Jose Morales testified April 17, 2025 that he took this picture of Vanessa Morales and Christine Holloway in 2019 approximately four to six weeks before Holloway was killed.
MILFORD – On Monday, Dec. 2, 2019, as the mother of his missing daughter lay dead in her apartment, Jose Morales said he opted to leave her there and to go for a ride around Ansonia in a car to smoke PCP.
Morales told a jury Thursday that he stayed with the body of Christine Holloway for over a day after her death. During that time, he said he cleaned the crime scene, including on a rug, where he saw his own bloody footprints. He said he left the apartment to buy cigars from gas stations, to get high on drugs, and to dispose of bloodied items found near Holloway’s body.
Morales is charged with murder and tampering with evidence in connection to Holloway’s death. On day nine of the state’s trial against him, Morales answered cross-examination questions from prosecutor Howard Stein about his actions in 2019.
On Wednesday, Morales testified that two men had broken into Holloway’s apartment, murdered her with a crowbar, and kidnapped Vanessa Morales, the one-year-old daughter of Morales and Holloway. He told jurors he was strung out on PCP at the time and unable to fight back. He said Holloway collapsed and died near the apartment’s front door.
Morales also testified that one of the unidentified men threatened him, saying that if he called police Vanessa would be killed.
Stein asked Morales Thursday how long Holloway lay dead in the entryway before Morales moved her to the bathtub where police would later find her body.
“From around two-ish in the morning all the way to between 9 and 1 in the morning,” Morales said.
During that time, Morales said, he took a nap and then woke up and left to drive around and smoke PCP.
“I want to ask you, each and every time that you left this apartment over those next 30-some odd hours, did you just have to step over her?” Stein asked.
“No,” Morales said.
“You were able to shuffle by her?” Stein asked.
Morales said he picked up Holloway’s body, folded it in a bathroom curtain, and moved her to the bathtub. He said he took off her bloody clothes and put them in the washer. He said he intended to dress her up again, but that he lacked the courage to do so.
Stein showed Morales a graphic image of Holloway’s face after her death. Morales said she didn’t look like that when he last saw her. Stein asked Morales why he didn’t do more to try and save her.
“Why didn’t you attempt to perform CPR on Christine Holloway?” Stein asked.
“You see the picture,” Morales said, pointing forward. “Can you do CPR on that?”
Pool Photo Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut
Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Howard S. Stein.
Prosecutor Questions Relationship Between Holloway And Morales
Holloway and Morales had been dating for about three years at the time of her death. In his previous testimony, Morales said that he and Holloway fought sometimes – but that they were a happy couple who had just spent Thanksgiving together.
Stein questioned Morales’ account of their relationship. He asked whether text messages Morales sent indicated that he was instead an abusive, controlling partner who didn’t provide for his child.
In the texts, Morales accuses Holloway of cheating and tells her to cancel her gym membership to save money. At one point, Holloway said “I miss my family” and sent a video of Vanessa playing.
“Forward me the email that your gym membership is canceled,” Morales replied.
After Morales told Holloway she was “acting very stupid,” Holloway responded by telling him she would change for him.
“Don’t give up on me. God is going to help us through everything and provide for us. I will change,” Holloway texted.
“For what it’s worth I love you,” she sent in a follow-up text.
Morales didn’t reply to those texts for four days.
“F*** you,” his next texts to Holloway read. “This stupid relationship is done.”
Under questioning, Morales described his texts as “trash talk” and said they weren’t indicative of abuse.
Jose Morales on the stand Thursday, April 17.
At one point, Stein directly asked Morales if he killed Holloway. See the exchange in the video above.
“Mr. Morales, did you kill Christine Holloway?” Stein asked.
“No,” Morales said.
“Mr. Morales, were you so intoxicated on a substance, PCP or alcohol, or any other substance, that you do not remember killing Christine Holloway?” Stein asked.
“I did not kill Christine Holloway,” Morales said.
“I just want to be sure, right,” Stein said. “We heard the 911 tape. Is there any possibility that this is a delusion that you are engaged in?”
“No,” Morales said.
“And you’re 100 percent sure of that?” Stein asked.
“I’m 100 percent sure that people came into the apartment, yes,” Morales said.
Stein contrasted Morales’ ability to remember details under questioning from his lawyer, Edward Gavin, with his inability to do the same under cross-examination.
“Under direct exam, you were rattling off times with specificity to the minute. Do you remember that?” Stein asked.
“No,” Morales said.
“You don’t remember saying that you arrived at places at 1:09 or 1:13? You don’t remember that at all?”
“No,” Morales said, shaking his head.
“When attorney Gavin was asking you questions?” Stein asked.
“I remember some times, not all the times,” Morales said.
Morales Says Neighbor’s Noise Annoyed Him After Holloway’s Death
Holloway’s landlord previously testified that he had been in a downstairs garage when she heard three loud bangs from Holloway’s apartment on Dec. 1. The bangs were so loud the landlord stopped using power tools for a moment, but didn’t go upstairs to check it out.
Stein asked Morales about those noises, which happened hours after Morales said Holloway died.
“The banging was you dropping Ms. Holloway into the tub?” Stein asked.
“No,” Morales said.
“What was the banging?” Stein asked.
Morales said that Holloway’s apartment was above a garage that the landlord used as a woodworking shop. The sound annoyed him on the weekends and prevented Vanessa from sleeping.
Morales said he banged on the floor to get his landlord to stop making noise.
“Christine Holloway is dead in that apartment, you are cleaning up a gruesome crime scene, and you’re concerned about the noise coming from the garage downstairs?” Stein asked.
“It was driving me crazy,” Morales said.
“It was disturbing the ambiance of your moment?” Stein asked.
“The moment was so stressful and (I was) so out of it,” Morales said.
Stein’s questioning also pointed to inconsistencies in Morales’ testimony and past accounts.
Morales said he never changed clothes in between Holloway’s death on Dec. 1 and his interview by Ansonia police on Dec. 3. Stein then showed Morales a surveillance video from a gas station that showed him, after Holloway’s death, wearing a different outfit than the clothes police seized at his interview.
He also asked why Morales didn’t tell police about the men who supposedly broke into Holloway’s apartment for almost two weeks – despite being interviewed multiple times in that timeframe. Morales said he didn’t remember his initial interview with police.
Some of Stein’s first questions were to ask whether Morales thought of himself as abusive and controlling.
“Mr. Morales, do you consider yourself a controlling person?” Stein asked.
“No,” Morales responded.
“Do you consider yourself an emotionally abusive person to Christine Holloway?” Stein asked.
“No,” Morales said.
In his final question, Stein returned to that theme. He read Morales’ Facebook “About Me” section, where Morales had written: “I know what I want in this world and I know how to get it.”
“You wrote that, didn’t you?” Stein asked.
“That’s a quote from ‘The 48 Laws of Power,’” Morales said. “It’s a book.”
Trial Could Conclude Next Week
Both the prosecution and defense have now rested their cases. Court will not meet Friday (April 18) due to Good Friday.
Judge Shari E. Murphy told the court that the jury would be given their instructions on Monday (April 21). She said closing arguments will take place that afternoon, and the jury will meet for deliberations afterward.
Gavin, the attorney representing Morales, made a motion to acquit his client. Murphy said she would defer to the jury’s judgment.
About Christine Holloway
Holloway was 43 years old when she was killed. She grew up the oldest of five children, and was the first in her family to graduate from college, where she studied psychology. She worked at Bright Morning Star Child Care, a daycare in Bridgeport. Her obituary said she loved children, and was inseparable from Vanessa.
Holloway was a parishioner at St. Andrew’s Church in Bridgeport, and was a member of the Columbiettes, a Catholic women’s organization.
Missing Persons Case Still Open
Vanessa Morales, now six years old, remains missing. The investigation into her disappearance is ongoing. A court order has limited what can be said about Vanessa.
The National Center For Missing & Exploited Children released an 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.
The following comes from a timeline previously provided by Ansonia police.
Nov. 29, 2019 – Last confirmed contact with Christine Holloway.
Dec. 2, 1 p.m. – Holloway’s employer requests welfare check, no contact.
Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m. – Holloway’s family requests a welfare check. Holloway is found deceased in the home, Vanessa Morales missing.
Dec. 2 – Vanessa Morales listed as missing, silver alert issued.
Dec. 3 – Search warrant served at Jose Morales’ New Haven residence. Morales is arrested by New Haven PD for allegedly possessing two stun guns and held on a $250,000 bond.
Dec. 4 – Amber alert issued for Vanessa Morales.
Dec. 4 – State of Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner rules Christine Holloway’s death a homicide by blunt force trauma.
Dec. 17 – Jose Morales identified as suspect in the death of Christine Holloway and disappearance of Vanessa Morales.
Feb. 7, 2020 – Morales charged with murdering Christine Holloway and tampering with evidence.
