Kent Mawhinney, who once served as the lawyer for the late Fotis Dulos, has admitted to obstructing law enforcement in the investigation surrounding the disappearance of Dulos’s wife, Jennifer Dulos, who is now considered deceased.
According to NBC Connecticut, Mawhinney received a sentencing of 11 months on Friday. While he initially faced a charge of conspiracy to commit murder, this was reduced to a charge of interfering with an officer.
As highlighted by CrimeOnline, Jennifer Dulos vanished in May 2019 amid a contentious divorce and custody dispute with Fotis Dulos, with whom she shared five children.
A Connecticut probate court judge declared Jennifer Dulos officially dead in 2023 after her mother filed a petition for the declaration.
Fotis Dulos, Jennifer’s estranged husband, was charged with her murder but died by suicide in January 2020.
Fotis Dulos’s girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, was found guilty on six counts related to the disappearance and presumed death of Jennifer Dulos and was sentenced to 20 years in May 2024.
Mawhinney’s sentence was served while he awaited trial.
Mawhinney denies any knowledge of Jennifer Dulos’s whereabouts or what happened to her. When asked, he replied, “No. If I did, I would tell them,” according to NBC Connecticut.
A statement was released by Jennifer Farber Dulos’s family and friends on Friday afternoon after the trial:
“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,” Carrie Luft said in a statement on behalf of the family and friends of Jennifer Farber Dulos.
The family of Michelle Troconis also released a statement on Friday afternoon after the verdict:
“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.”
[Feature Photo: Jennifer Dulos/Handout]
