Episode 168: The Murder of Christine Holloway and the Abduction of Vanessa Morales
Police were called to 43-year-old Christine Holloway’s Ansonia, Connecticut home on December 2nd, 2019 at 12:52 p.m. after she failed to show up for work, which was not like her. When they arrived on scene at the home just seven minutes after the call came in, Officer Kelley rang the doorbell and knocked on the door with no answer. Later that same day, Christine’s brother Steven and his girlfriend Jodi Jacobellis went to the Ansonia police department to report that they hadn’t heard from Christine and were very concerned. Jodi had stopped by the house at about 3:00 p.m. and got no answer at the door and saw that Christine’s car wasn’t where she normally parked it.
Jodi told police that Jose Morales, Christine’s boyfriend and the father of her 1-year-old daughter Vanessa, usually visits on weekends and stays with Christine from Friday night until Monday morning. Before going to police, Steven and Jodi went to Jose’s house in New Haven, Connecticut to see if he had seen Christine and Vanessa earlier that day. He informed them that he saw Christine at 7:00 a.m. as she was leaving for work with Vanessa and they left her home at around the same time. Jose told police this as well.
Vanessa and Christine were both last seen and heard from by family on Friday, November 29th.
Police went back to Christine’s apartment around 8:15 p.m. and observed windows open as well as a light on, and after neighbors reported seeing Jose leaving the home earlier that afternoon in contradiction with his report to police, police entered the apartment. They quickly found Christine’s badly beaten and naked body in the bathtub. There was no sign of 14-month-old Vanessa.
The next day at 3:40 a.m., police arrived at Jose’s home. His stepfather, Marcos Garcia, allowed police into the home and informed them that he also hadn’t seen Christine or Vanessa since November 29th, and that Vanessa wasn’t there with them in the house. Marcos then said that Jose came home on Monday, December 2nd at around 1:00 p.m., which again contradicts Jose’s story. Jose was brought into the police station for questioning where he grew hostile and agitated, claiming he and Christine weren’t close and were just acquaintances, then said he hadn’t seen Christine on Monday morning but called her instead. The record of this phone call was not on his phone. Police took Jose’s clothing and cell phones as evidence and brought him home, where they informed him, his stepfather and his mother Lydia that Christine had been murdered. Both Marcos and Lydia were devastated and in shock while Jose showed little emotion, immediately sparking the suspicion of Marcos who asked Jose if he had anything to do with it and where Vanessa was. Jose was then noted to have multiple scratches on his arms, swelling on his face and abrasions on his knuckles.
A search of Jose’s home revealed blood-stained clothing and rags as well as two stun guns, which allowed police to arrest Jose as he was prohibited from having them as a convicted felon.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the cause of Christine's death was blunt force trauma to her head and torso after examining the extensive damage to her body and skull. A piece of her skull was missing. Her death was ruled a homicide.
On December 5th, Mary Tettebach, the Facility Director at Community Crusade for Children, called police to notify them that they had items in their warehouse collected from a donation bin with what looked like blood on them. The items were also those of a young child, and she was afraid they might have belonged to Vanessa. The items were a Diaper Genie pail, a “Boppy” baby pillow, baby clothes in a size 12 months, a toy radio, blocks and other toys, and a towel that had what looked to be blood as well as skin and hair on it. Police arrived on scene and found additional items such as paperwork and mail addressed to Christine Holloway, a pink baby Croc shoe for the left foot, a trash bag full of rags with what looked like blood on them, and adult clothing with what looked like blood on them. An additional search of Christine’s apartment uncovered the matching pink baby Croc shoe for a right foot. They also found a bath mat and towels with stains on them in the washing machine.
Jose’s story again shifted several times during interviews with police officers. He claimed that he was smoking PCP with a friend on December 1st when multiple men rushed inside and tried to break into the home. Jose claims he got punched in the face and knocked out when he tried to call 911. He claims these men killed Christine and took baby Vanessa.
On February 7th, 43-year-old Jose Morales was arrested for Christine’s murder as well as evidence tampering. He was brought into court later that same day for his arraignment after he was informed he would be held on a $5 million dollar bond. The arrest sparked a significant amount of media attention as well as overall public outrage over the murder and the suspected abduction of baby Vanessa. Members of the community put up missing persons posters of Vanessa, held vigils and prayer groups and showed their support in any way they could.
Police released photos of items missing from the home that were used to care for baby Vanessa in the hopes that someone would see them and recognize them, bringing them to the attention of police. These items have never been located. Police feel that these items were taken with Vanessa to use to care for her, which is the best case scenario, or were discarded, which is the worst case scenario. These items included a ring of multiple teething toys, a rainbow-colored polka dot blanket, a heather grey-colored Eddie Bauer brand diaper backpack, and a Graco brand car seat that the teething ring was possibly attached to.
In July of 2024, Jose finally had a court hearing to determine that he would be going to trial. There is no set date at this time.
The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for anyone with any information that leads to Vanessa being brought home safely. Anyone with any information on the disappearance of Vanessa Morales is asked to please call the FBI tip line at 203-503-5555, the Ansonia Police Department at 203-735-1885 or through Tip411.
Image sources:
nhregister.com - “Vanessa Morales: What we know so far about the missing Ansonia child”
fbi.gov - “Missing Person: Vanessa Morales”