'Terrified' Mom Vanishes Amid Custody Dispute

Jennifer Dulos disappeared in Connecticut on Friday
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted May 29, 2019 6:40 PM CDT
Mother Locked in Bitter Custody Dispute Vanishes
Jennifer Dulos.   (New Canaan Police Department)

Police are scouring a Connecticut park for a mother of five who vanished amid a bitter divorce with her estranged husband, the Stamford Advocate reports. Jennifer Dulos, 50, disappeared Friday and her vehicle, a black Chevy Suburban, was found that night in a popular 300-acre recreational area in New Canaan. Her disappearance came after two years of fighting her husband, Greek native Fotis Dulos, over the custody of their five children. She filed for divorce in 2017 and said in court documents she feared her husband's temper, per the Advocate. "I know he will retaliate by trying to harm me in some way," she said, describing herself as "terrified" of a man with "a history of controlling, volatile and delusional behavior."

Jennifer moved away from their Farmington family home to New Canaan with their children, ages 8 to 13, and was granted sole physical custody—but shared legal custody with Fotis after a court found a lack of evidence that the children were in danger. For his part, Fotis filed a request Wednesday to see the children and claimed they're being held by Jennifer's mother under private, armed guard in a New York City apartment. The mother, meanwhile, has joined her late husband's estate in suing Fotis for over $2.5 million they apparently lent him for his property-flipping business and never got back, per the Hartford Courant. Fotis hasn't been reached for comment. (Another mom's disappearance led to a terrible outcome.)

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