A Connecticut father convicted of killing his baby son by throwing him off a bridge insisted he was innocent while testifying during a civil trial. Tony Moreno, 32, was sentenced to 70 years in prison for killing his seven-month-old son Aaden in 2015 by hurling him off a bridge in Middletown, Connecticut, about 20 miles south of Hartford. He then jumped off the bridge himself and was seriously injured but survived.
Moreno previously testified that he accidentally dropped the boy and did not intend to harm him, despite having confessed to police that he deliberately tossed him over. Now, Aaden's mother, Adrianne Oyola, 30, has sued the state's Department of Children and Families (DCF) for $15 million, alleging social services failed to protect the baby.
During the wrongful death lawsuit on Thursday, Moreno took the stand and criticized his criminal conviction, NBC Connecticut reported. 'I know that trial was a joke and they would have convicted a Bologna sandwich,' he said. Moreno also denied being abusive and insisted that he never made any threats against Oyola and their son. 'I was never angry. I was hurt and upset,' he said. When asked if DCF ever spoke with him about any threats he had made against Aaden, Moreno replied, 'Possibly, but I don't recall, and I've never made any.'
During Oyola's testimony, she described a pattern of abuse and repeated threats leading up to her son's death. '[Moreno] was threatened a lot to get rid of me and get rid of my son,' she said. Oyola and a lawyer representing Aaden's estate have argued that DCF promised to help her get a restraining order against Moreno but never did. On Thursday, Oyola said that she does not recall DCF 'doing much of anything' to address her concerns. Speaking about her son, Oyola said, 'He was taken too soon, and that he probably would have been an amazing kid right now.'
DCF declined the Daily Mail's request for comment, stating it cannot comment on pending litigation. The wrongful death trial is set to resume on May 12. Just days before his death, a judge denied a permanent restraining order against Moreno after Oyola accused him of threatening and pushing her. A temporary restraining order had previously been in place. The two worked out a custody agreement for Aaden, and it was Moreno's turn with his son the day he had the child at the bridge.
Oyola and the lawyer for her son's estate first filed their lawsuit against DCF in 2023, but filed an amended complaint on January 9 after a judge ruled the case could go to trial. The complaint against DCF claims that Oyola, who was 19 at the time, was told a social worker would attend the hearing with her because she 'was not capable of representing herself in court,' but the social worker never showed. 'Had someone representing the Department of Children and Families attended the June 29, 2015, hearing, that person would have recommended that the restraining order remain in place and would have provided evidence to the Court that Tony Moreno was a danger to the plaintiffs,' the court filing stated.
The filing also claims that DCF failed to check on Aaden after the restraining order lapsed, and argues that DCF could have protected him by invoking a 96-hour hold on Aaden or filing for temporary custody to administratively remove him. Court records from Moreno's criminal trial showed he exchanged angry text messages with Oyola in the minutes before he jumped. She frantically pleaded with him not to hurt the boy. 'Enjoy your new life without us,' Moreno wrote. 'He's dead. Soon I will be too.'
Aaden's body was found two days later, two miles downstream near the East Haddam Swing Bridge by a canoeist, following an extensive search involving dive teams and helicopters. During the trial, Moreno held a baby doll in his arms, which he said represented his son, and spoke about what happened. Moreno claimed his intention was to take his own life on the bridge, not his child's, and that Aaden slipped from his hands into the water. He was found guilty of murder in 2017 and sentenced to 70 years behind bars without the possibility of parole.
