Social services are under scrutiny after being accused of failing to prevent a tragic incident where a father threw his infant son off a bridge, resulting in the child’s death.
Tony Moreno received a 70-year prison sentence for the murder of his seven-month-old son, Aaden, whom he threw from a bridge in Middletown, Connecticut, back in 2015.
Following the horrific act, Moreno himself leaped from the bridge, sustaining serious injuries, but ultimately surviving the fall.
In court, Moreno claimed the baby’s fall was accidental, despite earlier admitting to police that he had intentionally thrown his son over the bridge.
Now, Aaden’s mother, Adrianne Oyola, has initiated a wrongful death lawsuit against Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families (DCF), accusing them of failing to safeguard her son.
Oyola, along with legal representatives for Aaden’s estate, claims that DCF had assured her assistance in obtaining a restraining order against Moreno, but failed to follow through on this promise.
The lawsuit also claims social services failed to do anything to keep the baby safe, according to court records obtained by the Daily Mail.
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.
Tony Moreno was sentenced to 70 years in prison for killing his seven-month-old son Aaden
Moreno jumped off the bridge himself and was seriously injured but survived
The two worked out a custody agreement for Aaden, and it was Moreno’s turn with his son the day Moreno 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 can go to trial.
The lawsuit 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,’ that amended complaint 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 filed for temporary custody to administratively remove him.
DCF had asked a judge to find judgement on the case, meaning they sought an official decision to resolve the dispute.
However, the judge ruled last week that ‘genuine issues of material facts’ remain in the case, and scheduled the trial to begin in May, almost 11 years after Aaden’s death.
Oyola and a lawyer for her son’s estate are seeking monetary damages that are to be determined at trial.
Aaden’s mom Adrianne Oyola has filed a wrongful death lawsuit
Moreno threw his son Aaden off the Arrigoni Bridge (pictured) over the Connecticut River
Moreno testified during his trial that he accidentally dropped the boy
DCF declined to comment when contacted by the Daily Mail, citing ‘pending litigation.’
Court records from Moreno’s criminal trial showed he exchanged angry text messages Oyola in the minutes before he jumped. She frantically pleaded with him to not 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 that he said represented his son, and he 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.
