A civil trial is expected to begin in May in a lawsuit alleging the state Department of Children and Families failed to protect an infant who was killed when he was thrown off the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown by his own father in 2015.
The wrongful death lawsuit, filed in Waterbury Superior Court, alleges that a DCF social worker never showed up to a hearing to help Aaden Moreno’s mother, Adrianne Oyola, seek an extension on a temporary restraining order that had been granted against the 7-month-old’s father, Tony Moreno.
A judge dropped the order during the hearing on June 29, 2015, six days before Moreno hurled the infant off the bridge and into the Connecticut River below, according to the civil complaint, which was brought on behalf of the child’s estate.
Police tape blocks pedestrian access to the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown on July 6 2015. Tony Moreno, 22, admitted to police that he threw his 7-month-old son off the bridge before jumping himself.
The lawsuit was first filed in February 2023 after Aaden’s estate was granted permission 11 months earlier by the Connecticut Office of the Claims Commissioner to bring civil action against the state of Connecticut. The complaint was later withdrawn in favor of an amended complaint that was filed earlier this month, court records show.
Attorneys representing the state filed a motion for a summary of judgment, asking a judge to find that there was not sufficient evidence for the case to move forward.
The state argued that the “superseding cause of Aaden’s death” was Moreno’s decision to murder his own son. The motion also argued that the “alleged negligence” on the state’s part was “not the cause in fact or the proximate cause of Aaden’s death” and that a DCF social worker “had no duty” to attend the restraining order hearing.
In a ruling dated Jan. 15, a judge denied the motion and made a finding that there is “sufficient” evidence for the case to head to trial, records show.
The trial is slated to begin in May, according to court records.
A spokesperson for DCF declined to comment when reached Wednesday.
According to the lawsuit, which alleges DCF was negligent in its failure to protect Aaden, Oyola was granted a temporary restraining order against Moreno on June 17, 2015, on behalf of herself and the infant. A hearing was scheduled to take place 12 days later to determine whether the order would be lifted or extended.
The civil complaint alleges that Oyola was promised that she would receive help during the restraining order process and that a social worker would attend the hearing to assist her. Oyola was not capable of representing herself in court, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint alleges that no one from DCF showed up to the hearing and that, had they been there, they could have attested to claims that Moreno was a danger to Oyola and Aaden. The lawsuit also alleges that DCF officials knew that the restraining order would have been extended had they gone to the hearing and helped present evidence. The complaint contends that DCF also failed to check on Aaden after the order lapsed.
The judge who elected not to extend the restraining order advised Oyola and Moreno to work out a custody plan, court documents said. When a DCF social worker learned of this, she scheduled a meeting with Oyola and Moreno on July 8, 2015, lawyers representing the state wrote in court documents.
Aaden was killed three days before the meeting could happen.
The lawsuit contends that DCF’s alleged failures included not invoking a 96-hour hold on Aaden under a statute that deals with children who face imminent harm. The complaint also alleges the department could have filed a “motion for an order of temporary custody to administratively remove the decedent from his familial home….”
At the time of the killing, the infant was in Moreno’s custody in accordance with a joint custody agreement he signed with Oyola a week earlier, previous Courant reports state.
Moreno left his Middletown home and contacted his mother as he walked to the bridge with the child. The mother and her other son raced to the bridge and alerted police.
When the family and police arrived, Moreno had already thrown Aaden from the bridge, Courant reports said. They called out for him to stop walking away before he grabbed the railing and catapulted into the waters below. He was rescued by first responders about a half hour later and was taken to a hospital where he was placed on suicide watch.
Aaden’s body was found by a kayaker two days later about 14 miles downstream from the Arrigoni bridge, according to Courant reports.
In May 2017, Moreno was sentenced to 70 years in prison after a jury found him guilty on charges of murder and risk of injury to a minor. He is not eligible for parole.
