A Connecticut attorney avoided additional jail time after pleading guilty to a lesser charge in connection with the disappearance of a mother of five who went missing six years ago and is presumed dead.
The guilty plea of Kent Mawhinney, 59, concludes the criminal case involving Jennifer Farber Dulos’ disappearance and suspected death in 2019. However, the most important question remains unanswered: what happened to Dulos.
Mawhinney, who was originally charged with conspiracy to commit murder, entered an Alford plea Friday on a charge of interfering with police. An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt, but rather a concession that the prosecution has sufficient evidence to secure a conviction at trial. Mawhinney received an 11-month prison sentence, which he has already served, according to local NBC affiliate WVIT.
Dulos, 50, vanished on May 24, 2019, during a contentious divorce from her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos. In her divorce papers, she claimed he had “sickening revenge fantasies,” and she expected him to retaliate against her for divorcing him.
Officers said he attacked her at her New Canaan home on the day she went missing and brought her out when she was either severely injured or dead. He later attempted to dispose of evidence in Hartford. Authorities believed he received assistance from his then-girlfriend Michelle Troconis and Mawhinney. Fotis Dulos committed suicide in January 2020 after being charged with murder, and a jury found Troconis guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence, and hindering prosecution. The judge sentenced her to 14 and a half years in prison.
Outside of court following the sentencing, Mawhinney denied knowing what happened to the victim or where her body is.
“No. “If I did, I would tell them,” he stated, according to WVIT.
Jennifer Dulos’ family has issued the following statement to local media:
We want to thank the state’s attorney’s office—in particular, Paul Ferencek, Michelle Manning, and Sean McGuinness—for their long-term commitment to this case and their careful consideration in seeking justice. We also express deep gratitude to the investigators and other law enforcement personnel for their dedication.
Today’s development does not absolve Kent Mawhinney of conspiracy to murder. His arrest warrant includes evidence sufficient to bring that charge, but the burden of proof is great by necessity. The conspiracy charge was dropped for multiple reasons, including the fact that another lengthy, complex jury trial would come at a substantial cost, financial as well as emotional, to all involved. We are in full support of the state’s attorneys’ decision.
Recently, we marked the six-year milestone of Jennifer’s disappearance. Many questions remain. It is clear that Jennifer was the victim of a systematically planned, ruthlessly executed murder, and her body still has not been found. We believe that someone possesses additional knowledge about where she is, and we hope fervently that they will come forward with that information.
We miss Jennifer every day, in every way, and ask that you please respect the privacy of her family and loved ones. Thank you.
During Troconis’ trial, the Dulos family nanny testified about the volatile husband-wife relationship.
According to testimony, one such incident occurred in 2017 when Fotis Dulos chased Jennifer Dulos to a room in their home, with Jennifer pushing her body against the door to keep him out. Fotis allegedly became more composed after realizing the nanny and one of the couple’s children were present. His demeanor shifted from yelling to “very soft-spoken,” according to the nanny, Lauren Almeida.
“Jennifer, I just want to talk,” he told Almeida, according to her testimony.
The victim’s marriage deteriorated further when she discovered her husband was having an affair with Troconis.
“He is having an affair, and I have proof,” Jennifer Dulos stated during Almeida’s testimony.
That proof consisted of emails and receipts indicating that Fotis Dulos and Troconis traveled to Utah.
“She was just like, ‘I knew it,'” Almeida said, referring to Jennifer Dulos as soft-spoken.
Following Mawhinney’s plea, Troconis’ family issued a statement to local media, claiming her innocence and expressing disappointment with the decision not to pursue additional charges against the attorney.
Today’s decision by the State of Connecticut to drop the conspiracy to commit murder charge against Kent Mawhinney, without ever bringing him to trial, is both deeply disturbing and unjust. The very same prosecutors who claimed there was enough evidence to convict Michelle Troconis are now saying they don’t have enough to prosecute a man.
“This is not justice. This is selective prosecution.
“Today’s outcome only reinforces what we have known all along: This case has never been about equal justice. It’s been about scapegoating Michelle from the start. Our daughter remains incarcerated, serving 14.5 years for crimes she did not commit, based entirely on speculation, not facts. Michelle’s statements were distorted to fit the state’s narrative.
“We remain committed to fighting for Michelle’s exoneration and exposing the failures of a system that prioritized headlines over truth. We call on the media, the public, and legal advocates to take a closer look. Because when someone can be convicted without direct evidence, while another walks free despite it, we are all at risk.
