NOTE: Stream ended when court ended for the day at about 4:30 p.m. The video above is edited from the live stream.
MILFORD — Jose Morales said Wednesday morning he wanted to testify in the murder case against him and, at about 2:40 p.m. April 16 in Superior Court in Milford, he did just that.
Morales is charged with murder and tampering with evidence in connection to the 2019 homicide of Christine Holloway, the mother of Morales’ child, Vanessa, who has not been seen since Nov. 29, 2019. She was a year old when she went missing.
Day eight of the Morales trial featured the prosecution resting its case. Edward Gavin, Morales’ lawyer, then made a motion asking Judge Shari Murphy to acquit his client. The judge rejected the motion.
Gavin then said Morales wanted to take the stand. The judge asked a series of procedural questions to confirm Morales’ desire to testify. Morales testified after the defense called their first witness, Eric Frazer, a licensed clinical psychologist.
Frazer, under questioning by Gavin, talked about the effects PCP, or ‘Angel Dust,’ can have on a person. Frazer said constant PCP use can cause amnesia.
Morales, according to the warrant used to charge him, had previously told police he was high on PCP the weekend police believe he killed Holloway.
The use of PCP may have been introduced by the defense in an attempt to weaken the “intent” element needed to secure a muder conviction in Connecticut.
Under questioning from prosecutor Howard Stein, Frazer said he had no information on what substances, if any, were in Morales’ system in late Novermber and early December 2019. Under questioning, Frazer said that he was paid $10,000 by the defense for his work.
