A Connecticut man was sentenced to 65 years in jail on Monday for the 2019 beating death of his girlfriend, Christine Holloway, but their infant daughter disappeared and is still missing.
In April, a jury found Jose Morales, 48, guilty of murder and evidence tampering in Holloway’s killing, which took place inside her house in Ansonia, about 10 miles west of New Haven.
Their daughter Vanessa was 14 months old when Holloway was killed, and her relatives are still searching for her. Morales was identified as a suspect in the girl’s disappearance by police in 2019; however, he was not charged.
Several Holloway family members spoke at the sentencing. They were wearing white T-shirts with images of Holloway on the front and baby Vanessa on the back, according to CBS affiliate WFSB.
“What was done to my niece, Christine Holloway, is unforgivable and disgusting and that monster continues to lie. Where is Vanessa? How can someone be so cruel?” said Anna Rodonski, Holloway’s aunt.
Morales declined to speak at the Milford Superior Court hearing. According to WFSB, he did have a written statement, but his counsel instructed him not to read it.
He denied killing Holloway at the Milford trial. Morales stated that he, Holloway, and their daughter, Vanessa, were inside Holloway’s apartment when two attackers broke in. He claimed that one of the invaders attacked Holloway with a crowbar and assaulted him before kidnapping Vanessa, who has never been found. Morales also claimed to be high on PCP at the time.
Morales reportedly acknowledged on the stand that he attempted to clean the flat after Holloway’s death and disposed of some of the blood-soaked evidence in a donation bin, according to WFSB.
His lawyer, Edward Gavin, told the judge on Monday, “It’s an extraordinarily difficult case. It shows the ills of PCP and drug use in our society.”
Before imposing the sentence, Judge Shari Murphy described the incident as heinous and stated that Morales demonstrated a reckless disregard for human life.
“Mr. Morales, you are a dangerous person, a significant threat to society and you need to be removed from the community for a substantial period of time,” the judge said.
