Defendant in Jennifer Dulos case no longer under house arrest

Kent Mawhinney, the attorney charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the disappearance and presumed death of Jennifer Dulos, is no longer under house arrest. On Monday, Mawhinney appeared in Stamford Superior Court where Judge Gary White granted a motion to lift that condition. It came 7 ½ months after Mawhinney allegedly tampered with his court-ordered GPS ankle monitor.
In court, Mawhinney’s attorney Jefferey Kestenband, argued his client had been fully compliant since White implemented home confinement on Dec. 15.
“There have not been any prior problems either with his leaving the house without permission or any problems with him charging the electronic monitoring bracelet that is still on, and we're not asking to have that removed today,” Kestenband said in court. “In light of the fact that there have not been any problems over the five months, we respectfully ask the court to modify his conditions of release to allow him to leave home as he was doing before the court imposed the house arrest condition,” Kestenband said in court.
Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Michelle Manning said the state did not object to lifting house arrest, provided Mawhinney’s ankle monitor remains on.
“The state's main concern is keeping in place the GPS unit, particularly in light of the events that occurred last fall with his actions towards the bracelet,” Manning said.
On Oct. 2, Mawhinney had his bond raised to $1.5 million and was taken back into custody after he was accused of tampering with the monitoring device.
White then returned Mawhinney’s bond back to $246,000 and ordered house arrest in December.
At Monday’s hearing, along with removing that condition, White also granted Mawhinney’s request to go to Massachusetts on May 16 for a family-related trip.
Mawhinney was first arrested in January 2020, accused of trying to provide a fake alibi for his friend Fotis Dulos on May 24, 2019, the morning Fotis Dulos' estranged wife went missing. Jennifer Dulos was last seen dropping their five kids off at school.
Mawhinney was initially held on $2 million bond for 10 months, then had his bond lowered to $246,000 and was released with a GPS ankle monitor after meeting with investigators.
He and Michelle Troconis, the former girlfriend of Fotis Dulos, are the remaining defendants in the case after Fotis Dulos committed suicide in January 2020 while facing several charges including murder and kidnapping for the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos, whose body has never been found. State police say Fotis Dulos was “lying in wait” and attacked his estranged wife in the garage of her home in New Canaan. The state’s chief medical examiner determined that based on the evidence, Jennifer Dulos could not have survived her injuries without immediate medical attention.
Troconis is charged with conspiracy to commit murder, evidence tampering, hindering prosecution, and conspiracy to commit evidence tampering. Both she and Mawhinney have pleaded not guilty.
Last month, Troconis had her GPS ankle monitor removed after nearly four years. Her next court date is May 26.
Mawhinney's case was moved back to the trial list after Monday’s hearing.