The first day of Jose Morales’ murder trial included the first contact Ansonia police ever made with him about the whereabouts of his girlfriend, Christine Holloway, and their 1-year-old daughter, Vanessa Morales, whom loved ones couldn’t locate or get ahold of.

The jury watched a recorded phone call made to Morales the evening of Dec. 2, 2019, during which he initially said he saw Holloway and Vanessa that morning, then later explained he only spoke to Holloway that morning. He told police he hadn’t seen them in three days, since the Friday after Thanksgiving.

During the call, police expressed concern for the well-being of Holloway and Vanessa, but Morales didn’t seem upset.

“We're really worried about your daughter, " Officer Paul Smith was heard saying on body camera footage that was played while Smith was on the stand.

In the video, Smith asked Morales to call police if he got word from Holloway, to which he responded nonchalantly, “OK, will do.”

The jury also saw body camera footage from Lt. Alex Barreira of him and another officer forcing their way into Holloway’s home on Myrtle Avenue after a neighbor contradicted Morales’ timeline and said he saw Morales at the home that afternoon.

The footage showed them kicking in the front door, and then Barreira responding to the other officer’s yells after Holloway was discovered dead.

“When I walked into the bathroom, I noticed in the tub, a pale, naked female body laying in there,” Barreira testified. “Next to her, appeared to be what looked like a human internal organ now laying outside her body next to her in the tub. Her hands were also covered with that appeared to be dried blood.”

Barreira told the jury a ceiling fan was on and windows were open, which was strange since it was cold and snowing. He also noticed that the sheets and blankets were gone from the crib and bed. Barreira said there appeared to be the outline of a large blood stain in the living room that had been cleaned.

There was no sign of Vanessa, who remains missing today.

Morales, 48, is charged with murder and evidence tampering in Holloway’s death. In the charging information, Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Howard Stein, who is prosecuting the case, wrote that Morales used an instrument to hit Holloway multiple times in the head and torso, creating, “several round shaped marks that measured approximately 1 inch in diameter, severely fracturing her skull.”

The start of his trial comes more than five years after police found Holloway dead and Vanessa gone without a trace. Morales was named as a suspect in his daughter’s disappearance but never charged.

On Monday, before the trial began, one of the jurors was excused due to a last-minute scheduling conflict and was replaced with an alternate. There are now three alternates remaining.

The state began its case against Morales by calling Holloway’s former boss at the Bridgeport daycare where Holloway worked, and Vanessa was enrolled. Rosie Jones-Clark was the first person to contact police when both failed to show up that morning.

Jones-Clarke told the jury Holloway was “an excellent employee.”

“I was concerned because it wasn't like her. She was always consistent, always on time or before time. I was just hoping nothing had happened to her,” Jones-Clarke testified.

She explained she requested a welfare check at Holloway’s home that afternoon. Police responded there but got no answer. It wasn’t until that night that officers learned why.

Testimony continues Tuesday.