The father of a little girl whose mother was found dead in their Ansonia home in 2019 will go on trial in March to face a murder charge as the search for the child continues.
Jose Morales has been charged with the murder of 43-year-old Christine Holloway as well as tampering with physical evidence. He pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces.
Jury selection will begin on Feb. 24 and the trial is scheduled to begin March 18.
The investigation started on Dec. 2, 2019 when officers went to Holloway’s home on Myrtle Avenue in Ansonia.
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They first went to the house around 1 p.m. that Monday to check on her when she didn’t show up for work or call out sick, but there was no answer, according to police.
Officers returned to the home around 7:30 p.m. that night after a family member called police and said they had not heard from Holloway.
When they forced their way inside, police found Holloway’s body. Officials said she had been beaten to death.
There was no sign of her 14-month-old daughter, Vanessa Morales.
Police initially issued a Silver Alert because they didn’t have a description of a vehicle she might be in, the person Vanessa might be with or a potential destination. Days later, they issued an Amber Alert.
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Jose Morales, the father of Vanessa, pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces in connection with Holloway's death.
Last year marked five years since the murder of Holloway and the disappearance of Vanessa.
Jodi Jacobellis, Holloway’s sister-in-law and Vanessa’s aunt, said last week that the pain of losing them has not gone away.
“It's an emotional rollercoaster. It's a nightmare that we live with every day,” Jacobellis said.
Morales has been listed on the state’s judicial branch court docket a total of 36 times and Jacobellis expressed frustration over the delay of the jury trial.
“It’s absolutely aggravating every time we have a continuance for reasons we don’t know,” Jacobellis said.
Lt. Patrick Lynch, the public information officer for the Ansonia Police Department, said once Morales’ case is closed, the department will refocus its efforts to continue to look for baby Vanessa, although he admitted the progress has been limited.
“The tips that we’ve gotten recently are not local, they’re more across the country, most of them have been out-of-state, we’ve worked with departments out of state, asking them to do some follow up, they’ve been very cooperative with that but unfortunately we’ve gotten nothing," Lynch said.
Lynch emphasized the department will not let baby Vanessa's case go unsolved.
“This is not a case that we’re going to put in a box on a shelf somewhere. This will remain active, until we get that answer,” Lynch said.
Jacobellis also made another plea to anyone who might have information on Vanessa's disappearance to cpme forward:
“If anybody has any information on her whereabouts, or knows any little thing, just come forward, it's been five years. We’ve missed every single milestone of her growing up, she needs to be with her family," she said.
Anyone who has information about Vanessa Morales is asked to call the police department at 203-735-1885 or leave anonymous tips at Tip411 online here.
