The jury in Jose Morales’ trial deliberated for just under two hours Tuesday before reaching a unanimous decision—guilty on charges of murder and tampering with physical evidence in the death of his girlfriend, Christine Holloway. It was a quick verdict for the six men and six women on the jury, who got the case late Monday about 20 minutes before court dismissed for the day.

Morales, 48, closed his eyes as he learned his fate from the jury foreman. Other than that, Morales remained stoic, showing no emotion just as he hasn't since his trial began April 7. In contrast, Holloway's family linked arms and held hands, crying upon hearing the jury's decision. For loved ones, it was the start of justice—now over five years in the making.

“On behalf of the Holloway family, I want to thank the jury in this case for the time, the effort they took from their personal lives to sit through this trial. You all were there. You saw how difficult this material was to be able to process it,” Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Howard Stein later told reporters outside the courthouse. “The family is thankful to them for reaching these verdicts.”

Prosecutors spent just over seven days putting on their case, alleging that Morales bludgeoned his girlfriend to death in her home in the early morning hours of Dec. 1, 2019, then spent the next day and a half methodically cleaning up and disposing of bloody evidence. Ansonia police discovered Holloway naked and slumped over in the bathtub during a welfare check the night of Dec. 2. There was no sign of the couple's 1-year-old daughter, Vanessa Morales, who remains missing today. Over the course of the trial, jurors heard from a couple dozen witnesses, including the defendant. Morales took the stand and claimed two unknown intruders got into Holloway’s home on Myrtle Avenue while he was high on PCP. He testified one man killed Holloway with a crowbar and the other kidnapped Vanessa.

But the jury didn't buy that narrative as they weighed it against nearly 200 exhibits from the prosecution. Those included gruesome crime photos, blood-stained items dumped in donation bins, DNA test results, Morales' initial police interview, video of police telling him Holloway was dead and testimony that put him at the crime scene despite his initial denials. Upon his conviction, Judge Shari Murphy granted the prosecution's request to raise Morales’ bond from $5 million to $7.5 million. Murphy said sentencing will occur on July 8. Morales is facing up to 65 years in prison.

Holloway’s loved ones weren’t ready to speak to reporters after the emotional verdict.

“I am confident following the sentencing that you'll have further opportunity to hear from the Holloway family as well as the Ansonia Police Department as they discuss any additional developments that could possibly arise out of this verdict with regard to Vanessa Morales,” Stein stated.

Morales was named a suspect in Vanessa's disappearance but never charged. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recently released an age-progressed photo of what she might look like at 6.

As Morales was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, one of Holloway's relatives yelled, "Where's Vanessa, scumbag?" but got no response.

Morales’ attorney, Ed Gavin, had no comment after court.

Morales’ mother and stepfather attended closing arguments Monday but were not present for the verdict.