Annabeth Gish.Photo: Mitch Stone
Annabeth Gish was hesitant to take her latest role,missing Connecticut momJennifer Dulos, whose 2019 disappearance sparked national attention.
However, that’s just what she’s about to do whenGone Mom: The Disappearance of Jennifer Dulosairs Saturday on Lifetime.
“It was not without a lot of consideration that I took the job,” Gish tells PEOPLE. “I just immediately resonated with her story, I think, because she was a mother and I had two kids and we were the same age. It’s a true crime story and because her body has yet to be found, there’s a certain gravity to the story. If I was going to do it, I wanted to make sure that we did it with integrity, and in honor of this woman’s spirit.”
Dulos disappeared on May 24, 2019, after dropping her five children off at their New Canaan school. When police arrived at her home, theyfound bloodand what they described as evidence of “serious, violent assault.” Connecticut State Police Sgt. Kenneth Ventresca told Dateline in 2020 that their findings suggest she may have been “bludgeoned to death standing up and then fell on the floor between the two vehicles.” Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo also claimed that investigators found “zip ties that were cut and had Jennifer’s blood on them.”
“They were this privileged couple, wealthy, New Canaan, Connecticut,” says Gish, who first broke through in 1988’sMystic Pizza. “They had, or seemed to have, everything. So the fragility of that and the idea that it can happen to anyone across any socioeconomic spectrum.”
She continues, “I maintain Jennifer wasn’t a victim because she extricated herself, she got her children away. She divorced, she got her children to her mother’s, they were safe. And still to this day they’ve been protected. And in that sense, even though she had her own tragic end, she’s not a victim because she protected those she loved.”
Gish says the film was made with utmost care and respect for her family. “I became obsessed with wanting to get the things that we could as accurate as possible. And my co-star Warren Christie (who plays Fortis) — we made a pact and a commitment to each other to make it as authentic and real and not exploitative or gratuitous, which I think we did. We all, really every day wanted to honor Jennifer. That was all we wanted to do. So I think carrying that spirit in with us, helped us.”
“It’s just heart-wrenching,” Gish admits. “This is always now a part of me, I will forever be connected to her story.”
Gone Mom: The Disappearance of Jennifer Dulosairs Saturday (8 p.m. ET) on Lifetime.
source: people.com
