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Father charged with throwing baby off bridge faces a judge

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (WTNH/AP) – A 21-year-old Middletown man accused of throwing his seven-month-old son off the Arrigoni Bridge and into the Connecticut River appeared in a courtroom for the first time in this case.

Tony Moreno wore a green jumpsuit at the procedural hearing in Middlesex Superior Court. The bruises on his face from jumping off that bridge had healed. He showed little emotion in the courtroom. The child’s mother, 19-year-old Adrianne Oyola, her family, and the Moreno family were in court. They kept their composure through the hearing.

“It’s very difficult for them but they are a very strong family, as is the Moreno family,” said Captain Gary Wallace of the Middletown Police Department.

Moreno has been held in a state Department of Correction medical unit under suicide watch since allegedly killing his infant son Aaden on July 5. He was first arraigned while still at Hartford Hospital.

In the courtroom Tuesday, Moreno’s attorney asked the judge to waive the 60-day time limit for his probable cause hearing. He said Moreno was in no condition to consider legal matters. The judge agreed to continue the case. Police haven’t had any contact with Moreno since he was arrested, but they wanted to be in the courtroom too.

“It was a tough day today, but we needed to be here for the family, for the community, for ourselves. Really it’s still the why that plagues us all,” said Wallace.

Police say both families have been cooperative through the investigation and they are still hoping to find out why this happened. They want to make sense of a case that has affected them so deeply.

“We’ve talked to Adrianne and told her that every night we’ve all had sleepless nights. We go home and kiss our kids a little extra and let them stay up a little bit longer. But always thinking about her and her son,” said Wallace.