Missing Mom Murder | The Conspiracy Murder Of Jennifer Dulos | True Crime Documentary

so I was in one of the kids' rooms and we were just doing a puzzle together where all of a sudden like we started to hear screaming and Jennifer ran through the bedroom door botus was yelling I'm not sure what he was yelling you see fotus dulos putting black garbage bags that's a uh a long sleeve striped shirt uh with blood like substance on it that was seized from within that bag did Jennifer show up at your apartment that day no do you know where Jennifer is is there anything you would like to say to your children photo dulos needed help to commit that murder where is she where is she fotus duus was declared dead tonight at 5:32 on May 24th 2019 Jennifer doulos vanished from her home in new Kanan Connecticut sparking a large scale investigation Jennifer a mother of five was in the midst of a contentious divorce with photus dulos who quickly became the prime suspect the case took a dark turn when evidence suggested Jennifer had been horrifically attacked in her garage with blood spatter and other signs pointing to a struggle The Disappearance of Jennifer doulos has been a convoluted case that has garnered significant media attention for nearly 5 years the case has deeply troubled the family and friends of Jennifer doulos with Michelle tronus and fotus doulos at the center of the controversy on the fateful day of May 24th Jennifer was scheduled for a dentist appointment she was scheduled for a dentist appointment uh later that morning in uh New York City she never made it to her dentist appointment she was supposed to take her children from The Nanny Lauren almea to their grandmother's house did you Jennifer meet you at the orthodontist no she didn't how were you feeling at this time um really bad my the second I called Jennifer it's like my stomach just sank cuz she never not answered her phone so I was really hopeful that she just got caught up with meetings and she was going to be there and so when she didn't she wasn't there I just came in I was shocked but also like okay I have the four kids in front of me I don't know what to do so I just put them in to their appointments did Jennifer show up at your apartment that day no have you seen your daughter Jennifer since she failed to meet you at your apartment in New York City on May 24th 2019 no after a few moments everyone became concerned I left not left I just walked outside and I started to call people that could have heard from Jennifer consequently Lauren informed the law enforcement they started their search and found Jennifer's abandoned Suburban SUV in a nearby park however Jennifer was nowhere to be found so the search expanded massively in the days following Jennifer's disappearance fotus his behavior raised suspicions he was uncooperative with the search efforts and seemed unconcerned about his wife's well-being but fotus was not like this before he was described as Charming and athletic he was known for his competitive Spirit especially in water skiing he and Jennifer met in college but reconnected years later leading to their marriage in 2004 well you know he was a really Charming person he was very handsome he was smart and funny however their relationship began to deteriorate so I was in one of the kids' rooms and we were just doing a puzzle together where all of a sudden like we started to hear screaming and Jennifer ran through the bedroom door I don't believe that she knew that we were in there but she ran through the door votus was yelling I'm not sure what he was yelling and she closed the door behind her and pushed her body up against the door and he was trying to get in and I mean her face was just she was terrified and she saw that myself and her daughter were there and to be honest I kind of froze cuz I didn't know what to do and then when he pushed the door more he saw that his daughter and myself were in there and his demeanor totally changed he went from yelling to like Jennifer I just want to talk like very softspoken it was so weird and So eventually he walked away cuz myself and her daughter were there she told me she needed to get out of the house and so she left me with the kids and she just got in the car and think she just went down the street to really just like kind of catch her breath soon afterward the marriage also began to deteriorate especially after fotus began an affair with Michelle tronus Michelle was a fellow Sports Enthusiast who had shared a lot of things in common uh yeah so fotus introduced her as a friend and she was nice um she was with fotus a lot like they'd go on the boat to ski but there was one time I had a conversation with her when we were underneath the little tent where you can kind of just hang out um I remember the conversation she was telling me she just got back from Colorado uh she was looking at schools to go for her daughter to go to cuz her daughter was a um very good snow skier so she wanted her to I think get better or more opportunities there I guess um but she was friendly when you interacted with the defendant what language did you speak to her in English did she have any trouble communicating with you in English when you spoke with her no when Jennifer knew about the affair she feared for her safety and that of her children so she moved out and filed for divorce yeah over the next few weeks um things were changing and so her plan changed and she asked me um to go with her when she was planning to move and I agreed why did you decide to go with her um because she was my friend and I trusted her um and I wanted to help her meanwhile Michelle and her children moved into fotus house a decision she now deeply regrets surveillance footage and cell phone records placed photus in suspicious locations on the day Jennifer vanished you see photus dulos putting black garbage bags notably fotus was seen disposing of black garbage bags in various dumpsters which were later found to contain items stained with Jennifer's blood Michelle tronus fotus girlfriend was also implicated her involvement included providing a potential Alibi for fotus and participating in activities that suggested she was helping to cover up the crime consequently both of them were arrested for burglary do you know where Jennifer is is there anything you would like to say to your children where is she where is she investigators found inconsistencies in her statements and actions such as manipulating fotus phone to create an impression that he was at home and and accompanying him while he disposed of evidence during the investigation fotus did not give any interviews to the authorities but Michelle did cooperate with them well so I wake up I take showers I put my usually my we clothes I teal to school on the way we sto in Starbucks however she changed this narrative over time in the next interrogation i s with her her alarming my are set up I think hers is at 6:35 mine for sure 6:40 I we woke up she take showers I go to my room I also do the same thing he was there and we woke up he was there at the house he was in the house okay so what if I were to tell you that I have evidence that he was not at the house at the time okay you see what I'm saying and he did that and we're looking to f her for her family's sake kill the mother of hisat children and we want from you we think you have information the I can take you like M I can walk I can spend M with you I do whatever you want but I didn't do you now St talking me just Tak some deep breaths uh we categorically deny that Mr dlos had any involvement in The Disappearance of his wife Jennifer and we defy the state to prove that she is in fact dead fotus lawyer presented a very strange Theory according to him Jennifer wrote an unpublished novel that shared similarities with Jillian Flynn's 2012 Thriller Gone Girl in Flynn's novel a woman St es her own disappearance to incriminate her husband the defense attorney controversially suggested that Jennifer might have orchestrated a similar scenario casting doubt on the charges against fotus for her murder this literary twist added Intrigue to the legal proceedings sparking debate over the novel's influence on real life events and courtroom strategies I want to say is that I wish uh Jennifer and her family a happy holidays and uh I just pray that they give my kids uh my love and my my best wishes it's an exhausting fight I love my children that's about it where's your wife where's Jennifer we wish we knew and we we we it was very I don't know if you got a chance to see us talking to the state police I have a very friendly relationship with them I wish them well and I wish you'd ask yourself why you have the nerve and the audacity to ask them that question because if you know something the police don't know you should go tell them we don't know interested in him what police seem very interested they do but where's the murder charge and where's your objectivity shame on you despite the mounting evidence the case faced significant hurdles particularly because Jennifer's Body was never found fotus doulos was charged with Jennifer's murder Michelle tronus was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and other related offenses fotus his friend and former attorney Kent Douglas mwin was also arrested that day and charged with conspiracy to commit murder on January 7th 2020 Western District in conjunction with Central District major crime detectives were able to get enough evidence to affect the arrests of three following individuals the defense attorney was disappointed by the arrest very little was disclosed today that is new um and what was exposed was a shocking lack of confidence by the state in its case uh charging both murder and felony murder sounding in kidnapping suggests that the theory the state's not sure what theory it's pursuing additionally early in the case much was made in the warrants of difficulties Mr doulos was having concluding the divorce with his ex-wife that is surprisingly absent from the most recent warrant instead the motive seems to be changed now to that of a financial crime with the theory that Mr Duos might potentially be in a position to serve as executive or Trustee of a of a fund maintained for the benefit of his children but tragically fotus died by taking his own life in January 2020 which complicated the legal proceedings fotus duus was declared dead tonight at 5:32 the family is adamant that his name be cleared as we are speaking we have filed an unusual Motion in the Connecticut courts asking to substitute an estate for fotus doos for him as a defendant to force the state to show its hand in a trial filled with evidence we think that amounts to no more than innuendo and unsupported suspicion prend that Mr dulos's death reflects a consciousness of guilt we say no we say it was more a conscious a conscience overborne with the weight of a world that was too busy to listen and that wanted a story more than it wanted the truth the trial was emotionally charged with Jennifer's family and friends present to seek justice has substantial ties to the state and then we add the fact of his law practice he's a sole practitioner he's been doing immigration law for the past 20 years throughout the trial Kent maany was the only one who was released on bond however he was present at Michelle's trial to testify against her throughout the trial prosecutors presented a compelling case they presented every free piece of evidence we want to try to include or exclude a possible uh person as being a contributor to that evidentiary profile is at least 100 billion times more likely to occur if it originated from the source of the DNA profile from a swabbing of the electric toothbrush than if it originated from an unknown individual 100 billion times more likely to occur if it originated from fotus dulos and the source of the DNA profile from the swabbing of the electric toothbrush however the defense attorney contested that claim there is no place in New Canan or in that Suburban that has Michelle tris's DNA the forensic experts presented Jennifer's belongings which they collected from the trash cans that's a a long sleeve striped shirt uh with blood likee substance on it that was seized from within that bag physical evidence surveillance footage and testimonies painted a picture of premeditated murder and a subsequent coverup photo dulos needed help to commit that murder he needed an alibi he needed the defendant the only person who could have reasonably manipulated photos's phone that morning is Michelle tronus there is some evidence of K mnni he came to the office at 721 and 8:41 but the phone was manipulated before 721 before he arrives and it was manipulated after he leaves the defendant is the only person who could have reasonably manipulated that phone and the only person who had reason Michelle's defense argued that she was unaware of fotus his plans and was another victim of his manipulations they highlighted her cooperation with the police and her lack of a violent history a shell simply did not know here's the state's attorney the chief law enforcement officer for this Judicial District saying she doesn't know maybe she doesn't know and you've got the three detectives telling him something that's false to get him to come off the notion that she doesn't go and I submit to you ladies and gentlemen if he thought she didn't know then that's reasonable doubt right there the trial underscored the complexities of the case with arguments hinging on Michelle's knowledge and involvement is it just a coincidence that the defendant filed photus go to the car wash and then tried to lie about it is it just a coincidence that the defendant's phone number and not dulos's number was used at the car wash is it just a coincidence that the defendant lied and said she shower with Doos when he was actually on route to murder his wife the defense even presented evidence from fotus employees truck to support their case despite all these red flags doing all these things after fotus told him he wants him to do this because there may be some of DNA of of Jennifer in his vehicle he does it anyway even with full immunity from prosecution which the judge will talk to you about he still insisted to you in questioning that he did not believe that fotus would harm Jennifer Pavel said nope never heard that but that would have been the time ah but I remember Michelle traon is saying something like that he didn't that didn't even jog his memory about that so I suggest to you that that part the part about that he referred to in derogatory ter terms was made up after he got a signed immunity agreement to sort of ingratiate himself because remember it's not just that he's been given immunity for his testimony he's been given a get out of jail pass for anything that he may have done in connection with hiding evidence and he knew why why he was taking the seats out of his car at dulos's request however the prosecution turned this Theory against him if you're going to have the tarity and closing argument to accuse someone of being involved in a murder at least have the brass to ask them when they're here on cross- examination objection well at this point the court can appreciate fell argument but at h attacks should not be considered by the jury neither should they continue the jury was tasked with deciphering whether Michelle was an accomplice or a misled partner in fotus schemes the outcome hinged on the interpretation of circumstantial evidence and The credibility of Michelle's defense the jury deliberated for several weeks before reaching their verdict in March 2024 what say you Mr forers is she guilty are not guilty on the third count of the information to the charge of tampering with physical evidence in violation of Connecticut General statute section 53a -8 subsection 8 guilty guilty guilty Michelle tronus was found guilty on all six counts related to The Disappearance of Jennifer doulos following the guilty verdict Michelle was taken into custody and her bond was increased significantly from 2.1 $1 million to $6 million despite the conviction tron's family maintains her innocence and plans to appeal the decision and we continue standing here because we too care to know the truth of what happened to Jennifer but we don't know what happened to Jennifer and choosing and putting my sister as the guilty person is not the right thing to do because she's innocent I am deeply sned by this tra tragedy that has affected so many lives on May 31st 2024 Michelle tronus was sentenced the charges here are conspiracy to commit murder which is a class B felony the legislature has set the sentencing range not less than one year nor more than 20 years which means the legislature contemplated in some instances sentences of no more than a year and in the same instance sentences of 20 years the legislature has given the Judiciary arrange conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence is a Class D Felony maximum 5 years she was sentenced to 142 years in prison son