A lawyer for a Connecticut man charged with murdering his missing wife amid a contentious divorce case says his client has died after an apparent suicide attempt.
Fotis Dulos had been hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning since Tuesday, when he was found unresponsive inside a vehicle in the garage of his house in Farmington, Connecticut.
Norm Pattis, his lawyer, spoke at a news conference Thursday evening.
“Fotis Dulos was declared dead tonight at 5:32,” Pattis said, courtesy of WFSB. “The family is adamant that his name be cleared.”
Pattis said he has filed an “unusual motion” in court -- one intended “to force the state to show its hand in a trial filled with evidence, we think, that amounts to no more than innuendo and unsupported suspicion.”
Dulos was accused of killing Jennifer Farber Dulos, who has not been seen since she dropped their five children off at school in New Canaan in May. Her body has not been found despite extensive searches. Fotis Dulos had denied any role in her disappearance.
“We’re asking for the right to clear his name,” Pattis said. “We intend to proceed on as if he were still alive, because we think he’s wrongfully accused.”
Fotis Dulos had been under strict house arrest since a court hearing on Jan. 23.
Two other people remain charged in the case. Michelle Troconis, Dulos’ former girlfriend, and attorney Kent Mawhinney are both charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
Information from the Associated Press is included in this report.
