Holloway family focuses on search for missing girl after guilty verdict in Morales trial

Jose Morales was found guilty of the murder of his then-girlfriend Christine Holloway, and now the focus has shifted to the family's missing daughter, Vanessa Morales.

She hasn’t been seen for five years, and Ansonia police continue to investigate her disappearance.

Guilty on all counts. As that verdict was read in a Milford courtroom Tuesday, Morales kept his eyes closed, learning that he'd been convicted of murdering Holloway in 2019 in her home on Myrtle Avenue in Ansonia.

Holloway’s family left the courtroom in tears. Now, they say their focus will be on finding the couple’s daughter Vanessa whose been missing since the killing.

In a statement, Holloway’s sister-in-law Jodi Jacobellis said, “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.”

Morales was a suspect in Vanessa’s disappearance, but was never charged.

Former FBI special agent and University of New Haven professor Ken Gray said missing children cases that span over a few years can be challenging to solve.

“As time goes on, there are less and less pieces of evidence that will lead you to a solution to the case,” Gray said.

Morales took the stand in his trial, claiming intruders killed Holloway and took Vanessa, saying he was high on PCP at the time.

That testimony leads experts to believe that Morales won’t be offered a lesser sentence to provide information on her whereabouts.

“I think he just did not plant any memories. He was in a hallucinized state. He just was not in reality,” Jim Bergenn, an attorney at Shipman and Goodwin, said.

Gray said while it appears the trail to find Vanessa has gone cold for now, he said there’s still hope for her family, citing previous cases where children have been found years later, such as the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard who was found after being missing for more than 18 years.

“There might be hope there, and that is still being held out that she would be found,” Gray said.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recently released an age-enhanced photo of Vanessa. She is now almost 6 years old.

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Prosecutors hinted that more information could come out about Vanessa in the future.

“The Ansonia Police Department as they discuss any additional developments that could possibly arise out of this verdict with regard to Vanessa Morales,” Howard Stein, Senior Assistant State's Attorney, said.

Ansonia police said Vanessa's disappearance remains an active investigation and urge anyone with information to contact them.

Morales’s sentencing is scheduled for July 8. He faces up to 65 years in prison.