© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Connecticut man gets 65 years for killing his girlfriend, but their daughter remains missing

Jose Morales stands before Judge Shari Murphy as she delivers his sentence for the murder of Christine Holloway in state Superior Court, in Milford, Conn., Monday, July 14, 2025. (Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, Pool)
Ned Gerard/AP
/
Pool Hearst Connecticut Media
Jose Morales stands before Judge Shari Murphy as she delivers his sentence for the murder of Christine Holloway in state Superior Court, in Milford, Conn., Monday, July 14, 2025. (Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, Pool)

A Connecticut man was sentenced Monday to 65 years in prison for the 2019 beating death of his girlfriend, Christine Holloway, but their baby daughter disappeared at the time and remains missing.

Jose Morales, 48, was convicted by a jury in April of murder and evidence tampering in Holloway's killing, which took place inside her home in Ansonia about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of New Haven.

Their daughter Vanessa was 14 months old when Holloway was killed and relatives continue their efforts to find her. Police said in 2019 that Morales was a suspect in the girl's disappearance, but he was never charged.

Several family members of Holloway spoke at the sentencing.

“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 hearing in Milford Superior Court. He testified at the trial that two intruders attacked Holloway with a crowbar and assaulted him before they kidnapped Vanessa. Morales also said he was high on PCP at the time.

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 handing down the sentence, Judge Shari Murphy called the crime vicious and said Morales showed a careless indifference to 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.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Related Content
Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.