In a motion filed late Thursday, attorneys for Fotis Dulos are seeking to preserve all evidence police gathered at their client’s Farmington home following his apparent suicide attempt this week.
Fotis Dulos, who died Thursday at a New York hospital, left a note stating he was not involved in the death and disappearance of his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos, according to the court document.
“He declared his innocence of the infamous and heinous crimes that the state has accused him of and claimed his lawyers have the evidence to prove it,” the motion reads.
According to the motion, the note is in the possession of either the Farmington or state police and the defense is seeking to preserve it and all other evidence investigators collected during the search on Wednesday.
In a statement released Thursday, state police cited the gag order in the case that prevented them from discussing the evidence collected at the Jefferson Crossing home. State police also said the search warrant was sealed.
Dulos, 52, was taken off life support and died at 5:32 p.m. Thursday at Jacobi Medical Center. He was flown there Tuesday afternoon after Farmington police found him unresponsive in his running SUV inside his garage.
Dulos was initially considered dead until a faint pulse was detected after about 30 minutes of CPR.
Defense attorney Norm Pattis said his team plans to proceed by making an unprecedented request of having Dulos’ estate be placed on trial for the murder.
Pattis admitted it would be a “difficult challenge,” but said his client’s family is “adamant that his name be cleared.”
Dulos was on house arrest after being released on $6 million bond on murder, felony murder and first-degree kidnapping charges in the death of his wife.
However, he could have at least temporarily been sent back to jail at an emergency bond hearing that was called on Tuesday. The South Carolina company that posted the bond was no longer willing to guarantee the funds due to the collateral Dulos put up from his struggling real estate development business, according to a motion filed this week to revoke his bond.
Farmington police conducted a welfare check when Dulos failed to show up for the hearing and found him passed out inside his garage.
Last week, a Stamford judge tightened the restrictions of Dulos’ house arrest by preventing him from leaving for work-related activities. Judge Gary White modified the conditions of his release after State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo said Dulos made an unauthorized stop and removed items from a memorial set up for his estranged wife near his home.
Fotis Dulos and his former girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, 45, were originally charged last year with two counts of tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution in the case.
On the same day Dulos was charged with murder, Troconis and his close friend and former attorney, Kent Mawhinney, 54, were each charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
Troconis is on house arrest after being released on $1.5 million bond, while Mahwinney remains jailed in lieu of $2 million bond.
For the first time since the investigation began more than eight months ago, 469 pages of search warrants in the case were recently unsealed.
The documents outline how police believe Fotis Dulos, Troconis and Mawhinney allegedly conspired to kill Jennifer Dulos and cover up the crime.
According to arrest warrants, Jennifer Dulos was last seen on a neighbor’s security camera at 8:05 a.m. May 24, returning to her New Canaan home after dropping off her children at a nearby school.
Police believe Fotis Dulos was “lying in wait” and attacked her in the garage, the warrants indicate.
Fotis Dulos and Troconis were caught on video that night in Hartford dumping bags that were later determined to contain Jennifer Dulos’ blood and clothing, according to arrest warrants.
Jennifer Dulos’ blood was also found on the seat of a pickup truck belonging to an employee of Fotis Dulos, according to arrest warrants. Police say Fotis Dulos used the truck on the day his wife was killed, arrest warrants said.