A jury on Tuesday found Jose Morales guilty of the 2019 murder of his girlfriend, Christine Holloway, inside their Ansonia apartment.
A jury has found Jose Morales guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, Christine Holloway, in December 2019 and tampering with evidence.
Police found Holloway’s body on Dec. 2, 2019 in her home on Myrtle Avenue in Ansonia.
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WATCH HEREThe couple’s daughter, Vanessa Morales, was 14 months old at the time and she not in the home when police found Holloway. There has been no sign of her since.
Morales, 48. was arrested in connection with Holloway’s death on Feb. 7, 2020.
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SIGN UP Prosecutors said he hit Holloway at least eight times early on the morning of Dec. 1, 2019, then spent 37 hours cleaning up the scene and destroying evidence before fleeing and leaving Holloway in the bathtub.
Morales testified in his own defense and said two men broke into the home, killed Holloway and kidnapped their daughter while he was high on PCP, which is also known an angel dust, and he could not help them because of the effects of the drug.
He also testified that one of the men told him that his daughter would suffer the same fate if he called the police.
The attorneys delivered their closing arguments on Monday, the 10th day of the trial, and the case was then turned over the jury to decide.
The jury reached the verdict after around three-and-a-half hours of deliberation.
Holloway's sister-in-law, Jodi Jacobellis, posted a long statement on Facebook after Tuesday's verdict:
As my family and I have been dealing with the loss of my sister-in-law Christine and the constant worrying of Vanessa, justice was served today for Chrissy. My family and I are grateful for all of the hard work the State’s Attorneys, the Ansonia PD, FBI, and the State Police have done for this investigation and trial. We are also grateful for the 12 jury members that took the time out of their own lives to serve justice for Chrissy. There are so many emotions right now that we are going through, but we also want to thank everyone for their love, support, and continuous prayers for Chrissy, our family, and for Vanessa. Now that this portion of our lives is done, we now can focus more on bringing home Vanessa to us again. I know we never stopped looking for Vanessa. We are constantly posting on all social media platforms for the public’s help. Please continue sharing Vanessa’s new aged progression photo and all the items, which by now she has out grown some of those items. Vanessa will turn 7 years old on 9/07/2025. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.
Morales has been held on a $5 million bond and the state asked for that to increase by another $2.5 million. The judge agreed, raising it to $7.5 million.
Sentencing has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 8.
