A Connecticut mother of five who disappeared on Friday was embroiled in an acrimonious divorce and feared for her life when she went missing, according to court records.
Jennifer Dulos, 50, shares five children Petros, Theodore, Christiane, Constantine, and Clea-Noelle — aged between eight and 13 — with her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, 51. The couple split in 2017 after Jennifer accused her husband of having an affair and were fighting over custody of their children.
The couple had shared custody of the children but were hashing out issues regarding who the kids would see on holidays and who would take them to school. Jennifer moved with the children to New Canaan after the couple split and a divorce hearing was scheduled for Wednesday.
“I am afraid of my husband,” Jennifer said in an affidavit filed in June 2017, according to the Stamford Advocate. “I know that filing for divorce and filing this motion will enrage him. I know he will retaliate by trying to harm me in some way.”
Fotis Dulos, a builder and developer with degrees from Brown University and Columbia Business School, allegedly engaged in “irrational, unsafe, bullying, threatening and controlling behavior,” according to the affidavit. Court documents also indicate that Fotis warned he would take the children to his home country of Greece and that Jennifer would “never find us.”
Jennifer Dulos was reported missing on Friday evening and was last seen driving her 2017 black Chevrolet Suburban. Police found the car abandoned later that day and said that police officers and other agencies have “worked around the clock to locate Jennifer by exploring all leads and tips.”
“This investigation is being treated as a missing person case, but as with any missing person case, a criminal investigation is being conducted concurrently to determine if Jennifer was the victim of foul play or intentional harm,” New Canaan Police Lt. Jason Ferraro said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
An attorney for Fotis Dulos said that the children are staying with Jennifer’s mother in New York and have the protection of an armed bodyguard.
“Those who know Jennifer know her to be a devoted mother; an extremely thoughtful, reliable, and organized woman, and attest that she would never, ever disappear when she is responsible for the lives of five loving and energetic children,” Jennifer’s family said in a statement. “She and the children have been embraced by the New Canaan Country School community, where they have made good friends and are active in athletics and arts.”
