Lawyer: Dad in custody fight who threw infant son off bridge won't be convicted of murder; mom was denied restraining order (Middletown, Connecticut)

We've posted on this case before. True to the Dastardly Dads axiom, lots of backstory is being "forgotten" as this case goes to trial. Namely that TONY MORENO had fought this mother for custody and had a history of domestic violence. And that the judge who denied the mother's restraining order and subsequently set up this murder actually had a name: BARRY C. PINKUS.

Past postings are here.

See the Killer Dads and Custody list for Connecticut.

http://fox61.com/2016/05/17/father-who-allegedly-threw-son-off-bridge-rejects-plea-lawyer-says-jury-wont-convict-him-of-murder/

Father who allegedly threw son off bridge rejects plea; lawyer says jury won’t convict him of murder

Posted 5:47 PM, May 17, 2016, by Samantha Schoenfeld and Laura Roberts, Updated at 12:33pm, May 18, 2016

MIDDLETOWN--The Middletown father who police say threw his son off a bridge has rejected a plea deal offered by prosecutors.

Tony Moreno is accused of killing his 7-month-old son Aaden on July 5, 2015 when he is said to have thrown the child off the Arrigoni Bridge, and then jumped off the bridge himself.

He was charged with murder and murder of a victim under the age of 16 and is being held on a $2 million bond.

Moreno's lawyer, Norm Pattis, met with prosecutors in the judge's chambers on Tuesday to discuss a plea deal, however, negotiations broke down.

Now the case is expected to go to trial in January. Pattis told FOX 61, "The state wants to settle this case on terms we think are ridiculous. We're confident that a jury will not find Mr. Moreno guilty of murder and we'll take our chances at trial."

Pattis could not tell us the terms of the plea because it could be prejudicial during sentencing, but he called the number "obscenely high."

Tony Moreno in court Last July, FOX 61 obtained a series of text messages exchanged between Moreno and the baby's mother, Adrianne Oyola, who had a restraining order out against Moreno weeks before the murder, but it was not extended at a hearing days before Aaden's death.

The text messages showed Moreno's mindset in the minutes before the incident.

Pattis said, "The jury will hear from Mr. Moreno about what actually took place on the bridge that night, not what police officers browbeat him into discussing in the wake of his child's death. No one should be subjected to a custodial interview when they watched their child go over a bridge and tumble to their death, yet this is what passes for law enforcement etiquette in Middletown. I'm looking forward to cross-examining those officers."

"We will unpack in studious detail what happened in the interrogation of Tony Moreno and a jury will decide whether what police got him to say is what happened or whether what Mr. Moreno will testify to is what happened," said Pattis.