyer Norm Pattis told reporters outside court after the hearing. “We did object in open court today about the seriatum nature of these proceedings, and here is our message to the state of Connecticut. Mr. Dulos is not guilty. When you’re ready to try a case by appropriate evidentiary standards in a court of law, you’ll know where to find him. We’ve got three words for the state: Bring it on.”
Jennifer Dulos and his girlfriend Michelle Troconis are charged with covering up that Jennifer Dulos was the victim of a violent crime. They were initially charged with tampering with evidence, and hindering prosecution. They were both arrested for another count of tampering last week.
The Duloses, parents of five children, were in the middle of an ugly divorce, with Jennifer Dulos claiming her husband harbored sick revenge fantasies against people who wronged him.
Fotis Dulos, a Farmington resident, allegedly hid out at the victim’s New Canaan home the morning of May 24. Police say the crime and clean up happened between 8:05 a.m. and 10:25 a.m. Michelle Troconis admitted that she and her boyfriend made up alibis for the 24th and 25th, investigators said. She reportedly admitted that she was with Dulos in video the night of 24th, in which a man is seen discarding trash in Hartford.
Jennifer Dulos is still considered missing. No murder, assault, or similar charges have been filed in the case.