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Husband of missing Connecticut mother says he thinks she's still alive

Fotis Dulos told NBC's "Dateline" that he believes his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos, is still alive and denied having any role in her disappearance in May.
/ Source: TODAY

The estranged husband of missing Connecticut mother Jennifer Dulos believes she's still alive and denied having anything to do with her disappearance, just days before he was arrested again on a new charge of tampering with evidence.

Fotis Dulos, 51, was released on $500,000 bond Wednesday after an arrest warrant alleged that he was "believed to have been lying in wait" for his estranged wife when the 50-year-old mother of five disappeared on May 24 after dropping their children off at school in New Canaan.

Dulos spoke exclusively with NBC's "Dateline" in an interview recorded before this week's arrest, and he was asked if he had anything to do with Jennifer's disappearance.

"I did not, but I'd like to leave it at that,'' he said.

He added that he believed Jennifer was still alive. Police have not found her body and are not calling it a case of homicide.

"It's an exhausting fight,'' Dulos told reporters Wednesday after posting bond. "I love my children and that's about it."

Dulos and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, 44, had previously pleaded not guilty to charges of evidence tampering and hindering prosecution in connection with the case. Dulos plans to plead not guilty to the new charge as well.

The latest charge comes after investigators say Troconis turned herself in to police and admitted to not being truthful with authorities in the past. She also was charged with evidence tampering.

"I'd like you to remember Michelle is presumed innocent, and she should be,'' her attorney told NBC News. "We are prepared to let judgment rest in the jury's hands."

Troconis also spoke to investigators about a red Toyota pickup truck that she said Dulos borrowed from an employee and was driving on the day Jennifer disappeared, according to the arrest warrant.

The warrant states that Dulos repeatedly asked the owner of the truck to replace the seats in the vehicle and dispose of the old ones so they would not be found. The owner replaced the seats but kept the original ones, eventually turning them over to police.

Detectives found blood on the truck's original passenger seat. DNA testing determined it belonged to Jennifer, according to the arrest warrant. Police also say they have evidence that Dulos had the truck washed and detailed.

The warrant also states that Troconis was asked by police why Dulos would thoroughly clean the truck.

"Well obviously, all the evidence says because ... you showed me the picture of the blood in the door. It's because the body of Jennifer at some point was in there,'' she said, according to the arrest warrant.

Prosecutor Richard Colangelo told a court in June that DNA belonging to Fotis Dulos was found mixed with Jennifer's blood on the faucet of the kitchen sink at her home, which she was renting after splitting from her husband.

Police said that a couple matching the description of Fotis Dulos and Troconis were seen on surveillance video making stops at different trash receptacles in Hartford and discarding items that contained Jennifer Dulos' blood.

The full interview with Dulos airs on "Dateline" Monday at 10 p.m.