Man accused of killing 4-month-old baby and his mother in Hartford appears in CT court after arrest in Puerto Rico.

HARTFORD, CT. (WFSB) - Lance Morales, the man accused of killing a 4-month-old baby and his mother in Hartford before running off to Puerto Rico, faced a Connecticut judge Monday.

The family of the victims were in the courtroom as well. As the hearing ended, they began yelling at Morales, calling him names and saying they’d “see him soon.”

23-year-old Morales is accused of killing 20-year-old Jessiah Mercado and her 4-month-old son Messiah Diaz in November, following a dispute over a car.

Mercado and her son were from Springfield, Massachusetts.

Police say after committing the crime, Morales fled to Puerto Rico. US Marshals captured him days later, bringing him back to Connecticut last week.

This is not Morales' first time in a courtroom. He currently has 5 other cases pending in Waterbury.

In August 2024, he was arrested for interfering with an officer and resisting arrest, as well as operating a motor vehicle without a license. He was arrested for violation of probation in February. He is on probation for a first-degree assault, that he pled guilty to in April 2021.

Morales is also facing charges of criminal mischief, tampering with physical evidence and the sale of cocaine.

He was previously convicted of violation of a protective order in 2021 and served around three years, off and on, in prison for the crime. He was also convicted of escape, after he escaped community release in 2022.

The state asked the judge to take all of the above in account when setting bond. But first prosecutors asked the judge not to even consider an a bond amount, saying Morales did not have the right to bond, because he is charged with the most serious offense under Connecticut law, murder with special circumstances.

The charge carries a mandatory life prison sentence without the possibility of release.

The judge ultimately set a $5 million bond.

The victim’s family declined to speak to cameras, saying they weren’t quite ready.

Morales is due again in court next week for the case. He will be in court on his other pending charges in Waterbury, in February.