Man was going through custody battle with his estranged wife.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Middletown, Connecticut, police have confirmed that the search for a 7-month-old baby boy identified as Aaden Moreno is now classified as a recovery mission.
Police said the baby’s father, Tony Moreno, 22, of Middletown called someone threatening suicide before jumping into the river around 11:45 p.m. Sunday, along with baby Aaden, according to multiple local news outlets.
Moreno, who survived his jump and in stable condition at a hospital, has not been charged, police said, but Middletown’s mayor, Daniel Drew said police expect to file charges, reported the Hartford Courant.
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.
“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.”
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, reported The Courant.
“Right now our main priority is recovering Aaden and doing everything we can to return him to his family,” said Mayor Drew.