Jose Morales, Ansonia murder suspect, headed for fall trial, attorney says
MILFORD – The trial of a man accused of killing the mother of his still missing infant in Ansonia more than three years ago is set to go ahead “on schedule” this fall, his lawyer told the court on Tuesday.
Jose Morales, 46, appeared before Judge Peter Brown in Superior Court in Milford on Tuesday, where his attorney Edward Gavin said he was still reviewing evidence in the case handed over by prosecutors.
The latest round of detections consisted of 600 police bodycam videos, Gavin said.
“Lord Judge, a video can be a minute or five hours long,” he said. “I went through about a third of that, so I’ve got about 400 left.”
He asked to meet with Judge and Assistant District Attorney Howard Stein next month before Morales is scheduled to return to court on April 4.
“If we could meet with Your Honor…I would like to update you on where we are and I think that would be very fruitful,” Gavin said.
Stein told the judge he had “some substantive discussions” with Gavin on Monday, but echoed his request to meet with the judge next month for what he called a pre-trial.
Gavin said he believes the case should be heard later this year barring any further discovery issues.
“I know we’re targeting a fall date for the trial,” he said.
More than three years have passed since Christine Holloway was killed at her home in Ansonia and her baby daughter Vanessa Morales disappeared without a trace in December 2019.
Morales, Vanessa’s father, has not been charged in connection with the baby’s disappearance.
Ansonia Police have said they are continuing to search for Vanessa. In 2021, they released an age-optimized image of what she might look like.
Jose Morales was charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence in connection with Holloway’s death. He has pleaded not guilty to both offences.
Morales also faces two unrelated charges of criminal possession of a firearm, to which he has also pleaded not guilty.
In a previous court appearance, Morales Stein said investigators received many leads into Vanessa’s disappearance, but none stood out.
Morales was identified early on as a suspect in Holloway’s death, which resulted from blunt force trauma. His arrest affidavit shows that he told police he had nothing to do with Holloway’s death or his daughter’s disappearance.
Morales is being held in lieu of more than $5 million in bond.
