Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
An attorney for Fotis Dulos—the estranged husband of missing Connecticut mother of five Jennifer Dulos who is charged with tampering with evidence in the case—has reportedly been accused of trying to “get rid of” his own wife with Dulos’ help in an ugly divorce case. Citing a complaint filed with police, the Hartford Courant reports that Dulos’ attorney, Kent D. Mawhinney, is accused of violating a protective order against him by his wife just a few days before Dulos’ wife went missing in late May. Dulos is said to have helped Mawhinney by contacting his wife and attempting to persuade her to meet with him to reconcile—even reportedly offering up his own home for the meeting, according to The Stamford Advocate.
Mawhinney’s wife reportedly told police she believed Dulos was working with her husband to help him “get rid of” her and said she “was in fear for her safety” after Dulos repeatedly contacted her to act as an intermediary, according to an arrest warrant cited by the Advocate. “She reported that she believed it was suspicious that Dulos had such a sudden vested interested in her relationship with Mawhinney,” the warrant reportedly reads. “She stated that she felt she was being ‘baited’ and was uncomfortable with the fact that Dulos kept inviting her back to his residence.” The Hartford Courant reports that Dulos’ defense team had planned to use Mawhinney as his alibi for his own wife’s disappearance on May 24, saying the two were together that morning.