Henry Morales Jr. was just 10 years old when his mother, 31-year-old Malena Morales was strangled to death in the Brampton, Ont., apartment where he lived with his younger brother and his parents on July 11, 2006.
Morales Jr., now 27, saw his father for the first time in 16 years on Tuesday as he testified at the second-degree murder trial for Henry Morales, whom the jury heard was on the run for 14 years after the crime.
Morales Jr. who now lives in B.C. and works as a campus missionary for a campus outreach, said he was going into Grade 6 at Our Lady of Fatima Elementary School in Brampton when his mother was killed.
While the Crown told the jury in its opening address that Malena and Henry Morales had a marriage in crisis, and that less than a year before her death Malena expressed her intention to get a divorce to family and friends, the son said he believed his parents had a pretty ordinary relationship. He said they argued once or twice a week, but otherwise were loving and caring and always put the children first, keeping their arguments to the bedroom.
On the evening of July 11, 2006, Henry Morales Jr. remembered his mother coming home from the cheese factory where she worked. He and his brother were waving from the 12th floor balcony of their Steeles Avenue West apartment as their mother’s blue Chevy pulled into the parking lot.
“We felt bad for what had happened the night before,” Morales Jr. told the court. He said as the boys were going to bed on July 10, while their parents were arguing, their mother came running into the room they shared, crouching down between the beds saying “help me, protect me.” Morales Jr. assumed she meant from their father. Morales Jr. said his father came in afterwards and assured the boys that everything was fine. A short time later, he left and their mother followed. “He was trying to be calming to everyone,” said the son.
Morales Jr. testified that on July 11th, after his mother drove into the apartment building parking lot, his father, who had been a security guard at Canadian Tire but was no longer working, noticed the boys were outside on the balcony and “aggressively told us to come inside in a a tone that was elevated, more agitated than normal,” Morales Jr. remembered.
A short time later, his mother arrived upstairs, they started chatting and eventually, Morales Jr. said his father and mother went into their bedroom and began arguing.
“I remember around 7 o’clock, it started to get more heated, more agitated. It came to a point where I heard my mother scream ‘Junior, come help me, Junior, come help me’ and it went silent after that. And then I heard my dad say, ‘Junior, don’t come in. Everything’s OK,” Morales Jr. said, explaining that his father was trying to be calming.
The son testified he felt paralyzed and in fear, and while he wanted to be there for his mom, he also trusted what his dad was saying. “That was the last time I heard my mom’s voice,” Morales Jr. recalled.
About an hour later, he said his father emerged from the bedroom and assured him everything was OK. “I asked ‘how was my mom?’ He said she was tired and she was going to get some sleep and stay in the room.”
Morales Jr. said his father asked if the boys wanted to go out and have some fun so they went to a mini putt course and then for a burrito before returning home to the apartment. His father told the boys to get some sleep and assured them everything was fine.
The following day, the boys got up and Morales Jr. remembered his dad offering to take them mini putting again. He didn’t see or speak to his mom. When Crown attorney Darilynn Allison asked if the master bedroom door was open or closed, Morales Jr. responded it was closed. “At that point I was just thinking ‘OK, mom’s just really tired. She’s not going to work. She’s probably taking the day off.”
Morales Jr. said he and his brother and father spent the day driving around Toronto. They went to two banks and then his father gave him an early birthday present – a portable gaming system – while they were in the parking lot of one of the banks. He said they ended up driving to his uncle and aunt’s place in Brampton and remembered his father saying, “I’m going to drop you off. I’m going to be away for awhile and don’t talk about what happened last night. It’s between your mom and me.”
Morales Jr. said they would spend the day with their uncle and aunt every second Saturday and said when they arrived, his aunt seemed surprised to see them. “I see my father talking to her and saying ‘I got to go take a care of a few things.'” The son said his father kissed and hugged the boys before saying he’d be back in a few weeks.
That evening, he remembered his father calling the house and he picked up the phone. Morales Jr. said his father asked to speak to his uncle. “Have you ever spoken to your father since?” Crown attorney Allison asked. “No,” replied Morales Jr.
The next morning, Morales Jr. remembered waking up and coming downstairs to find his aunt crying and two police officers who said they needed to take him and his brother to the police station to talk.
Crown attorney Brian McGuire told the jury in his opening address that Henry Morales’ brother Saul Morales is expected to testify that Henry called him back around 1 a.m. on July 13, 2006, and told him that he had done something stupid and something he regretted. He told Saul the boys were Saul’s now and said Malena was at the apartment and was in heaven now.
Saul, fearing the worst, called police. Officers located Malena Morales lifeless body lying in the master bedroom of the family’s apartment. The first officer on scene testified she was cold to the touch, stiff and obviously dead.
McGuire said police commenced a murder investigation and an autopsy revealed Malena Morales died as a result of manual strangulation with associated blunt force trauma injuries. Police started to look for Henry Morales but he was nowhere to be found.
The police did recover his car parked at Pearson airport terminal 1 on July 17th, 2006, but Henry Morales was not found.
On Feb. 24, 2020, Morales was located in Mexico and was arrested on an international warrant and returned to Canada to face trial.
The jury has been told that friends and family of Malena Morales will testify that she told many of them about an incident that happened in Ecuador in February 2006. Malena went to police and alleged her husband had assaulted her by putting his hands around her throat. Her brother saw a mark or bruise on the side of Malena’s neck and asked his daughter to photograph it. She asked her brother to forward the police report to her when she returned to Canada in April 2006 so she could use it to support her cause for a divorce.
The trial continues. Henry Morales has pleaded not guilty.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of intimate partner violence or is involved in an abusive situation, please visit the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime for help. They are also reachable toll-free at 1-877-232-2610.
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