Author Rich Cohen has delved into the chilling case of Jennifer Dulos, whose tragic story unfolds in his latest book, ‘Murder in the Dollhouse.’
Published on May 20 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Cohen examines the life and mysterious circumstances surrounding the disappearance and presumed murder of Jennifer Dulos, a former writer and mother of five.
Rich Cohen, a Glencoe native, notes, “There are no boring psychopaths. They hum with electricity… decisions that seem inexplicable in the abstract – marrying a man one month after his divorce, following him to Connecticut – make sense in the presence of that electric glow.”
Cohen’s investigative journey reveals a relationship steeped in turmoil between Jennifer Dulos and her husband, Fotis Dulos, both of whom are alumni of Brown University. The couple’s marriage was filled with intense conflict, accusations of infidelity, and threats of kidnapping amid a fiercely contested divorce.
Jennifer was last seen on May 24, 2019, after dropping her children off at school in New Canaan, Connecticut. Despite extensive searches, her body has never been found, a haunting fact that continues to resonate with Cohen as he recounts the events of that fateful day.
“There were buried bodies from the Revolutionary War found here in Ridgefield a few years ago when homeowners extended their basement,” Cohen remarked. “When someone is putting up a new house, they might find Jennifer’s body. It might happen 300 years from now.”
In researching the case, Cohen discovered that Jennifer had aspirations of being a writer. She penned plays that garnered acclaim from notable publications like The Village Voice and the New York Observer, alongside maintaining a blog.
Cohen reflected on his deep connection with Jennifer, describing her life as a mirror of his own, saying, “When I got into all the material around it with the arrest warrants and started meeting the people, I identified with her so intensely. It’s like she lived a mirror version of my life – coming out of college and becoming a writer.”
Throughout his investigation, Cohen wrote several articles for Air Mail, a newsletter co-founded by Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley. He quickly became consumed with the case, stating, “You think you’re done. But you keep thinking about and dreaming about these people. Dreaming about her.”
Cohen anticipated that ‘Murder in the Dollhouse’ would shape into a narrative similar to Truman Capote’s ‘In Cold Blood,’ which he admired during his college years. Instead, he found his work evolving into a narrative more aligned with the storytelling qualities of Leo Tolstoy.
Cohen explained, “It turned into ‘Anna Karenina’ — the court documents, her e-mails between her and her estranged husband, really intense information about a person’s life.”
The details surrounding the day of Jennifer’s disappearance are chilling. Cohen noted that Fotis left his phone at home, which prevented tracking, but he made a critical mistake by taking it with him on a trip to Hartford, where he attempted to dispose of blood-stained towels that police later uncovered as evidence.
Jennifer Dulos had a lifelong obsession with dollhouses, something Cohen emphasized as significant in understanding her character and life.
During Fotis’ murder trial, he made contentious legal maneuvers, including utilizing a defense strategy inspired by the popular novel ‘Gone Girl,’ which suggested Jennifer had faked her own death. This tactic was met with criticism from ‘Gone Girl’ author Gillian Flynn, who expressed being horrified that a fictional narrative was used in such a grave context.
Cohen faced considerable challenges as he grappled with Fotis Dulos’ psyche. He shared, “I had trouble understanding him. I can’t imagine doing what he did in any scenario. It was a challenge to think, ‘Are people who kill in cold blood on the same spectrum as everyone else, and just went onto an extreme on the spectrum, or are they different?’ I started to feel they were different.”
In his exploration, Cohen wondered how an individual’s mental state could lead to such horrifying actions. He remarked, “You put a normal person under that pressure of a divorce, they’ll have a midlife crisis, start doing drugs – but a psychopath? To them it’s almost like other people are characters in video games – they can’t feel them at all. She became an obstacle in his way, and he moved her.”
Following Fotis Dulos’ arrest for Jennifer’s murder, a memorial to her was erected near his home; however, this heartfelt tribute was later vandalized by Fotis himself, who was captured on surveillance damaging the display.
Tragically, after his bond was revoked due to foreclosure issues, Fotis took his own life in his garage using carbon monoxide poisoning, leaving behind a suicide note that shifted blame onto various parties but failed to acknowledge his own culpability.
Cohen also examined the fate of Michelle Troconis, Fotis’ accomplice, who was convicted on multiple counts of conspiracy to commit murder. During her sentencing, Dulos’ children confronted her vehemently, resulting in a 14-year prison term for Troconis.
As Cohen articulates in ‘Murder in the Dollhouse,’ his intention was to highlight the life of Jennifer beyond the tragedy of her death. “One of my goals was to bring her to the center of her whole story, not to let her be defined by her death,” he said.
Interestingly, the book features only one photo of Jennifer, a small image of part of her face on the cover. Cohen explained that he wanted readers to understand that “a photo’s a moment in time – the image becomes drained of meaning. A book should make her bigger, not smaller.”
In addition to ‘Murder in the Dollhouse,’ Cohen is also known for other works, including ‘Pee Wees,’ which chronicles his experiences as a hockey parent.
The title of the book serves a dual purpose, reflecting Jennifer’s childhood fascination with dolls and dollhouses, alongside the harsh realities that invaded her seemingly perfect vision of a home.
On June 10, Rich Cohen will discuss ‘Murder in the Dollhouse’ at The Book Stall in Winnetka, inviting readers to engage further with this haunting true-crime narrative that lays bare the complexities of a tragic life cut short.
image source from：https://classicchicagomagazine.com/the-grip-of-a-new-canaan-murder-on-a-chicago-born-author/
