ANSONIA – Jose Morales is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday (July 14) for murdering Christine Holloway in 2019.
Morales, 48, faces up to 65 years in prison.
A jury found Morales guilty in April of murdering Holloway in her Myrtle Avenue home in December 2019, then cleaning up the scene.
Vanessa Morales, the then-one-year-old daughter of Holloway and Morales, has been missing since the murder.
Morales has been in state custody since Dec. 3, 2019, when he was arrested on weapons charges. Police charged him with murder and tampering with evidence in February 2020.
Morales’ case worked its way through the court for more than five years before his two-week-long trial in April. Jurors took less than two hours to reach a guilty verdict at the end of the trial.
After the trial, police said their focus is now on finding Vanessa. They said they’re hoping Morales, the last person seen with Vanessa, will help them find her.
“We’re still at a disadvantage though, because the one person that was with her that we know, for sure was with her, is not talking to us,” said Ansonia Police Lt. Patrick Lynch after the trial. “And he has a right not to talk to us, but we hope that he would know the importance of getting closure for everyone involved here.”
Vanessa is now six years old. The National Center For Missing & Exploited Children has released the following age-progressed photo of Vanessa:
A $10,000 reward has been offered for information that leads to finding her. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Vanessa should call the Ansonia Police Department at 203 ‑735‑1885.