Dad in custody fight kills 7-month-old son after mom denied restraining order (Middletown, Connecticut)

This is what happens when those in authority choose to believe men and ignore the concerns of women. Once again, a child is dead because some (unnamed) judge blew off the mother's (legitimate) fears. When are these people going to be held responsible for their crimes?

The killer dad, who was also in a custody fight with the mother (big surprise) is identified as TONY MORENO. So it appears we have a new addition to the Killer Dads and Custody list for Connecticut.

http://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-middletown-baby-search-0707-20150706-story.html

Mother Of Baby Who Plunged Into River Feared For Child's Safety, Records Show

Police tape on the Arrigoni Bridge where officials say 22-year-old Tony Moreno jumped with his 7-month-old son Aaden Moreno.

Tony Moreno survived the fall into the Connecticut River and was taken to the hospital.

The child's body has not yet been recovered from the water.

Police are searching the Connecticut River for 7-month-old Aaden Moreno who plunged into the water when his father jumped from the Arrigoni Bridge Sunday night.

By Christine Dempsey and Shawn R. Beals

Mother of baby who plunged into river had filed for restraining order against father who jumped from bridge

Search for baby in Connecticut River classified as a recovery operation

July 6, 2015, 10:11 PM

MIDDLETOWN — The mother of a baby police say likely died after plunging into the Connecticut River Sunday asked authorities weeks ago for a restraining order against the child's father because she feared for the safety of the boy and herself, court records indicate..

Crews began searching the river for 7-month-old Aaden Moreno late Sunday. The child's father, Tony Moreno, 22, jumped from the Arrigoni Bridge and survived, police said. He has not been charged.

The search for a 7-month-old baby who died when his father jumped into the Connecticut River continued Monday, but was reclassified as a recovery effort with the child presumed dead.

Moreno's family called police about 11:45 p.m. on Sunday to say that he was threatening to commit suicide and that he had the baby with him, said police spokeswoman Lt. Heather Desmond.

Court records indicate there is an open child custody case involving Aaden's parents. The records show the baby's mother, Adrianne Oyola, applied for a restraining order against Moreno on June 17 because she feared for her child's and her own safety. Oyola wrote in the application that she and Moreno were happy until she became pregnant, but he began to verbally abuse, threaten and push her.

"He has told me he could make my son disappear any time of the day," she wrote. "He told me how he could make me disappear told me how he could kill me. I sometimes am scared to sleep. He told me he would put me in the ground and put something on me to make me disintegrate faster."

"I can't bring [the baby] around my family without [Moreno's] approval, but he could do anything he wants without letting me know," she wrote. "I feel that he is a danger to my child and me and would like to leave with my child and get full custody."

A temporary restraining order to keep Moreno away from Oyola and the child apparently was in place from June 17 until a hearing on June 29, when a second judge denied the restraining order application. It was unclear from court records Monday why the order was denied.

A neighbor at the home where Moreno and Oyola lived said family members are unable to make any public statements about the case.

Moreno survived the 120-foot fall from the bridge into the Connecticut River and was in stable condition at Hartford Hospital Monday afternoon. Moreno was unable to talk to police in the morning, but by the afternoon was "alert and conscious," police said.

Two police officers who arrived on the bridge after the initial call saw Moreno jump, but did not see the baby with him, Middletown police said in a statement. But sources said witnesses told police they saw a man on the bridge holding a baby over his head.

Emergency crews searched the river throughout the morning while investigators interviewed Moreno's family members and friends to determine whether someone else may have been watching the baby, police said. It was Moreno's scheduled night to have Aaden, Desmond said.

Three fire departments, two police agencies and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection all were involved in the investigation. State and federal agencies searched the river using helicopters.

In a short statement to reporters gathered at Harbor Park Monday afternoon, Desmond said the search for Aaden had shifted from a rescue effort to a recovery operation.

Middletown Mayor Daniel Drew said the police department is working with the Middlesex state's attorney on the investigation and that the department expects to file charges in the case soon.

"Right now our main priority is recovering Aaden and doing everything we can to return him to his family," Drew said. "This is a horrible tragedy. For Aaden to have had his whole life and whole future stolen from him is a tragedy that is almost impossible to put into words. I hope everybody keeps this little boy in their hearts and minds and prayers."

Later Monday night, two family friends organized a prayer vigil for Aaden in Middletown.

Taylor McPherson of Cromwell, who said she is a friend of the Moreno family, said she decided with her friend Diane Bennett to hold the vigil. A few dozen people gathered on the city's South Green at Main and Union streets for prayers and candle-lighting.

"We're showing the family they have the support of the whole community behind them," McPherson said.

Bennett was tying pieces of yarn around the wrists of people who attended the vigil, asking them to wear the simple bracelet until Aaden is found.

"The town needed this," Bennett said. "I know many people were probably home crying today, so we needed somewhere to come and cry as a community. I don't know the family but I know this town." Courant Staff Writers Chris Brodeur and Alaine Griffin contributed to this report.