In the Vanessa Morales case, a 14-month-old girl from Ansonia, Connecticut disappeared on or around December 1, 2019, the same night her mother, Christine Holloway, was beaten to death in their Myrtle Avenue apartment. Vanessa’s father, Jose Morales, was convicted of Holloway’s murder in April 2025 and sentenced to 65 years in prison, but he was never charged in connection with Vanessa’s disappearance, and she has never been found.1CBS News. Jose Morales Christine Holloway Connecticut Murder Sentencing
The Night Christine Holloway Was Killed
Holloway, 43, was a teacher at the Bright Morning Star Daycare in Bridgeport. She lived with Vanessa in Ansonia, and Jose Morales, Vanessa’s father, typically stayed at the apartment from Friday afternoon through Monday morning.2Hudson Valley News 12. Jose Morales Trial: The Murder of Christine Holloway and Mystery of Their Missing Daughter
When Holloway did not show up for work on December 2, 2019, Ansonia police went to the apartment for a welfare check and found her body in the bathtub. A medical examiner determined she had died from blunt force injuries to her head and torso. Prosecutors later established that she was killed early on the morning of December 1 and had been struck in the head at least eight times with a blunt instrument.3Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice. Jose Morales Sentenced for Murder of Christine Holloway Vanessa was not in the home when officers arrived.4NBC Connecticut. Jury Finds Jose Morales Guilty of Murder of Christine Holloway
Vanessa Is Still Missing
Vanessa was born on September 7, 2018. According to the FBI, family members last saw her on November 29, 2019, three days before her mother’s body was found. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has kept her case active and published age-progressed photographs.5FBI. Vanessa Morales – Kidnappings and Missing Persons6NCMEC. Vanessa Morales Missing Child Poster
On the six-year anniversary of the disappearance in December 2025, Ansonia police acknowledged little had changed. “Unfortunately, we find ourselves in the same position we were in when the case began in 2019,” the department said. “Vanessa is missing and we do not know what happened to her.”7WTNH. Search Continues for Vanessa Morales 6 Years After Mother’s Murder
The FBI’s New Haven Field Office continues to handle the investigation. Tips can be submitted by calling (203) 503-5555 or through tips.fbi.gov.5FBI. Vanessa Morales – Kidnappings and Missing Persons
Jose Morales’s Conviction and Sentence
Morales was arrested the day after Holloway’s body was found on an unrelated felony weapons charge, and he was formally charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence on February 7, 2020.8CT Post. Ansonia Police Give Update on Mom’s Death
His trial began April 7, 2025, in Milford Superior Court before Judge Shari A. Murphy. Prosecutors presented evidence that Morales cleaned the apartment for hours after the killing and discarded a bloodstained towel and a diaper pail in a clothing donation bin in Derby. Morales testified in his own defense, telling jurors that two intruders had broken in, attacked Holloway with a crowbar, and taken Vanessa while he lay incapacitated by PCP. His attorney, Edward Gavin, argued that Morales was too intoxicated to have formed the intent required for murder.9CT Post. Jose Morales Found Guilty in Ansonia Murder Trial
Jurors began deliberating the evening of April 22, 2025, and returned a guilty verdict on both counts the next morning after roughly an hour and 45 minutes of additional deliberation.9CT Post. Jose Morales Found Guilty in Ansonia Murder Trial
On July 14, 2025, Judge Murphy handed down the maximum sentence: 60 years for murder and five consecutive years for tampering with evidence, for a total of 65 years. The defense had asked for 35 years, arguing it would amount to life for the then-48-year-old Morales.10NBC Connecticut. Jose Morales Christine Holloway Murder Sentencing3Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice. Jose Morales Sentenced for Murder of Christine Holloway
The Pending Appeal
Judge Murphy denied a defense motion for a new trial, and on September 9, 2025, Morales filed an appeal with the Connecticut Supreme Court. His appellate attorney, Jennifer Bourn, requested more than 4,300 pages of court documents. The appeal challenges the guilty verdict, the trial court’s jury instructions, and rulings on the admissibility of certain evidence. As of late 2025, the case remained pending before the state’s highest court, with briefing and possible oral arguments still to come.11Valley Independent. Morales Appeals Ansonia Murder Conviction
The murder conviction does not resolve what happened to Vanessa. Six years on, that part of the case is still open.