INFANT GIRL, VANESSA, DISAPPEARS NEW HAVEN, MOM FOUND DEAD

Summary

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Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Episode: INFANT GIRL, VANESSA, DISAPPEARS NEW HAVEN, MOM FOUND DEAD

Release Date: July 10, 2026

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Overview

This episode of “Crime Stories with Nancy Grace” centers on the harrowing disappearance of 14-month-old Vanessa Morales from New Haven, Connecticut, and the discovery of her mother, Christine Holloway, murdered inside her home. Nancy Grace and her expert guests—family members, law enforcement, journalists, and forensic psychologists—retrace critical steps in the investigation, unravel the emotional toll on the family, and discuss theories and hope about Vanessa’s fate. At its heart, this is both a call for justice and a plea for public help.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Day of Discovery: Family Response and Police Involvement

• Family Concerns and Early Actions

  • Vanessa’s aunt, Jody Jacobellis, recounts the first signs of trouble when Christine doesn’t show up for work and cannot be contacted ([05:53]).
  • Jody’s immediate response: visiting the mother’s home, noticing footprints in the snow, and a missing car.
  • Calls to area hospitals and visits to Vanessa’s father, Jose Morales, reveal inconsistent stories.

• Police Initial Reaction

  • Jody reports her concerns, only for police to refer to Christine as a “runaway,” which the family adamantly disputes ([08:56]).
  • “No, she’s not. She’s a 40-something-year-old woman with a 1-year-old. This is not like her.” – Jody Jacobellis ([09:04])
  • Law enforcement’s slow response is lamented by family and Nancy.

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The Crime Scene: What Police Found

• Entry and Shocking Discovery

  • Police kick in the door after finding open windows (odd for cold weather) and no mail in the mailbox—small details that heightened their sense of foreboding ([12:07]).
  • Christine Holloway is found in the bathtub, naked and bludgeoned, likely with a hammer ([20:56]).

• Missing Infant and Key Items

  • All evidence of Vanessa is gone—her car seat, backpack, blanket, and teething ring are missing ([21:24]).
  • “Whoever took this child was taking her to care for her somewhere else.” – Marissa Alter, investigative reporter ([21:59])
  • The items missing suggest abductors intended to care for Vanessa rather than harm her, giving family and experts hope.

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Emotional Toll and Frustration

• Family’s Trauma

  • Anna Radonsky, another aunt, describes her immediate sense of dread and the rush to prepare for either a search or a funeral ([13:57], [23:55]).
  • “Nobody should ever have to tell a family member that at all. It was the worst night of my life.” – Anna Radonsky ([28:10])

• Police Updates and Community Effort

  • The FBI offers a $10,000 reward for Vanessa’s return; law enforcement stresses hope due to the care items missing ([28:24]).

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The Investigation: Suspicions and Evidence

• Jose Morales Under Scrutiny

  • His phone logs contradict claims; he deletes some call records but not all, raising suspicions ([35:00], [36:01]).
  • “He has a fallback for it. He’s already tangled up in just the phone records.” – Nancy Grace ([36:01])

• Red Flags in Morales’s Behavior

  • Morales’ statements to police are filled with evasions and inconsistencies about his whereabouts, last contact with Christine, and what he’d told his own family ([37:36]–[38:26]).
  • “First of all, he lies about the phone call, which is very easily disproven…He’s tangled up in what he told his own family.” – Nancy Grace ([38:26])

• Family’s Perspective

  • Both aunts say they immediately suspected Jose due to out-of-character behavior and are grateful that forensic scenes contain no trace of Vanessa’s harm ([34:20], [34:25]).

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Analysis: Law Enforcement and Expert Views

• Law Enforcement Insights

  • Mike Gould, former NYPD Lt., emphasizes the importance of listening to family intuition:
    • “Families are intimately familiar with their family member’s behaviors. Law enforcement is not…It’s a pattern of their behavior that they know is not part of this case.” ([18:21])
  • Gould and others are optimistic that Vanessa may still be alive, citing similar hopeful cases like Elizabeth Smart ([45:21]).

• Forensic Psychology Perspective

  • Dr. Rachel Towles highlights the abductor’s apparent intent to care for Vanessa, not harm her, based on missing essential childcare items ([33:42]).
  • She points to cell phone pings near Jose Morales’ family, suggesting possible handoff ([46:10]).

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Ongoing Search and Public Pleas

• Community & Nationwide Efforts

  • The family continues to distribute flyers and photos, believing Vanessa may still be out there ([42:14], [46:53]).
  • “I’m constantly checking my phone in the middle of the night just in case I get a phone call from the FBI or the Ansonia PD. Just her eyes never change.” – Jody Jacobellis ([46:53])

• Nancy’s Call to Action

  • “If you know or think you know anything about the disappearance of baby Vanessa, please call 203-735-1885 or the FBI now involved. 800-225-5324.” ([47:24])

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Parental Intuition:
  • “You cannot discount a feeling of foreboding.”—Nancy Grace ([17:04])
• On Law Enforcement’s Initial Dismissal:
  • “They’re like, well, she’s just a runaway. No, she’s not.”—Jody Jacobellis ([08:56])
• On the Abduction:
  • “Somebody that knew the baby, that cared about the baby, took the baby.” —Nancy Grace ([23:05])
• On Family’s Ongoing Hope:
  • “We still have Vanessa’s first Christmas present…that’s the last thing we have of her. Nothing will bring them back. And that hurts the most.”—Anna Radonsky ([43:22])
• On Hopes for Resolution:
  • “There’s a big delta between killing your wife and killing your child. So filicide is relatively uncommon…This keeps me optimistic.”—Mike Gould ([45:21])
• On Keeping the Story Alive:
  • “The only way this is going to come to fruition is shows like yours that keep this in the public spotlight.”—Mike Gould ([36:38])

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Important Timestamps

• [02:23] – Nancy Grace introduces the case: infant Vanessa missing, mother found dead.
• [05:53] – Jody Jacobellis details the discovery and her suspicions.
• [08:56] – Police initially dismiss the case as a runaway.
• [13:05] – Anna Radonsky shares the family’s immediate sense of dread.
• [20:56] – Home entry and discovery of Christine's body; Vanessa not found.
• [21:24] – Police note missing baby items critical to her care.
• [28:24] – Law enforcement and FBI public plea; reward announced.
• [33:42] – Rachel Towles gives psychological perspective on abductor’s motives.
• [34:20] – Family suspicions about Jose Morales.
• [35:00–36:38] – Phone records and contradictions in Morales’s story.
• [45:21] – Continued optimism from law enforcement.
• [46:53] – Jody Jacobellis’s direct plea to the public.

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Case Status & Call to Action

• Search ongoing: Despite Morales’s conviction for Christine’s murder, Vanessa remains missing. No evidence suggests she was harmed.
• Community engagement: Listeners urged to keep Vanessa's image in public view, especially with new age progression photos.
• Contact:
  • Ansonia Police Department: 203-735-1885
  • FBI: 800-225-5324

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Conclusion

This episode delivers a powerful narrative of tragedy, suspicion, and enduring hope. Nancy Grace and her team lay bare the emotional trauma and relentless pursuit of answers facing Vanessa’s family, while law enforcement and psychology experts keep the spark of hope alive. The call to the public is clear: vigilance, compassion, and publicity are the family’s and child’s best hopes for return and justice.

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Transcript

[Nancy Grace]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

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[Nancy Grace]

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Bombshell tonight. A precious little infant girl, Vanessa, just 14 months old, disappears out of tony New Haven, Connecticut. Her mother found dead. Good evening, I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

We know where Christine is.

[Jody Jacobellis]

You know where Christine is? Well, you want to hold the baby?

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Yes. Christine's dead.

[Anna Radonsky]

What happened to her?

[Jose Morales]

It's a homicide.

There is nothing that I can tell you. I don't know. Maybe my brain is messed up. Maybe I'm not clear Minded person.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

We're trying to find a one year

[Officer Smith]

old kid and some of this information

[Interviewer/Investigator]

is not adding up those B sounds.

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Hello?

[Officer Smith]

Hello, Jose, how you doing? This is Officer Smith from Antonio Police. Hey, I have a girl here that's saying that she's the sister of Christina Holloway.

[Jose Morales]

All right.

[Officer Smith]

Is that Christina your girlfriend? Yeah. Okay. She's saying that she couldn't contact her all day today. She said that she talked to you today and that you said you saw her leave this morning.

[Jose Morales]

I can't leave early in the morning

to go to work.

[Anna Radonsky]

That's about it.

[Officer Smith]

Who is she? Who is she with when she left? Is that your baby as well? Yes. Okay. What does she drive? 2002 miles to protege. What color is it? Gold.

[Nancy Grace]

Mom is found dead. But where is the baby? Let's see a photo of baby Vanessa. Do you know how many millions of people would pay 60, 80, $100,000 or more to get a baby like this? Where is Vanessa? You were just hearing the 911 call. Joining us, an all star panel. But before we go to reporters and experts, I want to go to two very special guests joining us tonight, Jody and Anna. Jody Jacobella, the aunt of Vanessa Morales and Anna Radonsky, also an aunt of Vanessa Morales. Ladies, thank you for being with us. And I want to apologize up front for making you relive the worst memories of your life, the worst thing that has ever happened, the murder of baby Vanessa's mother and the disappearance of a tiny baby who many, including me and law enforcement believe is still alive and out there. Does she even know what has happened? Straight to you, Jody. How did you first learn about the murder of Vanessa's mom and that the baby's gone?

[Jody Jacobellis]

That Monday, I was home from work because the Sunday prior was my birthday. And my soon to be husband called me and said he got a call from his mother that his sister didn't show up from work. So we lived five minutes away and I said, I'll go over there. I pulled up and didn't see her car, but it had just snowed. So there was footsteps going to her door. So I took a picture and I'm like. Then I sent it to him. I'm like, somebody was here. I'll try knocking. And I banged on the door. There was nothing. I tried to listen for Vanessa crying, anything, any kind of distress, nothing. I proceeded to go back home and I called my soon to be husband and told him what was going on. He came home, we picked me up, we went back there. Then I ended up Googling Vanessa's father's mother's address in New Haven. We went over there. His stepfather answered the door, and Vanessa's father came to the door and I asked him a few questions, you know, when did you last time see them? He was like, oh, this morning. They left for work. And, you know, I went to work and I said, okay, have you talked to her? And no, I tried to call her, but it's going to voicemail. And I said, well, that's kind of funny because she has to call you while she's driving anywhere. And I said, you know, if you hear from them, hear from her, give me a call. And I gave him my cell phone number and I said, better yet, call me from your number. So I have it. And once he did that, I ran back to the car and I started calling all the area hospitals just in case she was in a car accident and nobody knew who she was. And at that time, he had walked up to the car, which is Vanessa's father, and you know, acted like nothing. It was like, hey, what's up guys? You know, just shooting the breeze. And I'm like, there's something seriously wrong here with that. I asked him about the car, the make and the model. He told me, Mazda Protege 2004 Gold. With that, we left. As we're driving, I wrote a note to Chrissy so we could put on her door to call me, her brother or her mother as soon as possible. It's an emergency. And with that, I called Ansonia PD said, can you meet me at six and a half Ansonia? Six and a half. Myrtle Av. Ansonia. And they said, well, can you come down to the station? I thought that was pretty odd. So we went. And at the minute I got there, they're like, oh, we did a wellness check there today. We didn't know about this. We were never informed. And I said, you know, and they're like, well, she's just a runaway. No, she's not. She's a 40 something year old woman with a 1 year old. This is not like her. And I was arguing with the officer, fighting with him.

[Nancy Grace]

Wait, they referred to Vanessa's mother, Christine Holloway as a runaway?

[Jody Jacobellis]

Yes, ma'. Am.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, go ahead.

[Jody Jacobellis]

And another officer came out like, as if I was troubling him with for assistance. And I gave him all the information that we had. I gave him Vanessa's father's phone number. He went in the back, did his thing with the phone call, came back, and I noticed his attitude changed. Now I know something was seriously Wrong

[Nancy Grace]

much of what you're saying. Jody Jacobella, this is baby Vanessa's aunt is confirmed. And what we're learning from that 911 call. Listen.

[Jose Morales]

Hello?

[Officer Smith]

Hello, Jose?

[Anna Radonsky]

Yeah.

[Officer Smith]

How you doing?

[Jose Morales]

This.

[Officer Smith]

This is Officer Smith from Ansonian Police.

[Mike Gould]

All right.

[Officer Smith]

Hey, I have a girl here that's saying that she's the sister of Christina Holloway.

[Jose Morales]

All right.

[Officer Smith]

Is that Christina your girlfriend? Yeah. Okay. She's saying that she couldn't contact her late today. She said that she talked to you today and that you said you saw her leave this morning.

[Jose Morales]

I saw her leave early in the morning to go to work.

[Anna Radonsky]

That's about it.

[Officer Smith]

Who is she? Who was she with when she left? Is that your baby as well? Yes. Okay. What did. What does she drive? 2002 mazda protege. What color is it?

[Jose Morales]

Gold.

[Officer Smith]

Gold. Did you talk to them at all

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[Officer Smith]

Christina or your daughter?

[Jose Morales]

First thing in the morning.

[Officer Smith]

What time did you talk to? Six or seven.

[Nancy Grace]

You've got Jody Jacobellis and Anna Radonsky out of their minds, worried.

[Rachel Towles]

So.

[Nancy Grace]

So they get police to the home. And I want you to see and hear what happened.

[Officer Smith]

I'm going to give you a quick breakdown. Okay? I've. Earlier today we had a missing person, technically just trying to make contact with at number six and a Half Burlap. They came out, they said no car was in the driveway. No car was here. Another out.

[Jose Morales]

And.

[Officer Smith]

Yeah, but there's no mail in the mailbox. I don't think there's no mail in her bit. Yep, Nobody's home. But we can't. We can't find. They're back here. Like, listen, she's a mother of a one year old. She always shows up at work. She always contacts us. We don't see. We haven't heard from her. This is really, really bad. We have a bad feeling. We just get to the house now there's a couple windows open on the second floor, which is really odd because obviously he's freezing out. I had him do a neighborhood canvas. One of the neighbors said, hey, I saw him. I saw him drive it out. Drive her car out of here this afternoon. I can't get into the house. I'm gonna kick in the door in a minute.

[Nancy Grace]

Straight out to Anna Radonsky. Joining us, also a relative of the mom found dead and the baby missing baby Vanessa. What did it mean, Anna, that there's no mail in the mailbox? Why was that critical? Because there's two comments made. And at a time when you're trying to find somebody missing, including a baby for someone to comment, there's no mail in the mailbox. That means something. And they're saying, we have a really bad feeling. In my experience, Ms. Radonski Victims and their families somehow have a sense of foreboding. They know. They know here and here before they've been told. Tell me about the mail and what brought about that feeling of foreboding.

[Anna Radonsky]

Yeah. So I am Chrissy's aunt

and I

lived in a house with her when she grew up, so we were really, really close. And when Jodi and Steven called me because I was living in Nashville at the time, and when they called me to tell me that there was something going on and that Chrissy didn't go to work. And Chrissy and Vanessa are like two peas in a pod. They're always together. She always goes to work. You know, Then I said, you need to call the police. You need to just go there like something's wrong, bust the door down, get in there. Because this was like, you know, Chrissy was very regimented, you know, taking care of her daughter, going to work, coming home, making dinner and everything, bath time. So we knew something. Something was really not good.

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[Nancy Grace]

crime stories. With Nancy Grace. Joining us, an all star panel in addition to Jody Jacobellis and Anna Radonsky leading the search for baby Vanessa tonight, Mike Gould is with us. Former Nassau county, that's New York lieutenant, founding member of the New York NYPD K9 unit, former National Guardsman, worked on Secret Service detail for not one but two presidents. You know, a lot of especially talking heads, not you, that have never tried a case or never investigated a case. They get on air and pontificate. It's very irritating. They discount witnesses and victims, victims, families, feelings of foreboding. If somebody told me that my son or daughter did not make it to work this morning, they've got summer jobs, I would know something was very wrong. They never miss school or work or my husband, if he didn't come home when I think he's going to come home. I would just go straight ahead and call 911 because it's like clockwork, the three of them. So you cannot discount a feeling of foreboding.

[Mike Gould]

So yeah, families are intimately familiar with their family members behaviors. Law enforcement is not. So they sentences sometimes be insensitive and dismiss things that they shouldn't be dismissing. So of course it's more than just a gut feeling or foreboding. It's a pattern of their behavior that they know is not part of this case. So they have to be taken extremely, extremely serious. And law enforcement has to take that of course, into account.

[Nancy Grace]

Let's go back to that police body cam and see what we can learn.

[Officer Smith]

Police, follow me please.

[Jose Morales]

Spotl it,

[Anna Radonsky]

Dude.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Holy.

[Jose Morales]

Get the db near. Holy.

[Officer Smith]

Okay, find your back out.

[Jose Morales]

Back out.

[Officer Smith]

No. Clear the rope. Clear the house. 4:32, I'm gonna need your hair. Roger. Okay, now they clear. I need the bed search please. Under the bed. No kidding. No kidding.

[Nancy Grace]

Oh my stars. Oh my stars. We're hearing right there. Marissa Alter with us, lead Investigative reporter, News 12 there in Connecticut. Marissa, thank you for being with us. We hear on the body cam. Holy. I got a dead body in here. Holy. Okay, okay. Back out. Back out. Clear the room. Clear the room. Look under the bed. Look under the bed. There is no kid. No kid. They're realizing baby Vanessa is gone. We are showing you photos right now of the home where baby Vanessa disappeared. No trace of a 14 month old baby girl. Marissa, the body they found is baby Vanessa's mother, right?

[Marissa Alter]

Yes, Nancy. Christine Holloway is found in her bathtub slumped over naked and she has been bludgeoned. She has been hit by an object which investigators later believe is a hammer and at least eight times dead in the bathtub. And there is no sign of her 14 month old daughter Vanessa at that point.

[Nancy Grace]

Marissa, what did police do to find baby Vanessa?

[Marissa Alter]

Well, they got the word out to the media there was an Amber alert put out and they began searching for her. One of the things they did tell us was that they noticed that some of baby Vanessa's items were missing, such as her polka dot blanket, a Greco car seat, an Eddie Bauer backpack, diaper backpack and a teething ring. And these were all things that they later said, look, these are items that someone would need to take to be able to take care of Vanessa. So that led them to believe that whoever took this child was taking her to care for her somewhere else.

[Nancy Grace]

Straight out to Jody Jacobellis and Anna Radonsky. It's just too much to Take in. When I travel with the twins as infants, my children John, David and Lucy, I had to carry a slew of items no matter where we went. The baby seat, the pull ups, the diapies, the baby rings. Jody Jacobellis, as you are hearing this, what is going through your mind? We'll take anything

[Anna Radonsky]

just back to that night, December 2nd. Because when they did gain entry in the house, we heard on the radio while we were in the lobby, we're gaining entry. And then I hear, we need you here. And then the radio went down. So let's just bring it back. Horrible memories.

[Nancy Grace]

I'm sorry, Jody. Jody, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I felt this way every time I put a victim's family member on the stand because it's tortuous and it just, it can mess you up for days to come. Anna Radonsky, when you learned that police come in to find mom dead, baby gone, what went through your mind? And now you're hearing missing the baby seat, dipies, the baby ring, other things that would be required to take care of the baby. Somebody that knew the baby, that cared about the baby, took the baby.

[Anna Radonsky]

Yeah.

[Jose Morales]

When.

[Anna Radonsky]

When Stephen and Jody call me, you know, tell me, I was like, I said I was in Nashville, you know, and I packed my suitcase, I just started running around my apartment and packing my suitcase. And I was, I remember just packing like outfits for a funeral and outfits, warm clothes to go looking in the woods to find Vanessa. Like I was like, we're gonna be part of a search team. We're gonna find her. So let me just bring everything and anything.

[Mike Gould]

And

[Anna Radonsky]

then I got on a plane the next morning to come back to Connecticut,

[Nancy Grace]

back to Jody Jacobellis also joining us along with Jody. What happened next?

[Jody Jacobellis]

When the officer, once we heard on the radio, you know, we need you here. That's when my soon to be husband took off with his brother who had just come in from Long island because we told him what was going on and his best friend, they left, went to Chrissy's house. I stayed back with my sister in law and about five minutes later, my sister in law gets a phone call from the friend and said they're taping up the house. And she turned to me and she said it and I just collapsed in

[Anna Radonsky]

the lobby screaming, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[Jody Jacobellis]

And with that, I ran out of the police station to go to the house and they said, no, just stay at the police station. So I went back and that's when my fiance Stephen, his brother Brian and their friend Hector came back and then a detective came out and pulled, pulled the three boys out in the back. And then my brother in law, Brian came out and his friend and said, they want to speak with you. And I said, me? Why? What's going on? And then the two detectives came back and got me, sat me in a little room with my fiance, Stephen asked me all these questions and I told him everything. From the moment I got the phone call from Stephen to up until we got to the police station, they left the room and my fiance looked at me and he's like, she's gone. I said, stop saying that. We were going back and forth arguing. I'm like, stop. And he grabbed my hands, looked me dead in my eyes and said, she's gone. I was like, no, I didn't want to believe it. They pulled everybody back in from the lobby

[Anna Radonsky]

and proceeded to tell us that

[Jody Jacobellis]

they found a female deceased.

[Anna Radonsky]

I remember just running out of the room screaming.

[Jody Jacobellis]

And then I got myself together because then I realized, wait.

[Anna Radonsky]

They said, chrissy, where's the baby?

[Jody Jacobellis]

I went back to the room and looked at both the detectives and I said, where's the baby? They said, what are you talking about? I said, her daughter, our niece, who's 1 years old, Vanessa, where is she? She should have been there. And the two detectives looked at each other and said, well, we don't know. We weren't on the scene, so we don't know anything.

[Anna Radonsky]

And I said, well, you need to find her.

[Jody Jacobellis]

And after that we left and proceeded to go to my mother in law's house, to Bridgeport, Connecticut. To tell her that her oldest daughter is gone and her granddaughter is missing.

[Anna Radonsky]

Nobody should ever have to tell a family member that at all. It was the worst night of my life.

[Law Enforcement Representative]

We are looking for the following items which are listed on this poster board to my far left.

[Jose Morales]

Okay.

[Law Enforcement Representative]

These are items that Christine Holloway used in taking care of Vanessa and we have been able to locate them. We believe that Vanessa is alive. We have no information to the contrary to that point. When you see things like that are missing that would be used to care for a child, that gives us the impetus that she is still out there and she's with someone and we want to bring her home safely. We've had a lot of tips about car seats and different things like that. You know, we've run all those out and they've never come out to what we had hoped for. The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward to any individual who provides information that directly leads to the recovery of the missing child, Vanessa Morales date of birth September 7, 2018. The reward will be given to anyone in the community that has Vanessa in their possession and returns her unharmed or her has specific information where Vanessa is located that leads to her recovery.

[Nancy Grace]

From our friends at WFSB 3 and Fox 61.

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[Nancy Grace]

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[Rachel Towles]

Yeah, so we don't have a body. We don't have the baby's diaper bag. We don't have the blankie, probably the baby's favorite blankie, and the car seat. So we've got the body of the mother. And then we have these items that show that the, the person who took the baby clearly wants to either care for the baby or keep the baby alive. So that's, that's definitely what we see on the. Just from the evidence that's there at

[Nancy Grace]

the crime scene to Anna Radonsky. This is Christine's aunt. Christine, of course, is the mother of baby Vanessa. Did you immediately have a suspicion?

[Anna Radonsky]

Absolutely, yes, immediately.

[Nancy Grace]

And what was it?

[Anna Radonsky]

I mean, we immediately knew that everything was out of the norm and we knew that Jose was involved in it. And we were grateful that none of Vanessa's DNA was found at the scene and that. That there's hope and, and we hope that he gave her someone and we hope that we find her and that she's safe.

[Nancy Grace]

It all began unraveling because of phone records.

[Jose Morales]

Listen, can you. Would you. Would you show me the phone call that you made to Vanessa on Monday morning on your phone, please, My love? You have her in there? Is your love or.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Yeah, says you called her at 6:59pm you wanted today.

[Jose Morales]

I mean, Monday. I keep trying to call her.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Yeah, there's no call.

[Jose Morales]

There's no call to Roy.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

It should still show that you dialed it.

[Anna Radonsky]

Right.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Right. Did you erase stuff?

[Jose Morales]

I. I always delete all my. I pretty much delete it. I delete all my calls all the time.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

You didn't delete these seven, though.

[Jose Morales]

I'll delete every night.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

No, you do what you want to do.

[Nancy Grace]

Well, he's lying because there were all these calls on there that he didn't delete. Plus, who has time to go through and delete every phone call they make? Do you see that happening? Mike Gould, you're the former nypd, whatever they say. So you said you called her, right? Well, there's not a record. He goes, what? Oh, yeah, I tried, but it went to voicemail. Well, that still would have shown up on a call log. Then he goes, yeah, okay, yeah, you're right. I deleted everything. You say he's got a fallback for it. He's already tangled up in just the phone records. He can't even get the phone call straight.

[Officer Smith]

Yeah.

[Mike Gould]

Nancy, there's no doubt the guilty. The jury has spoken. Jose is guilty of sin in the murder of his wife. However, there is no blood evidence. There is zero evidence that the baby is deceased at this point, which gives me great optimism here. There's several factors that I think about. Number one, it's relatively. It's easier to abduct a infant than it is a 10 or 12 year old child. Because they lack mobility, they're relatively easy to care for. So that's a big thing for me. The lack of the. The evidence that wasn't recovered that you need to take care of a child. Whether so, I am optimistic that this child is alive. The question is by whom? So did one of his associates sell the baby for money? Was it a relative? Was it a friend? Somebody knows where this child is, Nancy. And frankly, the only way this is going to come to fruition is shows like your that keep this in the public spotlight. So I'm very optimistic here.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Jose, did you tell your parents where you went on Friday? Yeah. Would you tell me what.

[Jose Morales]

Yeah,

[Interviewer/Investigator]

listen.

[Jose Morales]

Yeah, listen. Yeah, listen.

What?

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Your dad said you went to Christine's Friday with her. Why would he tell me that?

[Jose Morales]

He said that I went to. Yes, probably that's why he thought I was.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Why would you. You said you told him where you went and if you told him you went to Hector.

[Jose Morales]

She got her own car.

Right.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

But why would he tell me that you went to Christine's if you told him where you went?

[Jose Morales]

Why would he tell. He probably assumed.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

No, you said you told him where you went.

[Nancy Grace]

First of all, he lies about the phone call, which is very easily disproven. Then he's tangled up in what he told his Own family? He told his dad he's going to Christine's. She's dead, the baby's missing, and he's saying. I never said that. Where did my dad get that idea? But that's not all.

[CarMax Advertiser]

Idiot.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Listen, you realize that somebody saw you

[Law Enforcement Representative]

leaving Christine's house today?

[Jose Morales]

How's that?

[Interviewer/Investigator]

It's not important.

[Mint Mobile Advertiser]

Who,

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Jose.

[Jose Morales]

Why?

[Interviewer/Investigator]

To find the kid.

[Jose Morales]

Today.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Well, not Tuesday. Monday. Listen, you want to find your daughter?

[Jody Jacobellis]

Okay,

[Jose Morales]

Okay. Let's find her.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

How we're gonna find her? You were at the house Monday leaving.

[Jose Morales]

Where's your daughter? Listen, you know why we want your clothes? You know it.

This clothes?

Yeah. Or is there other clothes that we want?

I don't know. Oh. Oh, you want this Clothes? Clothes. All right, take it. You're gonna take me home?

We're. You're going home? Yes, we told you. You're going home. We are taking your clothes, and then we're gonna get you in the car, then we're driving you back all the way home.

So how. And I'm like, all right, all right, all right.

Wait one second. We're getting some bags and some stuff.

Oh, this is crazy.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

So you understand. Understood what I told you, right? That somebody saw you leaving the house today, Monday? Yes.

[Nancy Grace]

You understand that technical legal term, dumbass? Jody. Anna. Did he always act like that? What clothes? Oh, these clothes. Which makes me think he committed the murder in other clothes. I mean, what is he saying? Jody?

[Jody Jacobellis]

You could tell he has a mind of a two year old whenever I would see him, because Chrissy used to live with me and her brother, and when he would come to the house, he was always drunk. And my. My stepson would be like, didn't you see the wall there? And I'm like, yeah, you know, he probably tripped. I would make up excuses to. My stepson was 6 years old at the time, and I didn't want him to think, you know, he's drinking and driving, but you can tell he's not educated. You know, he thinks he knows it all, but he really isn't. He doesn't.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, what can we learn from his family?

[Interviewer/Investigator]

We know where Christine is.

[Jody Jacobellis]

You know where Christine is?

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Yes.

[Anna Radonsky]

Oh, you guys found one of the.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Yes.

[Jody Jacobellis]

What about the baby?

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Christine's dead.

[Jose Morales]

We're looking for your son to shine a light on our situation. We're working with right now. So I'll let you know this. It's a homicide. We are looking for all the help we can get.

[Nancy Grace]

Anna Radonski, who do you believe has baby Vanessa?

[Anna Radonsky]

I have no idea. I mean, I hope that he gave her to someone that just really wanted a baby and she is taken care of. I don't know. I just, I, I think our family just is like, you know, so much time has gone on and we're, we've given every opportunity for him to just tell the truth, just stop the like ongoing pain of, to our family and just let us know, you know. But we have nothing. We have no idea. So I still walk around to beaches and pediatrician offices and libraries and I'm still passing out pictures of Vanessa because we really believe we're going to find her someday. We, the family would like to ask for everyone in our communities and beyond us to help bring baby Vanessa home safely.

[Jose Morales]

But at this moment, we don't know if it is him or if it's someone else. And what he's telling us, we're going by what he's telling us.

[Anna Radonsky]

We still have Vanessa's first Christmas present. We can't let go of it. And I know she'll be too old before she comes back to play with it, but that's the last thing we have of her. Nothing will bring them back. And that hurts the most

[Jody Jacobellis]

that we

[Anna Radonsky]

have to stand here today and basically be treated like we're nothing, like she and Vanessa were nothing. We're just frustrated in the fact that he was able to turn around to

[Jody Jacobellis]

see his family members.

[Anna Radonsky]

We can't turn around to see ours. We have to go visit their grave site. That's our anger that.

[Nancy Grace]

From WFSB 3, Fox 61 and NBC to Marissa Alter. Joining us, lead investigative reporter, News 12 Connecticut, who has been on this case fighting for answers in the disappearance of baby Vanessa. Where does the case stand now, Marissa?

[Marissa Alter]

Well, right now police say that the search for Vanessa is ongoing. The hope had been that with the trial, the murder trial of Jose Morales for Christine Holloway's murder, that that might lead to more publicity and then more answers, new information that could come out and give the family and police some idea of where she might be. But as of right now, police have not released any new information that might give us an idea of where she is.

[Nancy Grace]

To Mike Gould, former NYPD Mike, the age progression photo is very typically very accurate and a reward of $10,000 is still in place. Any hope?

[Mike Gould]

Yeah, Nancy, completely. A couple of things that keep me optimistic here. You know, Jose might be the biggest dirtbag on earth and have the mentality of a two year old and as you described him as a dumbass quite accurately. However, there's a big delta between Killing your wife and killing your child. So filicide is relatively uncommon compared to murders of a spouse. So I keep that. Again, the lack of blood evidence, there's no evidence to suggest that this little girl has been deceased. So this keeps me optimistic. As the girl matures, the likelihood of her recovery is better. We've had cases, J.C. dugard, Elizabeth Smart, so these things aren't out of the realm of possibility.

[Nancy Grace]

Rachel Towles joining us. Forensic psychologist, weigh in. Rachel.

[Rachel Towles]

Yeah, I mean, I also have hope that she's still alive, ideally. What we do know is that I think Christina's cell phone pinged because he had a very short period of time between when he was brought in for questioning and then detained. And, and so he had a very short period of time to do something with Vanessa, if he actually did something with Vanessa. And we know that her cell phone, the mother's cell phone, pinged around where his family was, which suggests he did potentially pass her off to a family member. At least that's what some of the records show. And that's the hope.

[Nancy Grace]

To Jody Jacob Ellis, what is your message tonight?

[Jody Jacobellis]

Just look at Vanessa's photo. If you see a child that resembles her, please give us a call. I'm constantly checking my phone in the middle of the night just in case I get a phone call from the FBI or the Ansonia pd. Just her eyes never change. The age progression picture that there is now is a combination of her mother, Chrissy, and her father.

[Nancy Grace]

If you know or think you know anything about the disappearance of baby Vanessa, please call 203-735-1885 or the FBI now involved. 8002-2553-2480-0225-5324. We remember an American hero, Trooper Kevin Trainor, Massachusetts state police. Just 30, killed in the line of duty after three years on the force, leaving behind a devastated fiance. Jessica, American hero, Trooper Kevin Trainor. Thank you to our guests joining us tonight, especially the relatives of the victims, but especially to you for being with us. Nancy Grace signing off for tonight. I'll see you tomorrow night. And until then, good night, friend.

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[Nancy Grace]

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