Motion To Substitute Parties
Motion To Substitute Parties
Motion To Substitute Parties
The undersigned hereby respectfully move the Court for permission to substitute
On January 28, 2020, law enforcement officers found the defendant, Mr. Fotis
Dulos, unresponsive at his home in Farmington, Connecticut. They revived him, and he
was subsequently transported to Jacobi Medical Center in New York City, New York,
Mr. Dulos was declared dead at approximately 5:32 PM on January 30, 2020.
As news of the tragic circumstances under which Mr. Dulos became unresponsive
spread, people across the world began to rehash and emphasize the infamous and
heinous allegations against Mr. Dulos. Throughout the course of this case, the State has
painted Mr. Dulos as a diabolical murderer while failing to bring a murder charge for
months. The media and the public across the world joined the State in its portrayal of Mr.
Dulos as a murderer with the frenetic bloodlust of an outraged lynch mob. The State, the
media, and the public waited with bated breath to see if Mr. Dulos had left a note
Mr. Dulos left no such note. Instead, upon information and belief, Mr. Dulos left a
note proclaiming his innocence and claiming that his attorneys have evidence that will
exonerate him.
Throughout the course of this proceeding, Mr. Dulos has been denied his rights to
due process, free speech, and the presumption of innocence. The State will undoubtedly
seek to drop the charges against Mr. Dulos. However, the principles of due process and
the presumption of innocence under both the federal and the state constitutions demand
a different result.
Mr. Dulos professed his innocence to the grave, and it was his final wish and the
wish of his estate that he be speedily tried before a jury of his peers to establish his
innocence before the world. The State has made an accusation. The public at large has
convicted Mr. Dulos without the due process and the other protections that he was entitled
to by law. Mr. Dulos’ right to confront these charges and to assert his innocence does not
die with him. The Court should afford his estate an opportunity to clear his name.
lawman, and outlaw Henry Plummer was given a posthumous trial more than 120 years
after his death by summary lynching, which resulted in his acquittal by a hung jury.
Another notable posthumous trial came in the matter of Joan of Arc. In both Plummer’s
case and Joan of Arc’s case, the extraordinary remedy of a posthumous trial became
necessary because of the infirmities that dictated the course of the proceedings.
The systematic violation of Mr. Dulos’ rights has resulted in the summary end of
his life. Those violations have denied Mr. Dulos justice. His estate respectfully requests
the Court to grant Mr. Dulos the justice of a posthumous trial not just for the sake of his
own name, but also for the sake of his children who he loved more than words could
express and who he was barred from expressing his love to because of the Court’s
protective orders. Mr. Dulos’ children should not be subjected to a lifetime of coping with
a fictional reality that their father murdered their mother in cold blood on the basis of
baseless and rampant speculation. They deserve just answers achieved through just
processes even if those just answers do not satisfy the public’s bloodlust for tabloid
fodder.
Consequently, the undersigned respectfully requests the Court to allow Mr. Dulos’
This is to certify that a copy of the Defendant’s foregoing motion was sent via Fax
and U.S. Mail on the above date to the following counsel of record:
Richard Colangelo
State’s Attorney
Office of the State’s Attorney
123 Hoyt Street
Stamford, CT 06905
Tel: 203-965-5215
Fax: 203-965-5791