'Gone Girl' author Gillian Flynn 'sickened' by book's comparison to Connecticut woman Jennifer Dulos' disappearance

Gillian Flynn said she has been following the case of Jennifer Dulos.

July 6, 2019, 6:31 AM

Best-selling author Gillian Flynn lashed out at the estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos on Friday after his lawyer compared the Connecticut mother's disappearance to her smash-hit book, "Gone Girl."

Flynn called allegations that Dulos, who hasn't been seen since May 24, faked her disappearance sickening.

"I have been following the story of Jennifer Dulos’s disappearance," Flynn said in a statement to New Haven ABC affiliate WTNH. "This situation is so incredibly painful, I can’t imagine what her children, her family, and all those close to her are going through. I am deeply sorry for Jennifer and her loved ones."

"I’ve seen in recent coverage that Jennifer’s husband and his defense attorney have put forward a so-called 'Gone Girl theory' to explain Jennifer’s disappearance," the author continued. "It absolutely sickens me that a work of fiction written by me would be used by Fotis Dulos’s lawyer as a defense, and as a hypothetical, sensationalized motive behind Jennifer’s very real and very tragic disappearance."

Police have said they believe Jennifer Dulos suffered a severe assault in her home, where bloodstains were found in the garage. The 50-year-old mother of five was locked in a bitter custody dispute with her husband, Fotis Dulos.

PHOTO: Fotis Dulos, left, is accompanied by his attorney Norm Pattis, after making an appearance at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. Wednesday, June 26, 2019.
Fotis Dulos, left, is accompanied by his attorney Norm Pattis, after making an appearance at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. Wednesday, June 26, 2019.
Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP

Fotis Dulos' attorney, Norm Pattis, insists his client didn't kill his wife and doesn't know where she is.

Pattis told ABC News two weeks ago that he's "investigating the possibility that this is a 'Gone Girl'-type case and considering the possibility that no third party was involved in foul play."

The novel "Gone Girl," written by Flynn and released by Crown Publishing in June 2012, features a wife who fakes her murder and frames her husband. The book has sold millions of copies and spent eight weeks atop The New York Times bestsellers list. It was released as a movie, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, in October 2014.

PHOTO: This undated photo released May 31, 2019, by the New Canaan, Conn., Police Department shows Jennifer Dulos, missing since May 24.
This undated photo released May 31, 2019, by the New Canaan, Conn., Police Department shows Jennifer Dulos, missing since May 24.
New Canaan Police Department via AP

Clothes with Jennifer's blood were found in multiple public trash cans, dropped off by a man seen on surveillance footage alleged to be Fotis Dulos, according to arrest warrants.

Fotis Dulos has been charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution. His current girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, who is alleged to have also been in the car, faces the same charges. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Troconis and Fotis Dulos are out on bond. He has been seen jogging in his Farmington, Connecticut, neighborhood as the investigation continues.

Jennifer and Fotis Dulos used to share a mansion in New Canaan, Connecticut, a home he is now trying to sell.

Pattis had previously said they were investigating a "revenge suicide hypothesis" for Jennifer Dulos' disappearance.

ABC News' Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.