ANSONIA, Conn. (AP) — Police on Friday charged the father of a 1-year-old Connecticut girl who’s been missing for more than two months with killing the toddler’s mother.
Jose Morales, 43, is charged with murder in the death of Christine Holloway, the mother of Vanessa Morales, Ansonia police said.
He is also charged with tampering with evidence and is being held on a $5 million bond pending arraignment Friday. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
Holloway was found dead inside her Ansonia home in early December. The medical examiner’s report said she died from blunt force trauma. Vanessa was supposed to be in the home but was not.
Authorities say she has brown eyes and brown hair, is 2-feet, 2-inches tall, and weighs about 17 pounds.
Morales was first arrested in December on separate charges for alleged illegal possession of stun guns because he is a convicted felon and cannot possess weapons. He was detained on a $250,000 bond then.
The Harford Courant reports that according to court records, Morales has a violent criminal history and threatened to break a former girlfriend’s bones,.
Police say they are still hoping to locate Vanessa safely and are working with other police departments, Connecticut State Police and the FBI.
(Copyright (c) 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)