Estranged husband of missing mom Jennifer Dulos in legal battle with in-laws

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Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Estranged husband of missing mom Jennifer Dulos in legal battle with in-laws
More on missing mother, Jennifer Dulos.

NEW CANAAN, Connecticut -- There are new developments in the case of a missing mother from Connecticut.

Fotis Dulos, the estranged husband of mother of five Jennifer Dulos, testified again Wednesday, caught in a bitter legal battle with his in-laws.

He took questions from a lawyer representing his missing wife's mother in a separate civil lawsuit, with Gloria Farber alleging he owes her nearly $3 million in unpaid loans.

She says her family lent him the money for his business, but he says it was a gift.

"Mr. Farber was like a second father to me," he testified Tuesday. "It was not a loan."

The family's lawyer got his chance to grill Fotis Dulos under oath on Wednesday.

Dulos said he owes his mother-in-law nothing, and they had an agreement in which his in-laws would continue to gift him tens of thousands each year.

Attorney Richard Weinstein, representing Gloria Farber and the estate, ridiculed that assertion.

"You expect Gloria, the mother of Jennifer, to give you gifts of $14,000 a year even after Jennifer is missing and you've been accused of criminal conduct in connection with her missing?", he said.

"I don't expect anything. I know what the agreement was," said Dulos.

Weinstein came out swinging against Fotis Dulos during a contentious day of cross-examination as Dulos and his mother-in-law battle it out over the money she says he owes her late husband's estate.

Weinstein wasted no time attempting to paint Dulos as a liar, bringing up testimony from his and Jennifer's divorce proceeding.

The lawyer also pounded away at the picture of the rosy relationship Dulos said he had with his now deceased father-in-law Hilliard Farber, a relationship so close he testified that Hilliard forgave any and all debts.

But Weinstein pointed out that family ties were fraught, asking, "Did you have a disagreement in which you threatened to remove the grandchildren and take them to Greece?".

"Yes", said Dulos..

Anything Dulos says on the stand can be used in any potential future criminal proceedings.

He was not asked questions about his wife's disappearance on Tuesday.

"Over the time, as Mr. Farber gained more confidence in me...the relationship changed," he testified. "By 2010, the relationship did not have any promissory notes. There was no obligation to pay any of the funds that was advanced."

Jennifer Dulos was last seen driving a 2017 black Chevrolet Suburban shortly after dropping her kids off at school in New Canaan on May 24.

Her children no longer live in that house and have been living with Farber, who is seeking custody.

"I love my children and I miss them," Fotis Dulos said.

He and girlfriend Michelle Troconis are facing charges for evidence tampering and hindering prosecution in connection to her disappearance. Both have pleaded not guilty.

"There's not much here that we haven't heard before, and I question the wisdom of these charges at this late date," Fotis Dulos' attorney Norm Pattis said.

According to court documents, police say a string of time stamped surveillance images link Fotis to Jennifer the day she disappeared.

At 10:25 a.m. on the morning of May 24, a security camera shows Jennifer's Chevy suburban leaving her house. Detectives allege Fotis Dulos was behind the wheel of the vehicle, possibly carrying her body.

Surveillance video from the night Jennifer went missing captured two people police suspect to be Fotis and Troconis allegedly getting rid of evidence. They allege they were tossing bags, including a blood stained sponge, into trash cans across the city of Hartford.

Fotis Dulos has consistently maintained his innocence. The couple had been embroiled in a contentious divorce battle.