DNA, cellphone experts tie Jose Morales to evidence, crime scene on Day 4 of murder trial
Forensic science examiner Kristen Madel, from the state crime lab, testified the blood stains on nearly every item collect by police matched Christine Holloway’s DNA—from an infant’s Croc shoe to children’s books to XXXL T-shirts.
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DNA and cellphone experts took the stand on the fourth day of Jose Morales' murder trial at Milford Superior Court and tied Morales to evidence and the crime scene.
Forensic science examiner Kristen Madel, from the state crime lab, testified the blood stains on nearly every item collect by police matched Christine Holloway’s DNA—from an infant’s Croc shoe to children’s books to XXXL T-shirts.
Holloway, 43, was Morales’ girlfriend at the time of her death over five years ago, and the two shared a 1-year-old daughter, Vanessa Morales. But police believe Morales, now 48, brutally beat Holloway and left her body in the bathtub of her home on Myrtle Avenue in Ansonia. Police discovered her during a welfare check the night of Dec. 2, 2019. They found no trace of Vanessa.
On Thursday, Madel said Morales' DNA wasn't on the blood stains she examined, but it was on the unstained areas of several items. That included the collar of a blood-stained T-shirt, puzzle and the opening of a garbage bag found in the trunk of Morales’ car.
On cross-examination, Morales' attorney, Ed Gavin, focused where Morales' DNA wasn’t found, including nail clippings from both of Holloway's hands.
“Jose Morales was eliminated, correct? He was not the source of what you analyzed?” Gavin asked Madel.
“Correct,” Madel responded.
Gavin's cross also introduced what weapon may have used in Holloway’s death.
“Now, we're going to talk about some hammers that were submitted,” Gavin stated as he ran through the results of them.
Of the hammers examined, Madel told the jury Morales' DNA was included on the handle of one and couldn't be eliminated from the handle of others.
Before this point, the state had only said Morales used an instrument that left round marks, one inch in diameter, when he hit Holloway in the head and torso.
Absent from Madel's testimony was any mention of Vanessa or evidence that she was harmed. Vanessa is still missing today. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recently put out a new age-progression picture of what she might look like at age six.
Special Agent David Carney, with the FBI, testified after Madel. Carney took jurors through his report that tracked both Holloway’s and Morales ’ cell phones from the morning of Friday, Nov. 29 until the evening of Monday, Dec. 2.
Morales told police he’d last seen Holloway and Vanessa on Nov. 29. But Carney said Morales’ phone, along with Holloway’s, was in the vicinity of her home all weekend, only leaving at 4:25 a.m. on Dec. 2. Carney said that’s when both phones were pinged off towers in Orange, then New Haven, before Holloway’s phone went dark. Carney testified that was either from the phone being turned off or from it losing service, but he said in an urban area like New Haven, the latter was unlikely. Several hours later in the afternoon, Holloway’s phone connected to a final tower, putting it in the Naugatuck State Forest.
Meanwhile, Carney said data from Morales’ phone put him around Holloway’s home multiple times that day, including during the initial welfare check where police got no answer. An officer responded there in the afternoon after Holloway’s boss got concerned when she and Vanessa didn’t show up to the Bridgeport daycare where Holloway worked, and Vanessa was enrolled.
Testimony in the trial continues Friday. It’s expected to last about a month.
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