More crime scene photos, blood evidence focus of Jose Morales’ murder trial on Day 3
Sgt. Kevin Duggan, with Connecticut State Police, picked up his testimony about the condition Holloway was found in when Ansonia police forced their way into her home on Dec. 2, 2019.
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A crime scene investigator who processed Christine Holloway’s home returned to the stand Wednesday with more gruesome pictures on the third day of Jose Morales’ murder trial.
Sgt. Kevin Duggan, with Connecticut State Police, picked up his testimony about the condition Holloway was found in when Ansonia police forced their way into her home on Dec. 2, 2019.
Morales, 48, appeared to look down as jurors saw additional photographs of his former girlfriend’s naked, beaten body in her bathtub, including a large open wound to her head and circular bruises on her back.
“In the tub, there was the decedent’s body, there was leaf and other debris down near the drain portion of the tub, and there were fragments of what appeared to be skull-like material in the tub,” Duggan said.
The sergeant also told the jury about blood-like stains found throughout the home, including on the rug, the crib, a dresser, a bin filled with toys and wet rags in a cleaning bucket. With each piece of evidence, Duggan's testimony was the same—it tested positive for the presence of blood.
Duggan explained he was next tasked with getting Morales’ DNA and photographing his body. Of note was a bruise on Morales’ chest, a picture of which was displayed in court.
Duggan also took the jury through his examination of Morales' car, in which he found a black garbage bag with stains in the trunk. He said those also came up positive for the presence of blood.
After that testimony, Duggan talked about the stained items he bagged at the Kiducation warehouse after one of the nonprofit's employees made a disturbing discovery while emptying donation bins in Derby. On Tuesday, jurors heard about a couple of those items, including a Diaper Genie. But on Wednesday, they learned there were far more—children’s books, a puzzle, a toddler Croc shoe, XXXL T-shirts, a pair of sneakers and multiple pieces of mail addressed to Holloway.
All the evidence was sent to the state crime lab for further testing. Forensic science examiner Jennifer Nelson took the stand next to explain the examinations she and her coworkers did for fluids and materials, and how she prepared samples for future DNA testing. Nelson testified about swabbing the shoes and T-shirts for DNA. One included “a clump of hair-like fibers that were adherent to the shirt” and what she described as “a bone-type fragment.” Nelson also said over and over that her presumptive blood tests on the Kiducation items came up positive.
A DNA expert was expected to follow Nelson and be the final witness Wednesday, but after both sides met in chambers, the judge announced court would end early.
Morales is charged with murder and evidence tampering in the death of Holloway, with whom he shared a one-year-old daughter, Vanessa Morales. But he’s not charged with Vanessa’s disappearance. When police discovered Holloway during a welfare check at her Myrtle Avenue home, there was no sign of Vanessa. The little girl, who would now be six, remains missing today. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recently published a new age-progression picture of Vanessa.
MORE: Jury in Jose Morales murder trial sees crime scene photos, bloody items pulled from donation bins
Jose Morales trial: The murder of Christine Holloway and mystery of their missing daughter
