Investigators In Jennifer Dulos Case Believe Fotis Dulos May Have Shaved Head To Frame Employee

Lead investigators in the Jennifer Dulos have revealed they believe her now-deceased husband may have shaved his head in an attempt to frame one of his employees for her presumed murder.

Dulos vanished in May 2019 amid a contentious divorce and child custody battle between her and her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos. While Jennifer’s body has never been found, police have asserted that Fotis killed her. Investigators believe that Fotis brutally assaulted Jennifer in her garage, where Fotis was “lying in wait” on May 24 of that year, according to an arrest warrant. He was ultimately arrested on murder charges and died by suicide earlier this year. 

Connecticut State Police Det. John Kimball and New Canaan Police Officer Thomas Patten, both lead investigators in the case, told the New Haven Register that Fotis Dulos shaved his head just days before Jennifer vanished. Kimball claimed this style change may have been an attempt to frame his construction company employee Pawel Gumienny.

Gumienny, who has short cropped hair, is the owner of a red Toyota pickup that Fotis borrowed the morning of Jennifer’s disappearance, according to his arrest warrant.

“Fotis Dulos later had the pickup truck washed and detailed, and he even instructed Gumienny to switch the truck’s rear seats with ones from another of Fotis’ vehicles,” the arrest report reads. “Gumienny later turned the original seats over the state police, and tests showed that Jennifer Dulos’ DNA was on one of them.”

Kimball told the New Haven Register that Gumienny was surprised by Fotis’ new aesthetic. He told investigators that he even made a comment to Fotis in the days before Jennifer vanished.

The investigators also told the outlet that they are hopeful about new tips they have received in the search for Jennifer’s remains. 

“Recently, we've had some leads come in that were promising and we’re in the process of vetting those out,” Kimball said.

Police drained a septic tank at a Connecticut home back in June where Jennifer and Fotis once lived together in a continued effort to find her. 

While charges against Fotis were dropped following his death, charges against his alleged co-conspirators remain. His former girlfriend Michelle Troconis and his former civil lawyer Kent Douglas Mawhinney have both been charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the case. Troconis also faces additional charges of second-degree hindering prosecution, tampering with physical evidence, and conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence, NBC Connecticut reported in August. 

Fotis’ lawyer Norm Pattis has not immediately responded to Oxygen.com’s request for comment on the latest news. 

“Mr. Dulos was tried and convicted in the court of public opinion,” a January statement from Pattis read. “Now he has been executed. We remain committed to demonstrating he did not murder Jennifer.”

Fotis insisted he was innocent in an apparent suicide note left at his home.