Fotis Dulos' friend pleads not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder

Kent Mawhinney is charged in the disappearance case of Jennifer Dulos.

February 20, 2020, 11:16 AM

A friend of Fotis Dulos pleaded not guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit murder charges in connection to the disappearance of Dulos' wife, Jennifer Dulos.

Jennifer Dulos went missing in May 2019 amid a custody dispute with her estranged husband.

PHOTO: Police in Connecticut are looking for Jennifer Dulos, 50, who was last seen on Friday, May 24, 2019.
Jennifer Dulos in an undated photo.
New Canaan Police Department

Fotis Dulos died by apparent suicide in January, weeks after he was charged with Jennifer Dulos' murder.

PHOTO: Fotis Dulos is escorted out of the Troop G State Police station before being placed in a cruiser, Jan. 7, 2020.
Fotis Dulos is escorted out of the Troop G State Police station before being placed in a cruiser, Jan. 7, 2020.
Kassi Jackson/Hartford Courant/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Kent Mawhinney, a friend of Fotis Dulos and an attorney himself, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder in January.

PHOTO: Kent Mawhinney
Kent Mawhinney in a police booking photo.
South Windsor Police Dept.

Fotis Dulos' girlfriend told police Fotis Dulos was meeting with Mawhinney at the time Jennifer Dulos disappeared, and according to an arrest warrant, Mawhinney gave conflicting statements to police about his contact with Fotis Dulos.

Mawhinney wore a tan jumpsuit and shackles to his brief court hearing Thursday. His attorney did not comment after the appearance.

PHOTO: Kent Mawhinney plead not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder charges in connection to the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos in Superior Court in Hartford, Conn., Feb. 20, 2020.
Kent Mawhinney plead not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder charges in connection to the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos in Superior Court in Hartford, Conn., Feb. 20, 2020.
ABC News

Mawhinney is set to return to court on March 31.

Fotis Dulos' girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, is also charged with conspiracy to commit murder and has pleaded not guilty. She is next due in court on March 4.

Jennifer Dulos' body has never been found.