Search warrants remain sealed in Jennifer Dulos case

New Canaan police ask motorists and pedestrians about Jennifer Dulos on May 31 — one week after she went missing. New Canaan police ask motorists and pedestrians about Jennifer Dulos on May 31 — one week after she went missing. Photo: Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 59 Caption Close Search warrants remain sealed in Jennifer Dulos case 1 / 59 Back to Gallery

STAMFORD — A Superior Court judge has sealed all search warrants executed during the expansive investigation into the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos for 90 days.

The New Canaan mother of five vanished after dropping off her children at school on May 24. She was reported missing by friends that evening, at about the same time her husband, Fotis Dulos, and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, were caught on video dropping garbage bags into bins along Albany Avenue in Hartford, arrest warrants said.

At least two of the bags contained items with Jennifer Dulos’ blood, police said. Fotis Dulos, 51, and Troconis, 44, are now free on bond after being charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution in connection with the missing persons case.

Jennifer and Fotis Dulos were involved in a contentious two-year divorce and custody battle at the time of her disappearance. Police also found Fotis Dulos’ DNA mixed with his wife’s blood on the faucet of her kitchen sink, according to State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo Jr., who is prosecuting the case.

Colangelo contended in a one-page motion filed June 18 that the release of the search warrants could jeopardize the investigation.

“There is information contained in the search warrant affidavits that is not known to the general public and any potential suspect(s), the disclosure of which would jeopardize the investigation and chances of successfully solving any crimes involved,” Colangelo wrote in the motion that was added to the case file on Monday.

Stamford Superior Court Judge John F. Blawie agreed on June 18 to seal every warrant connected with the case for 90 days.

“The court finds that due to the nature and circumstances of this case and the ongoing investigation, the state’s interest in continuing non-disclosure outweighs any right to public disclosure at this time,” Blawie wrote in his decision.

Officials at state Superior Court in Stamford said they do not know how many search warrants have been issued and executed as part of the eight-week investigation. It is also unclear whether attorneys representing Fotis Dulos and Troconis will be given access to the search warrants.

Jennifer Dulos’ black Chevy Suburban was found unoccupied near Waveny Park in New Canaan soon after she was reported missing. Police have seized at least three other vehicles in connection with the case, including Fotis Dulos’ black Ford Raptor pickup truck, which police said was captured on Hartford police surveillance videos stopping nearly three dozen times on Albany Avenue the night his estranged wife was reported missing.

Police seized two other vehicles, including one driven by a former business associate of Fotis Dulos, cellphones, computers and other physical evidence in the case, according to reports and motions filed in court.

The search for Jennifer Dulos has led authorities to a home owned by her family in Pound Ridge, N.Y., the Farmington home she shared with her husband before she filed for divorce, properties owned by Fotis Dulos and his real estate development company, Fore Group, as well as three bodies of water in Avon and West Hartford and tons of garbage at a Hartford trash plant.

It is unclear how many of the searches required warrants before they could be executed. Police have received more than 1,000 tips and several dozen videos as part of the investigation.

Colangelo can submit a request to extend the sealing order before the warrants are opened to public view on Sept. 18.