'Gone Girl' Author Sickened by Suggestion Missing Connecticut Mom Staged Disappearance

The author of the psychological thriller novel "Gone Girl" said she is sickened by suggestions that Jennifer Dulos, the Connecticut mom who has been missing for more than six weeks, could have staged her own disappearance — just like the premise of Gillian Flynn's best-selling book.

The mom of five was reported missing on May 24, and her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, and his girlfriend have been charged in her disappearance. Police accused the couple of driving around Hartford the day Jennifer disappeared and disposing of garbage bags in 30 different locations. Items recovered had Jennifer's blood on them.

Fotis and his girlfriend pleaded not guilty to tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution. Fotis' lawyer speculated about what could have happened to Jennifer.

“We have been provided a very dark 500-plus page novel Jennifer wrote. We are reviewing it now. We are also investigating new information regarding $14,000 worth of medical bills re-tests just before she disappeared. We don’t know what had become of Jennifer, but the 'Gone Girl' hypothesis is very much on our mind,” Norm Pattis said in a statement. 

In the best-selling novel by Flynn and the 2014 movie starring Ben Affleck, a wife fakes her own disappearance and frames her husband as a murderer.

In a statement provided to InsideEdition.com, Flynn denounced Pattis' suggestion that Jennifer's case could be anything like her work of fiction.

"It absolutely sickens me that a work of fiction written by me would be used by Fotis Dulos’ lawyer as a defense, and as a hypothetical, sensationalized motive behind Jennifer’s very real and very tragic disappearance," Flynn said.

"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," she added.

Jennifer's family also dismissed the "'Gone Girl' hypothesis" a "classic act of desperation to slander the victim."

“None of this feels real. We tell ourselves that this kind of nightmare happens to people in stories, not to those we know and love,” Jennifer's family said in a statement. 

“But this situation is real, and it is dire. Each passing day intensifies the impact of this tragedy on Jennifer’s children, who have not seen their mother — the guiding presence in their lives.”

Police continue to investigate Jennifer's disappearance as a missing persons case.

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