Boyfriend of slain Ansonia woman, missing daughter pleads not guilty to weapons charges
A man charged in the death of his girlfriend and whose baby daughter has been missing appeared in Milford court Thursday.
Jose Morales is charged in connection with the death of Christine Holloway, and police say he is a prime suspect in the disappearance of his 1-year-old daughter, Vanessa Morales.
This week marks three months since Vanessa Morales went missing.
Morales pleaded not guilty to murder and tampering with evidence at his last appearance, and is still being held on a $5 million bond.
Attorneys Norm Pattis and Kevin Smith, who previously represented Fotis Dulos, represented 43-year-old Morales.
During Thursday’s court appearance, Morales pleaded not guilty to weapons charges after police found two stun guns in his home in New Haven during a search following Holloway's death and his daughter's disappearance.
He and Pattis also waived a probable cause hearing.
Police say Morales is a convicted felon and should not have had possession of the stun guns.
Holloway was found bludgeoned to death inside the bathtub of her Ansonia home in December 2019.
In the arrest warrant, Morales admitted he was on PCP when he was at Holloway's apartment the day she died.
The Amber Alert for Vanessa is still active, and the FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for her safe return.
The state and the defense are still exchanging discovery.
"We are beginning to receive hundreds, if not thousands of documents from the state relating to their investigation of this. We won't have a lot to say about this case publicly unlike other cases,” Pattis said.
Pattis says he could get the discovery as early as the end of the week.
Morales is due back in court on April 15.
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