Middletown Man Testifies He Didn’t Intend To Kill His 7-Month-Old Son: Report

MIDDLETOWN, CT — The murder trial of Middletown’s Tony Moreno, who is accused of throwing his 7-month-old son off the Arrigoni Bridge to his death in 2015, continued Thursday with Moreno telling the jury that he did not intend to kill Aaden, according to the Hartford Courant.

The Courant reports that Moreno said that he dropped Aaden and testified that he battled deep depression and had suicidal thoughts for years before Aaden was born.

Moreno also said that when he texted Aaden’s mother, Adrianne Oyola, to tell her that Aaden was dead, the baby was still alive and he was trying to hurt Oyola and intended to kill himself but not Aaden, according to the Courant.

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Oyola testified in the case on Wednesday, the same day jurors were shown the text messages between her and Moreno leading up to Aaden’s death, according to the Middletown Press.

The Press reports the jury also heard three texts that police recovered from Moreno’s phone that were deleted, including one that was addressed to Aaden in which Moreno said that he hopes he gets to read someday and that he was “very sorry I didn’t get to watch you grow up and get to know the young man you’ve become …”

Shortly before midnight on July 5, 2015, Middletown Police received a 911 call that Tony Moreno was believed to be on the Arrigoni Bridge with his son, Aaden. Tony Moreno made statements that he was going to jump off the bridge, police said at the time, and arriving officers observed Moreno on the southern sidewalk of the bridge.

Within moments of the officers’ arrival, Moreno jumped over the railing before they could reach him. Police said Moreno wasn’t holding Aaden at the time, but an empty stroller was located in the immediate vicinity.

When Tony Moreno was pulled from the water by the Middletown Fire Department Marine Unit, he was unresponsive and was transported to Hartford Hospital via Life Star.

An immediate rescue effort was initiated by the Middletown Fire Department, with assistance from the South Fire District, Portland Fire and Middletown Police Dive Team.

Aaden’s body was recovered from the river on July 7.

Moreno’s attorney, Norm Pattis, previously said that Moreno would testify during the trial that he was responsible for Aaden’s death but that it wasn’t murder.

Read more about Moreno’s testimony at the Hartford Courant here.

For more on Oyola’s testimony, including the text messages read in court, visit the Middletown Press here.

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