Jose Morales found guilty in brutal CT murder of a mother whose child remains missing

Yahoo

22-04-2025

Jose Morales has been found guilty of murder and tampering with evidence charges in the killing of Christine Holloway, whose young daughter has been missing since the mother was found dead in her apartment in Ansonia in 2019.
The verdict was returned Tuesday in Superior Court in Milford where Morales has been on trial for the last two weeks. As the verdict was read finding him guilty on one count each of murder and tampering with physical evidence, Morales, seated at the defense table, bowed his head for the next several minutes, only looking up a few times. He took a number of deep breaths as his head was down, closing his eyes a number of times for several seconds each time.
The jury began deliberations after closing arguments in the case were given on Monday. Minutes after the verdict, Morales was placed in handcuffs behind his back and Judge Shari Murphy denied a motion filed by his attorney, Bridgeport-based lawyer Edward J. Gavin, for a judgement of acquittal.
Gavin was granted an extension on the time period allowing him to file a motion for a new trial. His request to keep Morales' bond at $5 million was denied when Murphy acquiesced a request made by Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Howard S. Stein to raise bail by $2.5 million now that Morales no longer has the presumption of innocence.
Morales remains held on $7.5 million bond and is expected to face sentencing on July 8.
Family members of Holloway, who attended each day of the trial, did not publicly comment following the verdict.
Investigators find bloody clothes in Ansonia murder, missing baby case
Stein addressed reporters outside the courthouse and said the family was grateful to jury members for reaching the verdict they did. He declined to take questions and said he would comment further after sentencing.
Gavin did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.
Prosecutors believe Morales, 48, killed Holloway in the early hours of Dec. 1, 2019, inside her apartment on Myrtle Avenue and spent about a day disposing evidence that could link him to the crime. Holloway was 43 years old at the time and was found dead in her apartment the next day. The couple's daughter, Vanessa, was 14 months old at the time and has been missing since.
The child had not been seen by family members since several days before the killing and was supposed to be with her mother, but she was not at the apartment when Holloway's body was found.
Morales was not charged in connection with the disappearance of the child. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has recently released an age-progressed photo of Vanessa.
In a surprising move, Morales took the stand in his own defense during the trial and testified that he was high on PCP when Holloway was attacked by two intruders. He told the jury he was struck in the head and chest and could not move because of his condition. He claimed that he had to watch helplessly as one of the assailants struck his girlfriend repeatedly with a crowbar.
Morales also testified that one of the assailants told him his daughter would be killed if he contacted police. He could not provide a detailed description of the intruders, who he claimed left the area in a vehicle.
Morales also testified that he looked for a phone after discovering Holloway's body and tried making a call, but it did not go through. He said he fell asleep for about an hour or two before waking up and panicking, at which point he started cleaning things up and filling up garbage bags.
During cross-examination, Stein questioned Morales' account of how Holloway was killed and asked him point-blank if he killed her.
'No,' Morales said.
'I did not kill Christine Holloway,' he later testified.
One of the witnesses called by Morales' defense team included a psychologist who testified about the effects of PCP and memory loss.
According to court documents and previous Courant reporting, an autopsy showed Holloway died of blunt force trauma to the head and torso and was beaten with something that left numerous round, one-inch diameter marks on her body. Her skull was also heavily damaged and a piece of skull was missing. During a search of Holloway's apartment, bone fragments from Holloway were found in her kitchen garbage disposal, court papers said.
Police found abrasions on Morales' knuckles and scratches on both arms, suggesting he was involved in a physical struggle, according to court documents. The right side of his face was also red and swollen.
A neighbor told police he heard hammering and other noise coming from the apartment the weekend of the killing.
Police believe Morales was hiding inside Holloway's apartment the first time authorities went there on Dec. 2, 2019, for a well-being check. A neighbor later told investigators that Morales left the apartment shortly after police left.
Three days after Holloway was found dead, police were called to a Hamden business that places clothing collection boxes around the state. Company employees set aside items they collected from boxes in Derby where they found things covered in what they believed to be blood, court papers said.
The items included a diaper disposal device, an infant's pillow, a toy radio, baby clothing, blocks, toys and a bloody towel that employees believed had skin and hair on it. Police also recovered a pink Croc, sizes 2/3 for a left foot with blood on it, bloody rags and a T-shirt with blood on it.
During a search of Holloway's apartment on Dec. 6, 2019, police found the matching Croc for a right foot, and blocks and toys and other items. According to court documents, testing at the state forensic lab found Holloway's DNA on several items recovered from the clothing bin.