Man sentenced for killing the mother of his missing daughter and leaving her naked body in tub

ANSONIA, Conn. (TCN) — A 48-year-old man will spend over six decades behind bars in connection with the death of the mother of his missing child.

Prosecutors said the fatal attack occurred in the early hours of Dec. 1, 2019, when Morales struck the victim in the head at least “eight times with an instrument that caused severe fractures of her skull and other blunt force trauma that resulted in her death.” The defendant reportedly cleaned up the scene and destroyed evidence over a 37-hour period before fleeing, leaving Holloway’s naked body in a bathtub.

According to the Ansonia Police Department, officers arrested him around two months later. Authorities are also reportedly investigating the disappearance of the couple’s daughter, Vanessa Morales, who was 14 months old when Holloway died and has been missing since. WVIT reports that the defendant has not been charged in the child’s disappearance, but officials said he is a suspect. Vanessa Morales would now be 6 years old.