True Crime with Kendall Rae - Mother Killed & Baby ABDUCTED: What Happened to Christine & Vanessa Holloway?

Episode Date: January 22, 2026

On December 2, 2019, 43-year-old Christine Holloway was found dead in her home, her young baby Vanessa missing. Her boyfriend, 48-year-old Jose Morales was immediately under suspicion, as he was high, unhelpful with police, and just generally unconcerned for his dead girlfriend and missing baby. Further questioning and investigation led police to charging Morales with beating Christine to death and trying to clean the crime scene afterwards. Vanessa is still missing to this day.Anonymous tips: https://tip411.com/tips/new?alert_gro... Facebook: / 477930012830043  This episode is sponsored by:Delete Me - promo code: TCKRMerit BeautyQuinceDIME Beauty - promo code:  - promo code: PODCAST20Cash App - Download Cash App Today: https://capl.onelink.me/vFut/4g1zpylb #CashAppPod. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. See terms and conditions at https://cash.app/legal/us/en-us/card-agreement. Cash App Green, overdraft coverage, borrow, cash back offers and promotions provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit http://cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures.—Check out my foundation: Higher Hope Foundation: https://www.higherhope.org/Watch my documentaries:530 Days: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjUWkmOjNLkApartment 801: https://bit.ly/2RJ9XXr True Crime with Kendall Rae podcast:Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3rks84oSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3jC66prShop my Merch! https://kendallrae.shopCheck out my other podcasts:Mile Higher (True Crime) @milehigherpodYouTube: https://bit.ly/2ROzJcwInstagram: http://instagram.com/milehigherpodThe Sesh (Current events, a little true crime, pop culture, and commentary) https://bit.ly/3Mtoz4X @the_seshpodcastInstagram: https://bit.ly/3a9t6Xr*Follow My Social!* @KendallRaeOnytInstagram: http://instagram.com/kendallraeonytFacebook: https://bit.ly/3kar4NKTrue Crime TikTok: https://bit.ly/3VDbc77Personal TikTok: https://bit.ly/41hmRKgREQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://zfrmz.com/yg9cuiWjUe2QY3hSC2V0Form for people directly related/close to the victim: https://zfrmz.com/HGu2hZso42aHxARt1i67Join my discord to chat with other viewers about this video, it’s free! https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCNC O N T A C T:For Business Inquiries - [e-mail] me mail: Kendall Rae 8547 E Arapahoe Rd Ste J #233 Greenwood Village, CO 80112

Oh, hey, how's it going? Amazing. I just finished paying off all my debt with the help of the Credit Counseling Society. Whoa, seriously? I could really use their help. It was easy. I called and spoke with a credit counselor right away. They asked me about my debt, salary, and regular expenses,

gave me a few options, and help me along the way. You had a ton of debt. And you're saying Credit Counseling Society helped with all of it? Yep. And now I can sleep better at night. When debt's got you, you've got us. Give Credit Counseling Society a call today. Visit no more debts.org.

Hello everyone and welcome back to True Crime with Kendall Ray. Thank you so much for joining me. And if you're new to this show, then welcome. I'm so happy to have you here. And man, I just realized that I am looking a lot like this polar bear. Do you see this, people? My son is huge. Not only that, I also have a Diet Coke.

Anyway, you guys, the case that I'm going to be talking to about today, I am beyond surprised. that one, more people aren't talking about it and two, that I had never heard of it. This case absolutely needs more coverage because we're going to be talking about the murder of Christine Holloway and the abduction of her 14-month-old daughter who is still missing to this day. And there is a chance that she is out there somewhere.

This case is just heartbreaking in every way, absolutely devastating. And it's been six years since it occurred. And the fact that baby Vanessa is still out there, she would no longer be a baby at this point, is really eerie to think about. But a very real possibility. And I just feel so, so badly for Christine's family,

who still doesn't have answers about where Vanessa is. I really hope through this episode today we can offer their family some support. In fact, my team and I are going to be reaching out to their family and see if there's any way that we can help through my foundation higher hope. And now let's go ahead and jump in. And I want to start, of course, by telling you more about Christine Marie Holloway, who was born on Halloween in 1976 to her parents, Deborah and Terry.

She was the eldest of five siblings, and from a young age, she really developed a knack and passion for nurturing her brothers and her sister. Taking care of others just came easily to Christine. which actually led her to study psychology in college. And she was even the first person in her family to graduate with a college degree. Her loved ones say that she was definitely the golden child and that she had the most contagious, big belly laugh that you'd ever heard.

And from what I was able to learn about her, it seems like there was really two main pillars in her life. That was family and faith. Christine was Catholic and she was part of this group called the Columbiettes, which is a woman's Catholic organization. and everyone said that she was as patient as a saint. They also all say that she would really do anything for anyone, especially anyone in her family.

She was very close with all of them, especially her niece and nephew. Whenever she was off work, especially after work, she would go and spend time with them, and they would puzzle together. Christine was really into puzzling, so that was something they really enjoyed to do altogether. And, you know, it's these qualities about Christine

that make it so fitting that Christine, that Christine's job was at a child care center. She worked at Bright Morning Star Child Care in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where she was known for being an attentive and reliable caregiver for the children that went there. And part of the reason that she worked there was also so that she could spend time with her own daughter when she was there. And her name, like I mentioned earlier, is Vanessa. Now, being a mom was something that Christine had always wished for. And in 2018, that wish came true when she and her boyfriend, Jose Morales,

got pregnant with a baby girl. And from the moment that Vanessa was born, it was just obvious to everyone that Christine was destined to be a mom. And that was very evident in the way that she cared for her. Now, as for Vanessa's relationship with her dad, it's safe to say that they were a lot less close.

Jose had two kids from a prior relationship, and they lived with him during the week at his mom and stepdad's house in New Haven, Connecticut. And then on the weekends, he would stay with Christine and Vanessa at her apartment in Ansonia, which is about a 30-minute drive. The two of them met on a dating app a few years prior to 2019,

and as a couple, things were pretty turbulent from what I've read. And I'll dive more into that later, but right now, the most important thing to understand is that Christine and Vanessa were totally attached at the hip. And it's also important to know

that Christine was really known for her reliability, so much so that when she didn't show up for work on December 2nd, 2019, her boss called the police and asked for a welfare check. The call to the Insonia Police Department came in at about 1 p.m. And an officer was dispatched shortly thereafter.

And for my audio-only listeners, Christine rented out a second-floor apartment of a third car garage. And right away, the officer noticed that something was a bit strange because it had just snowed the night before. And temperatures were still incredibly low, yet he could see that two of the first.

her windows were open, a skylight window as well as a bay window. Yet when he knocked on the door, nobody answered. And there were no sounds coming from inside the house either. And in these winter conditions, the open windows definitely made him wonder and worry. However, because there was no reasonable suspicion, the officer left. And meanwhile, Christine's family also got word that something may have been wrong. Her boss, Rosie had contacted one of her brother. and her brother's girlfriend, Jody, about the fact that she didn't show up to work. And because they lived nearby,

Jody went over there herself to see if Christine was home. And at first, she did see fresh footprints in the snow, which made her wonder if someone had been there. But nobody came to the door, and she didn't hear the sound of, you know, anyone behind the door or Vanessa crying or anything like that. So her next thought was maybe they were just still over at Jose's mom's house because they were there for Thanksgiving.

So she goes over there. But when she gets there, Jose acted like he didn't know anything about Christine not showing up for work. All he told her was that he saw them that morning around 7 a.m. as she and Vanessa left the house. So Jody's reaction was to call the local hospitals thinking maybe they had been in an accident.

And when that didn't pan out, she ended up just calling the police department to explain their concerns. And of course we know that a welfare check had already taken place, but thankfully, when they pushed for more to be done, they listened. In fact, after learning from Jody that Christine often spent her weekends with Jose at his mom's house where they lived, they decided to give him a call on a recorded line. Delete Me makes it easy, quick, and safe to remove your personal data online at a time when surveillance and data breaches are common enough to make everyone vulnerable. It's truly easier than ever to find personal information about people online.

Having your address, phone number, and family members' names hanging out there in the internet can have actual consequences in the real world and make everyone vulnerable. With Delete Me, more and more online partisans and nefarious actors will find this data and use it to target political rivals, civil servants, and even outspoken citizens posting their opinions online. And I can speak from experience. I have been using Delete Me for quite some time now, and it is really helped as someone with an online presence. Privacy is obviously really important to me. So take control of your data

and keep your private life private by signing up for Delete Me. Now at a special discount for my listeners. Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to JoinDeletMe.com slash T-C-KR and use promo code TCKR at checkout. The only way to get 20% off is to go to JoinDeletMe.com slash T-CKR and enter code T-CKR at checkout. That's JoinDeletetetMe.com slash T-CKR code T-C-KR. Mornings don't always have to take forever. Sometimes you want to just get a quick beat going and get out the door. But personally, I feel like I need to have a little something, something going on when I go out just to be feeling my best. And that's why the minimalist from Merit lets you get a polished natural look in just five minutes.

It's not a foundation or a concealer, but it will replace both in your makeup bag. It makes getting a polished natural look effortless. So you can spend your time on something else. And with another baby on the way, I'm really trying to, get my weekend morning routine down quick so that I can get out the door and do something fun with my kids. I know I'm going to have less and less time. So I'm trying to make sure that I have products that are going to set me up for success. And that's why I am loving my Merit products. The Minimalist is so great. It's just like a your skin, but more glowing, your skin, but better.

And if you haven't heard of Merit, it's the Minimalist Beauty Brand that makes elevated makeup and skincare that's designed to make you look put together in just minutes. Merit's best sell. are proof that less is really more. The flush bomb, which is also excellent, I always have that in my bag with me. It gives you a natural healthy glow without overdoing it, and one was sold every 30 seconds in 2024. That's how good it is.

Then there's the minimalist that I mentioned before, which works double duty as a foundation and a concealer so you can get quick coverage without layering on a bunch of products. I have been loving their great skin serum. It instantly hydrates for a plump, fresh dewy look if you're going to wear no makeup. And the best part is all of Merritt's products are clean, vegan, cruelty-free, and made with nourishing

skincare ingredients that leave your skin looking better long after you take your makeup off. Right now, Merit Beauty is offering my listeners their signature makeup bag with your first order at Meritbeautcom. That's M-E-R-I-T-Beauty.com to get your free signature makeup bag with your first order. Meritbeauty.com. Saying that she's the sister of Christina Holloway?

All right. Is that Christina your girlfriend? 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. Who is she with when you left? Is that your baby as well? Yeah.

But Jose quickly changed his story. He goes on to say that he had only ever spoken to her on the phone and that the last time he had actually laid eyes on her was Friday afternoon. Oh, then you guys both left her house together this morning. You talked to her this morning? Yeah. 7 o'clock when she was leaving for work.

Yeah. When's the last time you saw her? Friday. The finder because, like, everybody's concerned because they haven't talked to her, we're more concerned about, you know, your daughter. Your daughter. Oh, your daughter. I was a protege.

What color is it? Refusion, you know? So, clearly, the change in story was suspicious to them right off the bat, and Jody even confirmed that he'd, definitely told her that the two had physically saw each other that morning. But that wasn't the only bizarre part about this phone call, because the comment that he made about the kind of car that she drove was weird too. So it turns out that a week before this, Christine had gone a new car. She got a black Ford focus, and Jose apparently helped her pick it out. Yet for some reason,

he told them that she still drove her old car and that he knew nothing of that. about this other one. Mind you, that Ford Focus was still parked outside of her apartment. So with all of this, around 8.45 p.m., two officers returned to the apartment to conduct their second welfare check. They both approached her unit and walked around the immediate vicinity, and one of them even went around the neighborhood to ask if anyone remembered seeing anything. And someone did report seeing Jose hanging around outside earlier that day. And this time, there was enough concern for Christine and Vanessa's safety that the officers decided to just go ahead and kick down the door.

Earlier to today, we had a midperson technically just to try to make contact with that number six and a half, Myrtle Lap. They came out, they said, nobody's home. She's a mother of a one-year-old. She always shows up at work. She always contacts us. We haven't heard from her. This is really, really bad.

We have a bad feeling. their boyfriend, boyfriend says I haven't seen her. There's a couple windows open on the second floor, which is really odd because obviously it's freezing out. I can't get into the house. I'm going to kick in the door in a minute. Police apartment. And as they entered her house,

there was a brief moment where things seemed okay, but then within seconds, one of the officers shouted for the other because there in the bathroom was 43-year-old Christine Holloway's naked body so badly beaten that they knew they couldn't save her. Oh, my, fuck. Oh, fuck, dude.

Holy shit. Get the TV here. As you can tell in that footage, this discovery was just beyond traumatic. And as soon as her loved ones learned what had happened, they could hardly wrap their minds around it. They could hardly believe that it was true. And I just remember my husband freaking out, Danielle got a call that they're taping her house off. I collapsed in the lobby screaming, no, no, no, no, no. And I remember my husband saying, she's gone.

I said, stop saying that. We don't know what's going on. And I'm, like, arguing with him. And he turned to me, grabbed my hands, looked me in my dead in my eyes, and said, she's gone. A medical examiner would later determine that Christine had suffered at least eight blows to the head with a weapon that they believed to be a hammer. However, no weapon was ever found. So that's just a best guess. With or without it, though, they knew that this was not an accident.

And so a homicide investigation kicked off right away. But it wasn't just a homicide investigation. There was also a missing person. Baby Vanessa was nowhere to be found. And like I mentioned at the beginning of this episode, we still do not know where she is to this day. And while the search for her isn't over yet, I do still have some hope that they will find her.

So immediately after the decision, discovery of Christine's remains, investigators began to process the scene, and they quickly realized that it actually didn't look like the attack happened in the bathroom, even though that's where her remains were found. Substantial blood evidence was found in the hallway area, not far from her daughter's crib. However, someone clearly tried to clean it up. And when state police forensically examined the place, they found signs of blood on the walls, the rocking chair, the rug, a container of toys, and also on some stuffed animals, which is just beyond disturbing. There was also a wet, red-stained rag that was found in a bucket under the sink,

and that same sink was later determined to have bone fragments in the pipes. Plus, there was a single pink infant's crock that didn't have a matching pair, which also had bloodstains on it. So, obviously, this was a really eerie and disturbing crows. crime scene. And something interesting that they noticed, though, was that the rest of the house was relatively clean. Besides two overflowing recycling bins that were filled with water bottles and beer cans, both inside and outside, the house was relatively well kept. It wasn't like anything had been stolen. There was even a candlelit. Plus, let's not forget that the

front door was locked when those two welfare checks occurred, suggesting that whoever left, her in that condition had to have had a key. And I'm sure you can see where this is going, but Jose, of course, quickly became someone that they wanted to speak to immediately. And so early the following morning, on Tuesday, December 3rd, he was picked up at his parents' house, and he voluntarily came into the police station for an interview. And the strategy here was to not let Jose know that they knew Christine had been killed. They basically said they wanted his help to find her and Vanessa because both of them were missing. And honestly, he sounds pretty incoherent during the interview, but I thought it was important to play some of it so you guys

can hear how it went down. Even though the door is kind of closed, I mean, you're free to leave. We brought you here to talk to you. I understand your... I'm free to leave. What am I going? Well, all the way home? No, give you a right. I'm just saying you're not held captive here. I'm not like... See, why is what I came here for? To talk to you. How about what? We're trying to find Christina and your kid. All right. That's exactly what I've been trying to call her too.

We're in the same page. Okay, good. I'd rather have it that way. When's the last time you talk to her? I talked to her, I think, was Monday morning when she was going to work. So that was yesterday morning, one day. About what time? Early in the morning.

Okay. So that was talking on the phone or in person? On the phone. Did she say anything? Was there a problem? Was there any kind of... issue. No, no argue. Did you hear anything in the background? I didn't sound like she was having any problems. Did she sound different?

Well, it was super fast. It's like she can't be on the phone. But just giving you short answers and trying to... Like, quit, like, I probably spoke to her for less than a minute, probably. Quit, quit. And that's not normal? That's not normal. Well, it is and it is that, sometimes we sleep for a while, sometimes. It was early in the morning and it's sorry. The fact that this man, even remotely tried to say that he wanted to help find them is such a massive load of shit. I learned that during the 38-minute drive to the police station, this guy, not once, not a single time did he ask about his daughter. Instead, he was talking about how nice the squad car was and how

he lived a sober lifestyle. Just listen to this. We want to find a one-year-old. I want to find her too. We need your health. It's the only reason we brought you here. I mean, because if I had my... Someone came to my house and said, Vanessa is missing, and that's my one-year-old daughter.

I'm worried. That's why I keep trying to call, my kids. Well, there's a whole right here. You talked about everything but her. The whole right here, you didn't talk about a one-year-old daughter that's missing. I don't get that. That's my daughter. Yeah, that's...

We want to find her. And the only reason you're here is to find her is to help us find her. All right. So where is she? I don't know. His concern was so opposite of genuine. It's very obvious to anyone. I think that sees this footage.

And you could tell that the investigators felt the exact same way. So they decided to question him about the timeline of the weekend. But he stuck to his story about seeing her that previous Friday afternoon. Did you stay over there this weekend? No. You didn't stay over there this weekend? Do you normally stay over there during the weekend? Sometimes I do, yeah.

Not normally, but sometimes I stay over it. All right. So when's the last time you saw her in person? Friday. And where was that? On my house. Oh, right where you picked me out, yeah. She was there?

Yeah. Okay, with Vanessa? Yeah. Okay. And when did she leave on Friday? Someone after noon around six, I think. So at night, evening, like around dinner time? Yeah.

All right. Did she leave by herself? Yeah. With Vanessa. Yeah. So make sure I got this right. She left your house or your parents' house on Friday. Yeah.

With Vanessa. Yeah. And you didn't go with her? No. So where did you stay over the weekends? I stayed with our friend Hector. Hector. Hector.

He lives in a senior. Now, this whole Hector. Peace is very important, and it's also verifiable. Not to get ahead of myself here, but investigators spoke with him later on, and it was confirmed that they weren't together that entire weekend. Hector actually lied at first and said they were, but then later admitted that Jose asked him for an alibi, asked him to lie. They were only together for part of the weekend,

and there were several stretches of time where Jose was unaccounted for. During this interview, though, they didn't know any of the, that. They had, however, spoken to Jose's stepdad, and he gave them some very important information. He told investigators that Jose told him that he and Christine were going to her apartment together on Friday. He didn't say that he was going to Hector's. Yet when he was confronted with this, Jose tried to say that his stepdad was probably just confused. Jose, when did you go to Hector's house? Friday. When Friday?

Friday night. When did you come home? During the day, not sure. Ended day? During the day. Jose, did you tell your parents where you went on Friday? Yeah. Listen, what?

Your dad said you went to Christine's Friday with her. Why would he tell me that? He said that I went to Christine. Yes. Friday, that's why he said. thought I was. You said you told him where you went. And if you told him you went to Hector, she got her own car. Right. But why would he tell me that you went to Christine's if you told him where you went? Why would he tell him? He probably assumed. No, you said you told him

where you went. I told him with my father? Yeah, you just told me, you said, you told him where you went. I told my father where I went. Yeah, that's what you told me. And that's why I said, then why did he tell me you went to Christine's if you didn't. I told him my father. that I went to Christine, that's what you just told me about 30 seconds ago. I'm not sure. You're missing my words. Now, as the interview continued, Jose had the audacity to tell investigators that he and Christine weren't actually that close, which, by the way, completely went against everything that Christine's family had to say about their relationship.

We have a boyfriend girlfriend? You guys are. Yeah, but we're not that close either because she got her own. place she's doing her own life she lived she got home an apartment but not that close right it's like we have a baby yeah but it's not like she my girlfriend girlfriend we say that we use that we're very lightly yeah but we have a baby together that it happened we happen so i guess i have assuming a little bit of responsibility by helping her out a little bit yeah so yeah yeah so yeah no so we in love with the baby so we let her come over and stay over our house and holiday

They have to see the baby. So you do all that for Vanessa. Yeah, it's for Christine. It's not for Christine. It's for Vanessa. Yeah, exactly. So your family likes Vanessa? We love Vanessa, yeah.

We really, we really, we really don't like Christine. She said she's okay, you know, but. All right. That's it. The way that this slob did his interviews really made everything so very obvious. That slip up at the end there is really, everything, right? To go from we don't like Christine to

she's okay and investigators use that slip up to see if he would slip up again when talking about their last contact and they totally caught his ass in another lie. Remember how he said he spoke to her on the phone on Monday morning? Well, when they asked him to bring up his

call log, that specific call wasn't there. They found other calls from that day, but not one from the morning of the second with Christine. Can you, would you, would you show me the phone call that you made to Pinesse on Monday morning on your phone, please? Okay. That's me trying to call her.

You got a whole bunch of phone calls from today? That's... Me trying to call her. Yeah. Because I was worried, so I keep trying to call. Keep trying to call. You go straight to voice. Did you erase stuff?

I always delete all my, I pretty much deleted. He also, yet again, lied by cause over time. You didn't delete these seven, though. He also, yet again, lied about what kind of car she drove and continued to deny knowing where the two of them were. And eventually, he did ask to leave, which, legally they had to agree to. But before he left, they did two things. For one, they confronted him with the fact that a witness saw him leaving Christine's place

on Monday morning, which went against what he, he said about last seeing her on Friday. They also took possession of his clothes, which he certainly did not like that. And during that time, they found bruising, swelling, and abrasions on him, which, unsurprisingly, he didn't have an explanation for. You realized that somebody saw you leaving Christine's house today.

How was that? It's not important who? Today? Well, not Tuesday, Monday. You were at the house Monday, in the evening. Where's your daughter? He's kind of writing, boys.

Now we can go. There you go. I told him. The reason he's here is because somebody saw him leaving the house Monday. Hold on a second. Hold on. No, you guys taking me home. Yeah, we're taking you home, but we're taking your clothes first.

After this, they drove him back to Mommy and Daddy's house, where the conversation actually ended up. continuing there and there's footage of it and during this conversation the officers decided to share the truth about christine you know where christine is you're best by the baby yes well you want to hold a baby uh christine's dead just to shine the light on our situation we're working with right now we're investigating us so i'd let you know this it's a homicide they also confronted hose about Christine's new car, which he was now saying he knew about all along. We asked you about her buying a new car.

You said you knew nothing about it. No, I know about it. Why did you say you didn't know anything about it? I don't know about it. Jose, we also just took your car. The car is gone? Yep. And he literally just continues to crash out to dig himself deeper and deeper into a deeper hole.

What you want to do you want to think? What do you want to say? to just invent a situation? I don't know. I don't know. What were you doing that? You got like to break the door in there to get in? I was in her house all day.

I don't know. Why you mean you don't know? I was a Hector. When? How does he not know where he was yesterday? It's not even 24 hours later. How does he not know that? I say I was Hector.

No, you weren't. Because you're leaving him. in the house at 149. We have him on video leaving the house and we also have a witness that he was there. Today? On video. Monday.

There is nothing that I can tell you. I don't know. Were they in a serious relationship? Yeah. Well, he said it was. Oh, he wasn't a serious relationship. They were dating. So he's going to say you were.

I was out of his, yeah. I was with him. On Monday. I was with him. On Monday. The weekend. The weekend. On Monday.

But you just said you were with Hector on Monday. You said, I don't remember what I was doing on Monday. I was with Hector the weekend. The weekend. What about Monday? They're asking about Monday. Listen, you don't have to answer. And you are putting up a lot of walls.

It's not that I have a lot of walls. Maybe my brain is messed up. Maybe I'm not clear mind of the person. No, I face-time you from Hector House. Make you believe that I was with her. Did you see her? Did you see anything in that? When you saw my face on FaceTime, I was making you believe that I was at Christine,

but because I didn't want you to think that I'm out with my friend party. So what were you FaceTiming with? What phone were you facetiming with? With Hector's. Do you have your phone? Yeah. Okay, so then you should have Hector's contact. No, no, no.

You should have Hector's contact for that. No, no, no, no. No, no, I was FaceTiming with the... Oops. But that's not Hector's number. No, no. No, no. Not Hector.

I was FaceTiming my mom. With Hector's phone, you said? No, no. not when his phone. Where my iPad. Where I used to have an iPad. So obviously, that iPad was taken in to be examined, as well as both of his cell phones. And shocker, that iPad connected to a Wi-Fi source at Christine's apartment over the weekend.

His two cell phones also pinged on cell towers near her street. Plus, like I said, a witness reported seeing him outside of Christine's place on Monday morning. And this neighbor said he saw Jose Ging. carry something to his car shortly after 1 p.m., which was after the first welfare check, and that the two of them actually stopped briefly to talk about the weather. He said he remembered Jose returning to the house, and then 20 minutes later, he left again, which was confirmed by surveillance video. Jose's car could be seen leaving her neighborhood less than an hour after that first welfare check, which means he was actually likely inside when the officer knocked on the door.

And that neighbor wasn't the only witness from that weekend. A different neighbor said that he was almost positive that he saw Jose getting into his car on Sunday, December 1st with Vanessa. And think about it, this would have been one day before Christine was found and after investigators believe she was killed. Because based on their calculations, they think she died early on Sunday morning. and I do feel like the piece about him putting Vanessa in the car seems to get brushed over a lot. What if what the neighbor said he saw is true? That means Jose had an entire day with his daughter that's unaccounted for.

And I'll speak more to this later, but like I said in the beginning, I do think it's possible that she's still alive, and this is a big part of that. Also, when Christine's apartment was forensically examined, they never found evidence to suggest that Vanessa got hurt. None of the blood found in the apartment was hers, and also a few of her belongings were missing as well, and investigators have yet to find those items. Are you looking for a wardrobe refresh?

While Quince has you covered with lux essentials that feel effortless and look polished all at once, they're perfect for layering, mixing, and building a wardrobe that's going to last. Their versatile styles make it easy to reach for them day after day. Quince has all the staples covered. Take it from me. I have so many quince essentials at this point. Quince has really become one of my favorite brands. Everything from Mongolian cashmere sweaters that feel like designer pieces without the markup to 100% silk tops and skirts that are easy for dressing up, perfectly cut denim for everyday wear. Their wardrobe essentials are crafted to last season after season. Their Italian wool coats are real standouts. I bought one last year and it was my favorite purchase of 20. I've already gotten so much use out of it and I can't wait to continue wearing it this next year. They're beautifully tailored, soft to the touch and built to carry you through years of wear, not just for one season. And I cannot believe the quality for the price. They're just beautiful.

That quality really shows in every detail, the stitching, the fit, the fabrics. Every piece is thoughtfully designed to be your new wardrobe essential. I also got to mention Quince has a great collection of kids wear, babyware, sleep sacks. We love the Quint's sleep sacks in our house. So refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Don't wait. Go to quince.com slash T-C-K-R for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too, guys.

That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com slash T-C-KR to get free shipping and 365-day returns. Quince.com slash T-C-R. So my face this winter has been the driest it's ever been, because not only is it winter, but I'm also pregnant. As soon as the weather drops every year, my face and body go from normal to instantly dry and tight and itchy. The skin under my eyes, you guys, literally at some point this fall, was like peeling off. So I decided to get ahead of it and I started using dimes clean hydrating products and honestly they've made such a huge difference. Their hyloronic acid serum is great for deep hydration and your skin is going to just drink this stuff in. It soaks in so fast.

It feels super lightweight and gives you that plump, healthy base that I'm always trying to get in. in the winter and always struggling to get. But for me, my favorite things from Dime are their signature scents. If you haven't tried Seven Summers, this was the scent that went viral on TikTok. It's so good. It's warm. It's creamy. It's just one of those fragrances that is going to give you nonstop compliments. My personal favorite, though, is Dan Le Boy. It's a bold, woodsy fragrance with fresh florals, and Josh is obsessed with it. Every single time I wear it, he notices it. And so now I save it for special occasions. Plus, what I love about Dime, as every product is vegan, cruelty-free, and made with transparency, no hidden toxins, no weird ingredients, just skin care that actually works.

So if your skin is begging for hydration, head to dimebeautom for 20% off with code podcast 20. That's dime beauty.com. Or you can also find dime at Amazon and Ulta. Your winter skin, well, thank you. In a press conference early on, a lieutenant had stated that they were looking for the public's help in finding her. And they're also looking for people to keep an eye out for Vanessa's polka dot blanket, Raco car seat, and Gray Eddie Bauer First Adventure backpack diaper bag. These are all belongings that investigators believe may have stayed with her,

assuming that she was given to someone alive. And at that same press conference, a $10,000 reward for information leading to her return was announced. And of course, at this point, we all know who investigators are looking at as their primary suspect. It's pretty damn obvious. But of course, there wasn't any concrete proof yet, so they couldn't just arrest him. But they did arrest him for something else. Jose was arrested on December 3rd after they found two stun guns in his house during the execution of a search warrant. Turns out he was previously convicted of a felony, so he wasn't legally allowed to have those.

And that worked out nice in their favor because this was enough to keep him behind bars until an additional arrest could be made. and in the meantime, they just kept digging for evidence, which wasn't too hard to find. It turns out there were multiple surveillance cameras that captured Jose coming and going from Christine's neighborhood that weekend. And while, of course, all of it is incriminating, there's one specific video that I want to highlight. Just after 6 a.m. on Sunday, December 1st, Jose's car can be seen on Derby Avenue, headed in the direction of St. Michael's Church. He's not seen at the church because there weren't any cameras there, but he is seen going that way. And then, about 15 minutes later, he drives back towards Christine's apartment and is seen stopping at a gas station where he attempts to buy cigarettes, but his card declined. Here's why that matters.

On December 5th, investigators got this bizarre phone call from an employee of a nonprofit. It's called Kidducation, and they happen to have a donation bin set up. at St. Michael's Church. And the caller tells investigators that while one of her employees was going through the bins, she found several items with blood-like stains on them.

And she also found some mail, which was addressed to Christine Holloway. And when she Googled the name, she saw that she had been recently murdered and she realized she needed to call the police. Isn't that insane? And I just have to say how amazing it is

that she actually called because I feel like we're living in a time where a lot of people would be like, mm, not my business, not my problem, or wouldn't have even taken extra time to Google her name or really look much more at it, maybe just have tossed it aside. I just thought it was really cool

that she actually made that call and crucial to this case. And within five minutes of making that call, a team of officers showed up, and man, they found a lot. They found bloodstained children's clothes, toys, pillows, a towel, books, male clothing in Jose's 3xel size, and female adult clothing, as well as a single pink children's crock.

And I'm sure a lot of you have already figured it out. That was the matching pair to the single crock that was found at Christine's apartment, the one that had blood on it. And when these items were tested, it was confirmed that the substance was blood and that it was a match to Christine. They also matched her DNA to bloody towels found in Jose's shower, and after processing his car, they confirmed that her DNA was on a large black contractor's trash bag located in his trunk as well as in other areas inside the vehicle. Even his shoes had a, quote, tissue-like material on them that they linked back to her. Plus, and this is really upsetting to think about, but when they found Christine's body, she actually had some hair in her hand, almost like she had tried to fight off her attacker.

and when they tested that hair, who did it belong to, Jose. So the truth was just impossible to ignore by this point, and the discoveries didn't end there. It turns out that back on December 1st, a man had placed a 911 call to the Ensonia Police Department. The call came in around 2 a.m., and, spoiler, it came in from Jose's phone, which pinged at a tower not far from Christine's apartment.

And on that call, he can be heard slurring his words, of course, saying Myrtle Avenue, which is the street that her apartment was on. He didn't give a specific address, though, and he really can't be heard saying much else. But when investigators listen to the audio closely, they did hear a woman's voice in the background saying, stop, hang up, who are you calling? And an officer actually was dispatched. Where are you on Myrtle Avenue? And an officer actually was dispatched to Myrtle Avenue shortly after this, but nothing looked suspicious, so they left. All that to say, this call was just even more proof that Jose was with Christine when she died. And investigators finally felt like they had enough at this point.

So on February 7th of 2020, Jose was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence, and he received a $5 million bond. He wasn't charged with anything related to Vanessa's disappearance, although he currently remains the only suspect there as well. And no surprise here, but on February 18th of 2020, he pleaded not guilty. And no surprise here either, but at this point, he had completely changed his story about what happened to Christine. About two weeks after his initial arrest, he ended up telling investigators that he was, in fact, at Christine's apartment on the night that she was killed. But according to Jose, and God, I couldn't even make this shit up if I tried, he claims that he was high on PCP.

Yeah, PCP. And when he was high on the PCP, two intruders broke into the apartment. So yeah, you're seeing where this is going already, right? And he goes on to explain that these two intruders were the ones who actually killed Christine and abducted Vanessa. That's right, you guys. He told them this crazy story about being high on, quote, angel dust and how after they broke into the house, one of the men knocked him out, so he wasn't able to protect the girls. And there is more to his tale, which I will get to in a minute.

But yeah, isn't that crazy? And he has stuck with this story over all of these years. And he's even used the drugs as an excuse for why he lied initially. He actually told investigators that the drugs made it so he couldn't remember what happened. But as the effects wore off, he started to piece it together. I'm sure all of you agree that this is a load of shit. It doesn't even make sense. Not even how drugs like this work.

And I know Christine's family definitely doesn't believe him. And sadly, they had to wait years for justice. Despite his arrest in 2020, Jose didn't go to trial until April of 2025. And during that time, the Holloway family just had to hope that he would confess the actual truth. There was even talk about a plea agreement in exchange for information on Vanessa's whereabouts, but nothing was ever agreed upon. And this naturally led to a lot of frustration in their family. And the police were frustrated too with the lack of movement in the case.

But his trial did eventually come and, man, we definitely learned a lot. So when it came to the defense's argument, we obviously know the story that they had to spin because Jose really already spun it for them. They had to argue that Jose was high on PCP when these two strange men came into the apartment and they were responsible for the abduction and the murder of Christine. The prosecution, on the other hand, they didn't believe that he was on drugs at all. They argued that there was no evidence to suggest that he took any, and that the only evidence of intoxication at all came from the alcohol that they found in those recycling bins. And FYI, because I'm sure some of you are wondering,

the toxicology report showed that Christine had no alcohol in her system at the time of her death, suggesting that Jose was likely the person who had consumed it all. Drunk or not, though, the prosecution argued that he was an abusive boyfriend, and ultimately that a domestic dispute resulted in her murder. They pointed to text messages between the two where he was clearly controlling and manipulative with the hope that the jury would see Jose for the monster that he is. And as each witness took the stand, the truth got clearer and clearer. In the first few days, there was just a lot of,

lot of basic testimony setting the scene and going over the evidence, things like that. And the jury also heard from Christine's boss, the officers who conducted the welfare checks, as well as from the medical examiner. They also heard testimony from Christine's landlord, who happened to be working in the garage below her apartment on Sunday, December 1st. And he spoke about the loud noises he remembered hearing coming from her unit. Apparently, it sounded like someone was moving furniture, which the prosecution believed was when Jose was moving her body to the bathroom and cleaning up the scene. There was also testimony from Christine's neighbor who claimed that he saw Jose outside of her apartment

that day as well. But truth be told, at the end of the day, the state didn't necessarily need witnesses or even cell phone data to convince the jury that he was there. I mean, we already know that he admitted to being inside. And to my surprise, this moron decided to take the stand in his own defense. And he also ended up admitting to the tampering with evidence charge. So these days, we live in a world where you really need to be able to send and receive money right from your phone. Not only is it easier, but other people expect you to be able to. And my app of choice for sending and receiving money has always been cash up. I have been using it for years. I love cash app and I've had a great experience with it. And did you know that

cash app just released a new status program for the way that people actually spend called cash app green? It unlocks new ways for you to pay. get rewarded and easily grow or manage your money on your terms. Now when you spend at least $500 a month with cash app card or cash app pay, you earn green status, which unlocks benefits like up to $200 of free overdraft coverage, higher borrow limits, and custom personalized cashback offers every Friday at places that you love to shop. So turn everyday spending into status with Cash App Green. Download CashUp today or visit Cash.app slash new to learn more about this

and other great features that are launching now. For a limited time, new cash app customers can earn $10 if they use the code Cash App 10 in their profile at sign up and send $5 to a friend within 14 days. Terms apply. CashUp is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partners, prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank member FDIC, Cash App Green, overdraft coverage, borrow, cashback offers and promotions provided by Cash App, A Block, Inc brand. Visit Cash.com slash legal slash podcast for full disclosures. So after I rolled a bag, I went outside to the front of the apartment to the deck. To smoke.

Okay. And what did you do on the front of the deck? I started, I smoked the bag of dust. When I went outside to smoke, it was on 1 o'clock in the morning. I got super high. I got disoriented. Everything got blurry. I couldn't see clear.

I was stumbling. I stumbled my way inside of the apartment. I left the screen door closes itself. I left the door open because the front door was I left at a jar, whatever, and I walked right inside into the bathroom. And what did you do in the bathroom? In the bathroom, I sat on the toilet. Okay, so at that point, you were in the bathroom,

you looked at the window. What did you see and what did you do? From across the street, I saw movement first, and then I saw two individuals walking on the sidewalk across the street. One of the individuals started walking across the street towards the apartment, and he did a bit of a jog towards the apartment. When I saw that, warning signs and bells and alarms went, started running through my head. I tried to work my way out the bathroom to close the front door.

but because I was so intoxicated, I couldn't really move. So I stumbled my way out of the bathroom and made it to right where the bureau is at. Because I was so intoxicated that I couldn't do what I really wanted to do. I went in my pocket. I grabbed my phone and I dial 911. The 911 call ended up being played for the jury, and Jose confirmed that it was Christine's voice in the background. However, he said that she wasn't away.

of the two men approaching the house. And after that was when the fatal attack happened. I got hit on the right side of my face. I lost my balance. I already had no balance to begin with. So I fell. I got on my fore and I got hit right around my chest area. I stood there, laid out on the floor.

Hi. I'm listening, but I'm on the floor. And I can hear that there's a struggle going on. in the bed area, there's a fight. I hear screams. At the same time, I hear that somebody leaves their apartment. I see that somehow Christine got away from whoever it is that she was fighting with and tried to run out the apartment to go after the guy that left the apartment with Vanessa.

The guy that she was struggling with was chasing her, but she doesn't get that far. She gets to in between the carpet and the tiles, she either trip or collapsed. Half of her bodies on the towel, the other half of the bodies on the carpet. The guy that's running behind her stops and hit her with a crowbar. He gets up, he starts pacing, bitch, you scratch me. That's why he says. He hits her two more times. And as for why he didn't do anything or maybe call for help,

well, Jose said that he tried, but one of the intruders threatened to hurt his daughter. I tried to do something, but I can't because I'm stuck. I'm PCP and I'm stuck. I couldn't move. I was in the verge of passing out, of blacking out on the PCP. So the only thing that I can do is scream. I try to scream, stop.

He looks at me. He's pointing at Christine with the crowbar. He's looking at me. He said to me that if I call police, the same thing will happen to your daughter. Did those words have an effect on you in regard to your conduct the next two or three days? Yes.

I was afraid of call the police. Tell the ladies and gentlemen, the jury, what happened next? Well, I got up. I stumbled my way into the doorway, and I looked to see where he was going. And I saw him go towards the corner. At the same time, I saw his headlights coming in. I think the number one question that we all have, though, is why not call the cops anyway?

If this was really true, if. And obviously it's not. But if it were, there is no reason why anyone wouldn't have called the police. And to make things even more maddening, Jose said that after these so-called intruders left, he dozed off on the bed for an hour or two. just took a nice little nappy nap. And then when he woke up, he said that he just freaked out and started cleaning up the evidence. But the fact of the matter is, and this is really the prosecution's whole point here,

why would you clean up a crime scene if you are not the person responsible? Riddle me that. That just, no one would do that. But according to Jose, he just did it because he was in a haze from the PCP, that there wasn't really a good reason for it. He just wasn't thinking. and he was scared, so he started cleaning it up. And as for why he lied in the first place,

we already know, we've already been over this. He said that it was because of the drugs. He couldn't remember afterwards. He had to wait until they wore off. And what's interesting about the way Jose's memory works is that he can't seem to remember what happened, but he was able to easily recall everything that didn't implicate him. And his defense attorney really, really tried to sell it.

I mean, they gave it a good, honest try. And in the end, they argue that there just wasn't any evidence linking Jose to the murder itself. Sure, he cleaned up the crime scene, but that was it, according to them. They said there was a lack of intent, no murder weapon, and questionable evidence pointing to his responsibility. In fact, foreign DNA was found under her fingernails, and it wasn't a match to Jose. Plus, I guess surveillance footage captured a car leaving her neighborhood in the early morning hours after her murder, and that car wasn't Jose's, and they claimed that that was the car of the intruders. And lastly, the defense really emphasized that 911 call he made.

In their eyes, why would someone call 911 before committing a homicide? And yes, I will say that part is strange, but Jose is strange, and I'm sure there is a reason that makes sense for that 911 call being plagued. And I think it's really important that at the end of the day here, we remember that oftentimes the most obvious answer is the correct one. Jose was there when she was killed. We know this. He admitted to disposing evidence, and there was a documented history of his control and manipulation over Christine. He literally admitted to dragging her body from the hallway to the bathroom, undressing her, yet we're supposed to believe he, didn't also kill her, not to mention the fact that he was coherent enough to drive to go by

cigarettes, but supposedly not coherent enough to call the police. I mean, come on, who is buying that shit? Also, let's not forget that Jose came and went from her apartment multiple times on that Sunday, and he could have gone to the police any number of times, and yet he didn't. And actually, according to his own statement, he continued smoking, PCP, which let me remind you, we don't actually have proof that he smoked it. We only have his word and his word doesn't mean a whole lot, does it? And so in the end, the jury did not believe his word. And after only two hours of deliberation, they found Jose guilty of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. And this was, understandably, a huge relief to her poor

family who finally got justice for Christine after years of waiting. But of course, it didn't take away their pain. Good morning, Your Honor. Thank you for the opportunity to address the court. My name is Anna Radonski, and I am the youngest of six children. Christine Holloway is my first niece. Debbie, Chrissy's mother, is my oldest sister. My other sister, Kathy, died at 34 years old of lymphoma, And that was the worst day of my life. I didn't think I would experience another worst day like that. However, my beautiful, brilliant, kind, caring, spiritual niece was brutally murdered on 12-2, 2019.

How does one even begin to start to tell how this has affected my life as well as our family and friends? I would like to start with some background about Chrissy. She loved children. She loved her job and taking care of so many adorable children at the daycare where she was employed. She was passionate and full of love. They say the worst pain is a mother losing their child. I watched my mom suffer through the loss of my sister 34 years old.

And now I watched my other sisters suffer through that same loss without Chrissy. and then some with Vanessa still missing. In preparation for Chrissy's funeral, our family tackled it as a team. We each had a job to do, and my task was to go to the gates of Heaven Cemetery and make the arrangements. As we drove that day, so many thoughts

were going through our hearts and souls. Vanessa is still missing. When we arrived at the cemetery, we were welcomed by the staff with opening and carrying arms. We had to ask them if there is a way they could dig the hole for Chrissy a little bit deeper

in case Vanessa had to join her. Your Honor, how this murder has affected our family and friends cannot be described. What was done to my niece, Christine Holloway is unforgivable and disgusting and that monster continues to lie. Where is Vanessa? How could someone be so cruel?

I hope that he stays in person. forever, forever and ever, so he can't hurt anyone else ever again. I swear that has to be one of the most devastating victim impact statements that I have ever heard, especially the part about her asking the cemetery to dig Christine's grave a little bit deeper in case Vanessa had to join her. And thankfully, Jose wasn't spared. When everything was said and done, a judge sentenced him to 65 years in prison. And considering he was in his 40s, this was essentially a life sentence. But we can't forget that this isn't total justice,

and this family still does not have answers. Baby Vanessa, who would be seven years old now, is still missing. And that's why it's important that we keep talking about this case. Jose has never been charged with anything related to her disappearance. However, he remains the only suspect, and he still denies having anything to do with it. And I mentioned it before,

but investigators and family members do believe that it's possible that she could still be alive. And I have to say I completely agree with them. I think there is a pretty good chance that she's still out there. And let's remember why. They never found any evidence that Vanessa was hurt out of all that blood that they found. None of it was linked back to her. And I'd like to believe that Jose is too stupid to hide her that well after all of these years. And I personally do believe that neighbor who claims to have seen Jose putting Vanessa into his car on that Sunday. And I think it was possible that she was then given to someone else.

And what was really relieving to learn is the fact that their community really came together to try and find her, which I'm sure meant so much to Christine's family. I just couldn't believe the amount of prayers and support from people all over the U.S. that don't even know us and, you know, looking out for Vanessa.

and the community of Aunt Sonia made flyers and was standing on every corner, passing them out to cars that were going by of Vanessa. Every store, you know, had her face posted. I was blown away because you don't see that then or now, you know, where people all come together for somebody. Now, since those early days, investigators have said that the leads in her case have started to dry up,

which makes sense with time, of course, but they have also said that they aren't going to let this case go cold. They're not going to give up. One lieutenant said, quote, this is not a case that we're going to put in a box on a shelf somewhere. This will remain active until we get that answer. Their community has also continued to spread the word about Vanessa's disappearance, and I'm hoping that this episode will push her circumstances out to new people.

There's a Facebook page that I will link below for you guys that I want to encourage you to follow if you use Facebook. They continue to post about Vanessa, and I know that they would absolutely appreciate an influx and following and support. So if you even want to leave a comment, just say something encouraging and kind. I have heard directly from a lot of families that that really means a lot. Neckmec has created an age-progressed photo, and I'm going to keep it on screen here for a minute for my YouTube viewers, because I really want people to be aware of what she might look like now. These age-progress photos oftentimes are very accurate. When I visited the Nekmech headquarters, I got to see how they do it.

The process takes a long time. They are extremely skilled, and so, yeah, really try to soak in this image. There were rumors that she might be in Puerto Rico because that's where Jose was originally from, although that's truly just a rumor. And I just have to say, I truly do not believe that his parents are involved based on their reaction to the news. They didn't try to defend Jose at all. I really appreciate that. And as for Christine's loved ones, they believe Jose is fully aware.

of where Vanessa is, but don't have any leverage on him to get him to give that information up. And unfortunately, he really doesn't peg me as the type of guy who's going to suddenly develop a conscience and give her family those answers just because. I know they won't stop looking for her, though, and if anyone out there knows anything, the $10,000 reward still exists. Like I said, I do plan on reaching out to their family to connect about getting them a hope grant, and maybe there's something we can collectively do to help. So if you want any updates on that,

you can always follow Higher Hope's Instagram at Higher Hope. And lastly, before I go, I want to share that tips can be made anonymously via a link that I'll share in the description box and show notes of this episode. And you can also call the Ansonia Police Department at 203-735-1885 or NCMEC at 1-800-843-56.

7-8. Really, really tough case, but also really important. So thank you to everyone who watched or listened to this episode. I know that their family probably really appreciates you all taking the time to hear about Vanessa and Christine's story. That is going to be it for me today, guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode. And make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube. channel, which will be linked, or you can just search Kendall Ray. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then, stay safe out there.