Fotis Dulos asked that the public wait for the facts of the case to come out before forming an opinion of him during a sit-down interview with NBC 4 New York.
The estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos, the Connecticut woman who went missing more than a month ago, has broken his silence for the first time to assert he had nothing to do with her disappearance.
Fotis Dulos asked that the public wait for the facts of the case to come out before forming an opinion of him during a sit-down interview with NBC 4 New York.
“I know what I’ve done, I know what I haven’t done,” Dulos said. “I have to stand and fight and hope the truth is going to come out.”
Jennifer vanished after dropping her and Dulos’ five children at school May 24.
After her disappearance, Dulos and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, were charged with evidence tampering and hindering prosecution, as police alleged they discarded items containing Jennifer’s blood in Hartford.
Dulos was shocked to have been arrested, he told NBC 4 New York.
“When it all started, I said, 'This cannot be true, I must be dreaming,'” Dulos said. “I’m wearing orange, I’m in a cell … this cannot be true.”
Both he and Troconis pleaded not guilty to the charges they face. Troconis’s attorneys have filed a no-contact order against Dulos, but he said he still loves his girlfriend and believes she loves him.
The prospect of potentially facing more charges is “very scary,” Dulos said, but he noted that he does not blame the police or the criminal justice system for his being charged.
"I think with information they had, they did best they could, I understand they had tremendous pressure on them," Dulos said. "Statistically when this happens, 90 or 95 percent [of the time] it’s the spouse. So I understand why people feel like this.
“It's 90 percent, it's not 100 percent — I'm in the 5 or 10 percent,” he continued.
Dulos said he and his attorney were beginning to grow hopeful that a joint custody agreement would be reached at the time of Jennifer’s disappearance and that his interactions with his estranged wife were more optimistic than they had been.
Though he said the court of public opinion doesn’t concern him, Dulos said he thought people interested in the case “should wait” before they decide on his guilt.
"I have faith in the system, and in the police and the legal system, and hopefully we’ll have some answers soon," Dulos said.
His biggest concern, he said, is his children, who have been staying with Jennifer’s mother and whom he has been banned from contacting. Jennifer’s mother has filed for sole custody of the children.
"I’m worried very much about the kids and what they're going through ... I want to tell them to hang in there,” he told NBC 4 New York. “It’s a big challenge in our lives. Things will work out and everything will be alright eventually."
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