Speaker 1: It's incredible to think that when we bear a child,
Speaker 1: their whole world lays in our hands. How they're raised,
Speaker 1: what lessons we teach them, and the values we pass
Speaker 1: along are all up to us as parents. Sometimes, though
Speaker 1: we hold much more than just these virtuous things. Sometimes
Speaker 1: their life literally is held in our grasp, and if
Speaker 1: we let go, death may rear its ugly grim gaze.
Speaker 2: My name's Ben and I'm Nicole, and you're listening to
Speaker 2: Wicked and Grim, a true crime podcast. The following podcast and.
Speaker 1: Material intended for a mature audience.
Speaker 2: Listener discretions.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the podcast. We hope everyone had a
Speaker 1: merry Christmas, Happy holidays. Are you just looking at me
Speaker 1: like I was expecting you to talk?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 2: Well, I was waiting for you to finish. Good God,
Speaker 2: this is a good intro.
Speaker 1: Hey, I thought you were going to say something and
Speaker 1: add on.
Speaker 2: Well, I know, but I thought you were still wishing
Speaker 2: everyone out whatever.
Speaker 1: No, I thought you might jump in and say something
Speaker 1: to me.
Speaker 2: Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy days. Off. We hope everyone
Speaker 2: enjoyed themselves.
Speaker 1: There we go.
Speaker 2: Holy shit, we're also over here, just like a little
Speaker 2: hammered on the mosas just.
Speaker 1: Oh, we're not, We're not, We're not.
Speaker 2: I'm only on momosa number what two that I've been
Speaker 2: milking this mimosa all day.
Speaker 1: That mimosa is going on like hour three.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's actually been bothering Ben so much.
Speaker 1: Because it was not like room temperature in flat it is.
Speaker 1: That's disgusting.
Speaker 2: It tastes fine, though, that is waste it. I've just
Speaker 2: been kind of busy. And then I was up in
Speaker 2: the loft and I didn't take it up there, and
Speaker 2: and yeah, I was sitting on the counter and I'm
Speaker 2: surprised you actually just didn't finish it because you kept
Speaker 2: bitching about why it was still there.
Speaker 1: I was tempted, but then I realized at this point
Speaker 1: it's probably just going to be nastiness, so I avoided it.
Speaker 2: It tastes quite good.
Speaker 1: I know. I have a feeling that is going to
Speaker 1: taste like the next day's like, let's.
Speaker 2: Just not because ACCOUNT still trying to enjoy this. I
Speaker 2: think everyone Ben ruins this, like you ruin so many
Speaker 2: things right before we're about to eat or enjoy anything.
Speaker 2: You're just like compare it to the most nastiest ship.
Speaker 2: And then I have to try to enjoy it if
Speaker 2: it looks like vomit.
Speaker 1: Also, it looks like.
Speaker 3: Vomit, I'm sorry you very much, so do Yeah, I'm okay,
Speaker 3: my bad.
Speaker 2: So this episode seems like it might need a trigger warning.
Speaker 1: Eh, it definitely.
Speaker 2: Does anyone that has an infant of sorts.
Speaker 1: So yeah, trigger warning. This handles in the death of
Speaker 1: a child and it also deals with severe mental issues
Speaker 1: with depression and suicidal thoughts.
Speaker 2: Oh, which is sad because this time of year, it's
Speaker 2: like that's so prominent.
Speaker 1: Yes, so I will put a helpline in the description
Speaker 1: of this podcast as well. If you think that you
Speaker 1: might be having these sort of thoughts, please seek help.
Speaker 1: There is a link down below where you can find help.
Speaker 1: I mean, please please take advantage of that. So, yes,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of people out there who actually help
Speaker 1: us on a weekly basis, and that is people over.
Speaker 2: On Patreon, right, And we got a few of them
Speaker 2: sign up over the holidays, didn't we.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we did. So those people over there are always
Speaker 1: supporting us. Not that you guys here aren't, trust me.
Speaker 1: We seriously appreciate that too. They get that little bit
Speaker 1: of extra content over there. They're supporting us over there.
Speaker 1: They get even a whole episode at the end of
Speaker 1: the month.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's coming up. Lots of times we'll do pre
Speaker 2: shows before each episode and it's just kind of a
Speaker 2: bit more behind the scenes of what's going on with
Speaker 2: us or with the podcast or whatever.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we've done trivia giveaways on there, you name it.
Speaker 1: So it's a great place to be. And the people
Speaker 1: we had signed up this week we have Kim Kirsten Newman,
Speaker 1: Magnolia Henson, Stephanie and Stephanie Marino.
Speaker 2: Nice.
Speaker 1: So thank you very much for signing up over on Patreon.
Speaker 1: We appreciate, we appreciate, we appreciate that support.
Speaker 2: We absolutely do.
Speaker 1: And if you want to go sign up, a Patreon
Speaker 1: link is below. But if not, like I've already said before,
Speaker 1: we appreciate you just being here. Regardless of thank you too.
Speaker 2: I just kicked your play soccer ball accidentally, way to go.
Speaker 2: I was playing with it.
Speaker 1: She's sleeping, she didn't notice. It's all good.
Speaker 2: She got spoiled rotten that dog.
Speaker 1: Yeah, she did. Definitely.
Speaker 2: My gosh, she actually plays with the toys that we
Speaker 2: give her though, so it's kind of nice. Most dogs
Speaker 2: it just sits in a bin.
Speaker 1: Well, and I think like she's got some at the
Speaker 1: bottom of her bin that aren't getting used. I think
Speaker 1: we should probably donate them to the SPCE.
Speaker 2: We should, yeah, give them to the dog that would
Speaker 2: like some new toys.
Speaker 1: Okay, you ready to dive into this case.
Speaker 2: I just had a slurp of mymosa, so I'm ready
Speaker 2: good before we do that, I do hope everyone had
Speaker 2: a very good, happy holiday, Merry Christmas, like we already
Speaker 2: said at the beginning, right right.
Speaker 1: Okay, I just want to again.
Speaker 2: I was just watching you because okay, I'm sorry, but
Speaker 2: two times in a row it's a you, it's me.
Speaker 1: It's amaz.
Speaker 2: Because it almost sounds like you have more to say,
Speaker 2: and then you just abruptly stop and stare at me
Speaker 2: like I'm just fucking to be saying something.
Speaker 1: I did it on purpose that time.
Speaker 2: Good glored. Okay, let's go.
Speaker 1: Here, all right? Okay, So our case starts off in
Speaker 1: July fifth of twenty fifteen.
Speaker 2: Holy shit, that's newish.
Speaker 1: That's like almost ten years ago.
Speaker 2: You know what isn't it's only twenty twenty two.
Speaker 1: But in like a few days it's going to be
Speaker 1: twenty twenty three.
Speaker 2: But still, that makes them like seven years old or
Speaker 2: eight years old.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's coming on a decade.
Speaker 2: Fine.
Speaker 1: So the summer heat was beginning to roll through Portland, Oregon,
Speaker 1: with temperatures reaching as high as thirty six degrees celsius
Speaker 1: or ninety six point eight degrees fahrenheit. It was on
Speaker 1: this muggy evening that a twenty two year old man
Speaker 1: by the name of Tony Moreno was out for a
Speaker 1: stroll with his seven month old son, Aiden Moreno. In
Speaker 1: the stroller, Tony was pushing his son along the sidewalk
Speaker 1: on their way to the destination. The wheels would clunk
Speaker 1: every time they passed along the seam of the concrete. Clunk, clunk,
Speaker 1: clunk as I walked along. Their destination was Aragoni Bridge,
Speaker 1: named after the state legislator Charles J. Aragoni. The bridge
Speaker 1: runs perpendicular to the Connecticut River and connects Middletown to Portland.
Speaker 1: Bridge is a view of the cities and the rushing
Speaker 1: river one hundred feet below. Once they arrived on the bridge,
Speaker 1: Tony stopped pushing the stroller. He took on the view
Speaker 1: from the city as he stood there, and then he
Speaker 1: took out his cell phone. He began to dial in
Speaker 1: number and waited for his mom to pick up on
Speaker 1: the other end. The conversation wasn't long. He needed her
Speaker 1: to do him a favor. As they spoke, his son
Speaker 1: was heard crying briefly in the background before he asked
Speaker 1: her to come to the bridge and pick up his
Speaker 1: cell phone and the stroller he was pushing, and then
Speaker 1: before much more it could be said, he hung up
Speaker 1: the phone right after saying sorry, just tell everyone, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, that is a call you never want
Speaker 2: to receive.
Speaker 1: No, So the mom, needless to say, was on edge here.
Speaker 2: M hmm.
Speaker 1: Could you imagine your son just being like, yeah, pick
Speaker 1: up my stroller and cell phone here, and I'm sorry.
Speaker 1: Tell everyone, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2: I know, because at that point it's just it's I'm
Speaker 2: not going to say too late, but it's like it
Speaker 2: says she, if you're not right with the person, like,
Speaker 2: what are you supposed to do?
Speaker 1: Really? Yeah?
Speaker 2: Huh.
Speaker 1: Well, after he ended the call with his mother, he
Speaker 1: then began texting with an individual named Adrianne Loyola Okay. Now,
Speaker 1: Adrian was the mother of their son, Aidan Okay. The
Speaker 1: two met when Adrian was thirteen years old and Tony
Speaker 1: was seventeen.
Speaker 2: Okay, that's some age difference for that age.
Speaker 1: Well, and then they began dating when she was sixteen
Speaker 1: and he was twenty. Now, there is an obvious age
Speaker 1: difference here, and adrian was clearly underage. Yea, okay, but
Speaker 1: I'm not going to dive too much into that for
Speaker 1: this episode. But yeah, that on its own kind of creepy,
Speaker 1: let's put it that way. Anyways. Regardless, the two ended
Speaker 1: up living together during the relationship end when she was pregnant. Now,
Speaker 1: during her pregnant see, however, things changed a bit in
Speaker 1: their relationship. Tony began showing signs of depression, he was struggling,
Speaker 1: and apparently even began to get a bit aggressive in
Speaker 1: the relationship, uttering threats and those sort of things. All
Speaker 1: in all, we do know what their relationship was on
Speaker 1: the rocks. Then Adrianne did what needed to be done.
Speaker 2: She broke up with Tony Okay, while she was still pregnant.
Speaker 2: I'm assuming I.
Speaker 1: Couldn't find if it was while she was still pregnant
Speaker 1: or after she had their kid. Okay, all I know
Speaker 1: is that it was kind of around that same sort
Speaker 1: of time. I'm thinking it was prior to when she
Speaker 1: was still pregnant. Kind of how the timeline plays out here.
Speaker 2: You're super young, really.
Speaker 1: Yes, definitely, she was still in high school.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, so she because she would have been pregnant
Speaker 2: like seventeen or something. I'm assuming here.
Speaker 1: Yep. So Now, reportedly Tony actually tried to rekindle things
Speaker 1: and proposed to her the night of her high school
Speaker 1: prom even.
Speaker 2: Oh wow, okay, but she said no hmmm.
Speaker 1: And then she apparently almost missed her high school graduation
Speaker 1: because Tony stole her dress and shoes.
Speaker 2: Oh seriously, yes, well that's not the way to win
Speaker 2: someone back.
Speaker 1: Definitely not. No. Now, these stories, though, they do not
Speaker 1: have a lot of information around surrounding them, so I
Speaker 1: can't talk a whole lot on it, unfortunately. But what
Speaker 1: we do know is they were struggling to the point
Speaker 1: that Adrian actually feared she and their son Aiden were unsafe.
Speaker 2: Oh really, hey, yes, so it's kind of something that
Speaker 2: he might be struggle with for longer.
Speaker 1: Oh, there's a high potential of.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yes, like it was an ongoing battle probably, yeah
Speaker 2: for him.
Speaker 1: It seems that way. Now, with this case, there isn't
Speaker 1: a whole lot of information prior to the night of
Speaker 1: the incident. I'll say that only what is kind of
Speaker 1: said through statements afterwards. That's all we really know. Okay,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of guesswork in the prior build up
Speaker 1: to this. I'm not touching on any of that guesswork.
Speaker 1: I'm mostly just going on all the facts that we
Speaker 1: know through individuals who are involved. But we can't dive
Speaker 1: deeper into it because it's just guesswork. Right. So, regardless
Speaker 1: of she felt unsafe, so she filed for a temporary
Speaker 1: restraining order in June of twenty fifteen. Now, this restraining
Speaker 1: order would only last two weeks as she and Tony
Speaker 1: worked out a custody agreement to try and co parent
Speaker 1: their son together, which I absolutely love.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's super good.
Speaker 1: I do understand there's exceptions to every rule. Okay, I'll
Speaker 1: just say that right now.
Speaker 2: There is. Oh yeah, would there could be a reason
Speaker 2: why one of them couldn't have the child in their custody.
Speaker 1: Yes, sir, So there are exceptions to every rule. However,
Speaker 1: nine times out of ten, I do think that parents
Speaker 1: need to try and work together for the benefit of
Speaker 1: their child. I think that it's probably the most beneficial
Speaker 1: thing you can do it's probably probably going to be
Speaker 1: a worse off situation if you avoid that. Yeah, unless
Speaker 1: the extenuating circumstances.
Speaker 2: Yeah, because I'm kind of thinking that in this situation,
Speaker 2: it might not have been for the best.
Speaker 3: You're probably thinking, right, Okay, Okay, it was only actually
Speaker 3: a few days after that agreement though, that that not
Speaker 3: being for the best would happen. Gosh, because it was
Speaker 3: only a few days after that agreement that Tony took
Speaker 3: his son Aiden for that stroll to Aragony Bridge. Now,
Speaker 3: this bridge, I haven't mentioned this yet, but we kind
Speaker 3: of already know where it's going. But Aragony Bridge is
Speaker 3: a bridge that has a reputation for being the place
Speaker 3: where people go to commit suicide.
Speaker 2: Okay, so we've been to Portland. Yes, I feel like
Speaker 2: so many of these cases we haven't actually ever ventured too.
Speaker 2: But I wonder if we would have seen this bridge.
Speaker 1: Ah, there's a potential because when we drove through it
Speaker 1: was it was the evening.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I feel like we probably would have.
Speaker 1: Yeah, because we left, we got there in the evening,
Speaker 1: We left in the evening, so I can't recall seeing
Speaker 1: specific bridges. I do know you passed over bridges, Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's all or can recall.
Speaker 2: I'd have to kind of go back on like Google
Speaker 2: maps and stuff and.
Speaker 1: Look so out on this bridge. While standing there, Tony
Speaker 1: would text Adrian and she would text back, and they
Speaker 1: would have this exchange, and the messages went kind of
Speaker 1: like this, well, not kind of like this exactly, They
Speaker 1: went like this. Now. There could be some messages in
Speaker 1: between that weren't brought up, but these are the ones
Speaker 1: that I found. Tony would say, you won't talk to
Speaker 1: me tomorrow or any other day. Enjoy your new life
Speaker 1: without us now, Adrian, Tony, I'm trying to make this
Speaker 1: co parenting thing work. You're sick, not a parent anymore.
Speaker 1: Their conversation kind of went back and forth for a bit.
Speaker 1: When Adrian asked where he and their son were, Tony
Speaker 1: responded by saying, he's dead. Oh, and soon I will
Speaker 1: be too. Oh no, Adrian responded by, you couldn't kill
Speaker 1: your own son. Please don't hurt aiden, please.
Speaker 2: Oh shit, that's brutal. That's so brutal.
Speaker 1: Could you imagine getting that text?
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, oh, my heart's just like sinking.
Speaker 1: Right, He's dead and soon I will be too. Yikes,
Speaker 1: I cannot imagine what would be going through a mother's
Speaker 1: head receiving a text regarding their son like that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, like a mother let alone anyone? Really? Yeah? Wow?
Speaker 1: Okay, so that is heavy.
Speaker 2: Yeah, like she'd be freaking the fuck out.
Speaker 1: Oh, one hundred percent, yeah and totally understandable. She immediately
Speaker 1: contacted authorities, and authorities made their way to the scene
Speaker 1: as quickly as possible.
Speaker 2: And do they know where they were going? Did? He
Speaker 2: didn't say where they were to her though, right.
Speaker 1: I assume he would have yes, because she called authorities
Speaker 1: and let them know.
Speaker 2: Okay, dang.
Speaker 1: So it was there on the bridge they found an
Speaker 1: empty stroller and Tony clinging to the edge of the bridge.
Speaker 2: Wow, okay.
Speaker 1: Tony's mother was also present, as she had showed up
Speaker 1: just before the police, and there she was pleading with
Speaker 1: him to move towards her and away from the edge,
Speaker 1: but he said he couldn't.
Speaker 2: So he okay, I have questions here, but maybe I
Speaker 2: just need to let you keep going.
Speaker 1: What do you got for questions?
Speaker 2: So he didn't jump off the bridge, Like, what do
Speaker 2: you mean clinging?
Speaker 1: He's standing on there, holding to the handrail, still looking
Speaker 1: over the handrail into the river.
Speaker 2: And there's no baby to be found.
Speaker 1: There is no baby to be found right now.
Speaker 2: But the baby was there when they got to the bridge.
Speaker 1: Yes, the mother heard the baby crying on the b
Speaker 1: in the background phone call.
Speaker 2: Okay, you good, Yeah, Well, I don't know. Actually, this
Speaker 2: is not good. This is not good. I'm okay, of course.
Speaker 2: So the baby's in the river. The baby's in the
Speaker 2: fucking river.
Speaker 1: You think I don't know?
Speaker 2: Okay, let's go here. We need answers. This is brutal.
Speaker 1: Well. Middletown police officer Austin Smith also tried to talk
Speaker 1: to Tony, but was unsuccessful talking him down.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 1: Instead, Tony put both his hands on the railing and
Speaker 1: hurled himself over, dropping into the water below, almost one hundred.
Speaker 2: Feet below, with his freaking mom and stuff right there.
Speaker 1: Correct. Wow, his mother watched him jump off the bridge.
Speaker 2: Okay, Oh my goodness, this is really really, really heavy.
Speaker 1: Other officers on scene were down below and quickly found
Speaker 1: Tony treading water after he impacted on the surface survived.
Speaker 2: Because that's not likely, right, The odds are that you
Speaker 2: wouldn't correct.
Speaker 1: The odds are you wouldn't though on this bridge. There
Speaker 1: are others who have reportedly survived as well. I mean
Speaker 1: a hundred feet that's a long ways. But in the
Speaker 1: grand scheme of things, that's survivable for sure.
Speaker 2: It is. Yeah, but I mean you'd have to you
Speaker 2: wouldn't be prepared necessarily to land the right way, and
Speaker 2: you'd have to land the right way to survive that.
Speaker 1: Yes, you would. So he must have lucked out fluke. Yeah,
Speaker 1: if you end up landing the right way feet first
Speaker 1: or something to minimize your impact, then then yeah, it's
Speaker 1: survivable for sure.
Speaker 2: But if you landed like a belly flop, you're done.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I just realized it sound like the kool
Speaker 1: aid Man when I said, oh, yeah, which ye. Sorry anyways, Uh,
Speaker 1: he actually has a mugshot after this where yeah, he's
Speaker 1: got major black eyes, like his eyes.
Speaker 2: So like the fact that he didn't die is pretty lucky.
Speaker 1: Yes, And officers were unseen there, so they managed to
Speaker 1: pull him out rather quickly. And they immediately.
Speaker 2: Where's the baby and where's the freaking baby?
Speaker 1: It's the first thing they asked. They immediately asked where
Speaker 1: is the baby.
Speaker 2: Like praying to freaking God that like this baby actually
Speaker 2: is somewhere else.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and one of the officers recalls actually being like
Speaker 1: inches from his face, like screaming at him multiple times,
Speaker 1: where is the baby? Like where is he? But Tony
Speaker 1: didn't respond, Oh my god. He just sat there, looked
Speaker 1: up at the officers and was silent, and there was
Speaker 1: no sign of seven month old little aidd Okay.
Speaker 2: Well, I'm just like, maybe there's a possibility that he's
Speaker 2: somewhere else.
Speaker 1: Well, he was found two days later, and he would
Speaker 1: be found by kayakers in the water we'll fall fourteen
Speaker 1: miles downstream of the bridge.
Speaker 2: Seriously, Yes, so this guy actually threw his fucking seven
Speaker 2: month old baby off the bridge, Like you're not kidding that,
Speaker 2: Like this is that's like what happened.
Speaker 1: I all I can say right now is his baby
Speaker 1: went over the bridge.
Speaker 2: Yes, wow, Okay.
Speaker 1: So Aiden's autopsy revealed several things, one of which was
Speaker 1: a large skull fracture that was approximately four inches long.
Speaker 2: Wow.
Speaker 1: And the second was foaming at the mouth and nose,
Speaker 1: which was consistent with drowning.
Speaker 2: Oh I I'll just wait.
Speaker 1: His estimated death showed that it was the same day
Speaker 1: he went missing. In his autopsy, he had died two
Speaker 1: days prior, which was when.
Speaker 2: He went missing, and so like if he throw him
Speaker 2: off this bridge, which it's seeming like he did, Like
Speaker 2: the baby didn't actually die from the impact, that he
Speaker 2: died from drowning.
Speaker 1: Would have died from drowning, it seems as far as
Speaker 1: the autopsy goes. Yes. However, would he have survived the
Speaker 1: impact if he didn't drowned? That is another question on
Speaker 1: its own. Wow, so the cause of death was drowning.
Speaker 2: Wow, I'm kind of almost speechless here.
Speaker 1: It's brutal, isn't it.
Speaker 2: Well, there's so much that I want to say, but
Speaker 2: the fact that, like the dad had a mental health
Speaker 2: like serious mental health issue. You know, it's hard to
Speaker 2: even say anything in regards to that.
Speaker 1: It is, but like it is you have to like
Speaker 1: mental health or not. Though this is a sick thing.
Speaker 2: To do, Like that's your kid, and like if you're
Speaker 2: not of sound mind, like you need to say, like
Speaker 2: I can't take the kid right now?
Speaker 1: Yeap. So it was clear, of course, we've already talked
Speaker 1: about it that young Aiden went over the edge of
Speaker 1: the bridge into the water, and wow, he did not survive. However,
Speaker 1: there are two very different stories that came came out
Speaker 1: during his trial.
Speaker 2: I have another question I'm acology, okay, go ahead, Like
Speaker 2: this is actually really hard to grasp, right, So I
Speaker 2: like my brain is I might just have more We're
Speaker 2: just gonna have to deal with, okay. So if the
Speaker 2: Kayakers that they find this baby just like floating in
Speaker 2: the water, or was it like on the bank? Do
Speaker 2: we know this?
Speaker 1: I don't know. All I know is from the reports
Speaker 1: that came forward, Kayakers found Aiden.
Speaker 2: Probably I'm assuming the on the bank actually because it
Speaker 2: was two days later and not that far of a distance.
Speaker 1: But it all depends on the flow of the river
Speaker 1: though too right, how fast it's flowing, or if it
Speaker 1: got fourteen miles so it's seven miles a day. Like,
Speaker 1: it's hard to say. So there's a lot of variables
Speaker 1: within that, and variables that were not answered in any
Speaker 1: sort of report or article that I was able to find. Okay,
Speaker 1: So in the court proceedings, like I said, there are
Speaker 1: two different stories. Now, it was mentioned in court that
Speaker 1: Tony while being evaluated in the hospital by a psychiatrists
Speaker 1: and the psychiatrist was Samira Solomon, that Tony was saying
Speaker 1: he had thought about killing himself but did not want
Speaker 1: to leave his son be raised by his ex girlfriend's family.
Speaker 2: Okay, so.
Speaker 1: She told the jury that Tony was quote ambivalent about
Speaker 1: being alive and had recent thoughts and intent to kill his.
Speaker 2: Son because if he wasn't there, he didn't want anyone
Speaker 2: else raising this baby.
Speaker 1: Basically, essentially, I guess, yeah, pretty well. Now in another interview,
Speaker 1: she said, I recall the patient being adamant about his
Speaker 1: intention to be dead before he was a rested, and
Speaker 1: she also added that Tony wanted to commit suicide, but
Speaker 1: quote was afraid of his son living in his current
Speaker 1: life situation, so he wanted to kill himself and his son. Now,
Speaker 1: another interview with a completely different individual, mind you, went
Speaker 1: a little bit like this. It was Officer Lee Buller
Speaker 1: who was on the scene for his rescue and also
Speaker 1: talked about things Tony mentioned while in hospital. Apparently he
Speaker 1: had explained that and this is a quote from Officer
Speaker 1: Lee Buller. He said he knew what he needed to do,
Speaker 1: and when he asked to clarify what needed to do
Speaker 1: was yeah. Tony's response was that, quote, he needed to
Speaker 1: kill his son and then kill himself, and the reason
Speaker 1: for killing his son was so that he wouldn't have
Speaker 1: to have been raised by his ex girlfriend's family.
Speaker 2: I mean, because he's so mentally stable that he's like
Speaker 2: justifying this in his mind. Yeah, which is wow.
Speaker 1: Now, in another interview regarding while Tony was in the hospital,
Speaker 1: detective Dane Semper said that Tony directly admitted to killing
Speaker 1: his son. Quote. I asked him directly if he dropped
Speaker 1: Aiden from the bridge. He nodded yes.
Speaker 2: Wow.
Speaker 1: And this quote from the detective Dane Semper was actually
Speaker 1: allowed to be used as evidence in court.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that makes sense.
Speaker 1: So this was the story that prosecutors would be pursuing
Speaker 1: a sick individual. Whether you want to look however, you
Speaker 1: want to look at the word sick, because he was
Speaker 1: clinically ill, he had mental disabilities or mental issues whatever.
Speaker 2: But he also did a very sick discussion.
Speaker 1: He did act he very much so did so a
Speaker 1: sick individual who threw their son over the bridge and
Speaker 1: then jumped in a suicide attempt to end their own
Speaker 1: life in retaliation after Adrian broke off the relationship. They
Speaker 1: even had the text messages between Tony and Adrian to
Speaker 1: help paint this picture. You know, right, you won't talk
Speaker 1: to me tomorrow or any other day. Enjoy your new
Speaker 1: life without us.
Speaker 2: And the mom's phone call. I imagined she would have
Speaker 2: kind of shared that a bit.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And of course the biggest one of all he's
Speaker 1: dead and soon I will be too.
Speaker 2: Yep. So you know, you know, it's almost a wonder
Speaker 2: if he did actually text her once he'd already like
Speaker 2: thrown this little baby off the bridge. Hey, Like, was
Speaker 2: he actually dead when he was messaging with her.
Speaker 1: There's a possibility of that, definitely. Now I'm going to
Speaker 1: get touch on this here a little bit about in
Speaker 1: a little bit, because Tony claims otherwise. No, story is
Speaker 1: a bit different. He claimed he did not murder his son.
Speaker 1: He did say it was an accident. It's important to
Speaker 1: note that Tony was willing to plead guilty to any
Speaker 1: other charge other than murder, and was actually offered a
Speaker 1: fifty year plea if he pled guilty, So fifty years
Speaker 1: in jail if he pled guilty. He refused. Okay, So
Speaker 1: his defense attorney addressed the court and said this, we
Speaker 1: want the jury to know, mister Moreno accepts criminal responsibility
Speaker 1: for his son's death. He was alone with his son
Speaker 1: when his son went into the water. Mister Moreno accepts
Speaker 1: responsibility for his son's death, but in his view it
Speaker 1: was not murder. Sorry.
Speaker 2: Was the fifty years like a plea bargain? Yes, Oh
Speaker 2: my gosh, that's so long though. Hey, that is so
Speaker 2: it doesn't seem like a plea bargain.
Speaker 1: That was the plea bargain. So if he accepts murder charges,
Speaker 1: if he pleads guilty to murder, it would only be
Speaker 1: fifty years. Okay, but he refused me because it was.
Speaker 2: Gosh, that's some serious neglect then, because I can't imagine
Speaker 2: how you would accidentally throw your child over a bridge.
Speaker 1: Well, while taking a stand, Tony said he was walking
Speaker 1: along the Aragony Bridge between Middleton and Portland. There he
Speaker 1: was spending time with his son and was pointing out landmarks,
Speaker 1: which included the movie theater that they could view where
Speaker 1: he and Adrian had shared their first kiss.
Speaker 2: Okay, but the kid is only seven months old.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I don't know.
Speaker 2: A sorry, maybe you would still be pointing out landmarks.
Speaker 1: I mean, of course you would be, right.
Speaker 2: I guess you would be.
Speaker 1: You talk to your child, no matter how old they are,
Speaker 1: if they understand or not.
Speaker 2: Okay, No, that's fair, that's fair.
Speaker 1: Yeah, especially when it's come to the mother and father
Speaker 1: having a rocky relationship. He might be wanting to rekindle
Speaker 1: things or something, and he's reminiscing and trying to share
Speaker 1: these important things with his son, and hey, that's where
Speaker 1: mom and I had our first kiss.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I'd probably do that to Ripley.
Speaker 1: Yeah. It may not be fair to the dog. It
Speaker 1: may not be something that's important to their son Aiden,
Speaker 1: but it might be something that's important to Tony to him.
Speaker 2: No, that's fair. I get that.
Speaker 1: So, while in court, defense attorney Norman A. Pattis asked Tony, quote,
Speaker 1: did you intend to kill your son Aiden Moreno on
Speaker 1: July fifth, twenty fifteen, and Tony answered no. So the
Speaker 1: attorney asked what happened, to which Tony replied, I dropped him.
Speaker 2: I dropped him.
Speaker 1: I dropped him.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 1: Now that is also important if you talk about that
Speaker 1: piece of evidence that Detective Dane Semper was talking about,
Speaker 1: because he asked if he dropped Aiden, and he said yes.
Speaker 1: Drop dropped does not mean on purpose.
Speaker 2: Drop does not necessarily mean like I threw him over
Speaker 2: the bridge.
Speaker 1: Correct, Okay, So regarding the text he sent Adrian, Tony
Speaker 1: testified that their son was still alive, during those texts.
Speaker 1: So it's kind of angry texts sort of situation, right,
Speaker 1: which I mean, people can definitely get that way. I
Speaker 1: don't understand it. But people do say things that they
Speaker 1: don't mean in the heat of the moment.
Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely they do. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So when he was asked to reenact what happened
Speaker 1: that night for the jury in the courtroom, he was
Speaker 1: provided with a doll in a mock up section of
Speaker 1: the bridge railing. There. Tony demonstrated in the court how
Speaker 1: he was standing with the son in his arms. And
Speaker 1: there's actually pictures of this you can find online in
Speaker 1: of him holding this doll on this mock up in
Speaker 1: the courtroom.
Speaker 2: Oh okay, I thought even on the bridge, because I
Speaker 2: was like, there's got to be people have been driving
Speaker 2: by witnessing this.
Speaker 1: No, there's a mock up in the courtroom with like
Speaker 1: the railing and everything, and he's provided with a doll,
Speaker 1: so he's holding it in the courtroom acting it out,
Speaker 1: reenacting the situation. And while he's doing this, he said,
Speaker 1: I picked him up out of the stroller and I
Speaker 1: was just walking back and forth talking to him. And
Speaker 1: at this point, defense attorney Pattis asked Tony if while
Speaker 1: leaning on the railing with Aiden essentially perched on the edge,
Speaker 1: did he lose grip or control of his son? Tony
Speaker 1: was a wreck and was unable to collect himself to
Speaker 1: answer the question in court.
Speaker 2: Holy, that's brutal to be having this baby anywhere near
Speaker 2: the railing, Like what is he doing?
Speaker 1: Yeah, Well, we've seen situations similar to this live TV,
Speaker 1: the Michael Jackson incident for example.
Speaker 2: Right, I can't recall what the fuck that incident is.
Speaker 1: Jackson was in a hotel or something like that. Oh,
Speaker 1: I think it was somewhere in Europe. It's coming back
Speaker 1: to me, and yeah, he held his son basically over
Speaker 1: the ledge or for media and stuff. But it looked very,
Speaker 1: very scary.
Speaker 2: Like in the moment. I guess people, I mean, you
Speaker 2: never really think that anything bad's going to necessarily happen.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you generally don't a.
Speaker 2: Lot of times when disasters happen, you're like, oh, I
Speaker 2: didn't see that coming.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I mean I have a safety professional. I
Speaker 1: talk to people all the time who have accidents, like, yeah,
Speaker 1: I just it was a dumb thing. I can't like
Speaker 1: I shouldn't have done that, of course. Yeah, hindsight is
Speaker 1: twenty twenty. You never absolutely, like you said, you never
Speaker 1: think you're gonna get hurt.
Speaker 2: No, So.
Speaker 1: Defense attorney Pattis would also ask a very important question
Speaker 1: for the defense to the individual who performed the autopsy.
Speaker 1: He asked if they found any sign that Aiden had
Speaker 1: a condition called mile clonus, which causes muscle spasms. Oh, however,
Speaker 1: it was said that there was no evidence of that condition,
Speaker 1: but it may not be evident upon post mortem examination.
Speaker 2: So almost like Aiden, I don't know. I mean, kids
Speaker 2: that age I think are really like wiggly, right, Yeah,
Speaker 2: so it's almost kind of saying that he like wiggled
Speaker 2: out of his dad's arms in a sense.
Speaker 1: Essentially, Yes, if you're looking at that specific statement or
Speaker 1: question towards the autopsy individual, he could be hensing that
Speaker 1: there's a condition where he causes almost seizure, like I
Speaker 1: guess spasms, which would probably add to the risk of
Speaker 1: an individual being dropped.
Speaker 2: I do think that would be known though, that some
Speaker 2: a family member or the mom would be able to
Speaker 2: kind of identify that. But I'm just saying, Okay, well,
Speaker 2: I don't think the kid had that, but like there
Speaker 2: maybe he like wiggled like he did, not wiggled a
Speaker 2: lot or I don't know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, one hundred percent. There's whether you have this condition
Speaker 1: and as a factor not, it's a possibility. Still if
Speaker 1: you have that situation where you are dangling your kid essentially.
Speaker 2: Over the edge, Gosh, that just makes me want to
Speaker 2: that's just so cringe like so bad.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's brutal.
Speaker 2: The visuals of that is just horrific.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So Tony's defense essentially talking that one way or another,
Speaker 1: he accidentally dropped his son over the edge and already
Speaker 1: having his suicidal tendencies, now having his son gone, I mean,
Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure that would be the icing on the
Speaker 1: cake for himself. Yeah, but the prosecution said that he
Speaker 1: willingly threw his son overboard before committing attempting to commit
Speaker 1: to take his own life.
Speaker 2: Well, I mean the evidence is kind of there to
Speaker 2: show that as well.
Speaker 1: Yep, very strong evidence, if I may say.
Speaker 2: The text to the mother.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, the admissions in the hot bit to three
Speaker 1: different individuals, Yeah, about taking his son's life. I guess
Speaker 1: to the one detective he did say dropped. He didn't
Speaker 1: specifically say, but regardless. It was in February of twenty seventeen,
Speaker 1: Tony Moreno, regarding the death of his son Aiden, would
Speaker 1: be found guilty, okay. Judge Alpedo Vital sentenced him to
Speaker 1: sixty years for murder, as well as ten years for
Speaker 1: the risk of injury to a minor. The sentencing will
Speaker 1: be served consecutively, which means Tony has seventy years without parole.
Speaker 2: Like kill, I'm assuming that he will not ever get out. Ye,
Speaker 2: he's in his twenties right and then yeah.
Speaker 1: So at the sentencing, Judge Vital said this, not only
Speaker 1: did you violate and intentionally kill your seven month old son,
Speaker 1: but you taunt his mother as you commit the act
Speaker 1: with text messages that were apt described as quote demonic,
Speaker 1: just so you could add to her unfathomable grief.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Outside of the courtroom after the sentencing, Adrian Oyola, who
Speaker 1: is Aidan's mother, read the following statement to reporters.
Speaker 2: Oh Man already arriving here.
Speaker 1: I would like to thank Judge my tale for the
Speaker 1: maximum sentence in this case, and now Aidan can rest
Speaker 1: in peace knowing that justice was served. I feel bad
Speaker 1: for Denise Manero, Tony's mother.
Speaker 2: Yeah, she did the.
Speaker 1: Best she could with her son. It's not her fault.
Speaker 1: My prayers are with her. I would like to thank
Speaker 1: the Middletown Police Department, State's Attorney, the police, the first
Speaker 1: responders in everyone who searched and rescued for my son,
Speaker 1: and the victims Advocate especially. Please continue to respect my
Speaker 1: privacy while I continue to mourn my son, and please
Speaker 1: keep Aiden in your prayers and thoughts.
Speaker 2: Wow, the fact that she even acknowledged his mom really
Speaker 2: like shows something about her.
Speaker 1: I feel like it really does.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Like that was that was not something I was expecting.
Speaker 2: Like that statement actually was pretty wow.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, I mean in the sense both those mothers
Speaker 1: just lost their sons, right.
Speaker 2: Oh so yeah, she's almost able to grasp potentially what
Speaker 2: you know, she's kind of going through too. Oh this
Speaker 2: is so hard because the fact that he had like
Speaker 2: a mental illness. But oh my gosh, what he has
Speaker 2: put the mother through and this poor child who was
Speaker 2: seven months old just not like doesn't have a life.
Speaker 1: Yeah, now there is one more thing.
Speaker 2: Oh, I don't know if we can take anymore here.
Speaker 1: I went back and forth a lot on whether or
Speaker 1: not I was going to add this last piece to
Speaker 1: the end. Oh, because if I do that means I'm
Speaker 1: letting Tony have the final words, okay, And while I
Speaker 1: don't want that to happen, I also think that it's
Speaker 1: a very important lesson to be learned here.
Speaker 2: With what he says, okay, let's hear it.
Speaker 1: So with that in mind, I'm going to let him
Speaker 1: have those final words. On Tony's cell phone were some
Speaker 1: recovered files, things he wanted people to find on his
Speaker 1: phone after he jumped. For example, Okay, one was a
Speaker 1: message to Adrian, a message that he ultimately deleted but
Speaker 1: was recovered, and that message said this, you knew in
Speaker 1: advance what I planned on doing, and you never tried
Speaker 1: stopping You never even asked me not to do it,
Speaker 1: and that hurt me more than you'll ever know. But
Speaker 1: after everything that happened between us, I guess I deserve that.
Speaker 1: But just know that at the end of every I
Speaker 1: waited for you to come and stop me, to come
Speaker 1: and save me and tell me things would be okay,
Speaker 1: that you still love me. But that was just hopeful wishing.
Speaker 2: Apparently that's bullshit. Actually the way to just like put
Speaker 2: even more guilt on there.
Speaker 1: Yes, So it's not that I'm believing his words. If
Speaker 1: you look at it. Tony did a horrific thing, and
Speaker 1: for that he should rot.
Speaker 2: Don't get me wrong, but I guess at some point
Speaker 2: he was calling and he was asking for help.
Speaker 1: He's asking for help, he's reaching out, he's crying for help.
Speaker 1: That message in itself is a cry for help. So
Speaker 1: for that, I just want to say, if anyone out
Speaker 1: there needs help, know that acts like this are never
Speaker 1: the solution. Now, they are never the way to go.
Speaker 1: Please seek help. Again. We've put that hotline description of
Speaker 1: this podcast, seek it out if you need.
Speaker 2: It well, because unless you like black and white, spell
Speaker 2: it out. I don't think that people necessarily go there
Speaker 2: to like, oh this is like he's serious, Like this
Speaker 2: is actually what's going to happen. Yeah, Like I just
Speaker 2: don't think people fathom that they need to. There's some
Speaker 2: people that be like, yeah, I need to help, but
Speaker 2: like they're not gonna unless you really spell it out,
Speaker 2: realize the extent of it and putting that pressure and
Speaker 2: even I don't know how to word this, but power
Speaker 2: to someone else, like it's just not going to save you.
Speaker 2: You need to do more.
Speaker 1: You do need to do more. And if you do
Speaker 1: choose a route where you're attempting to take your own
Speaker 1: life or others around you. There is significant impact on
Speaker 1: those who are left behind, and it's not a good
Speaker 1: situation for yourself or anyone. Ask help, reach out. People
Speaker 1: don't know if you're serious or not. Let them know
Speaker 1: that you're serious.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it's just human nature. We don't necessarily
Speaker 2: go to the worst possible outcome.
Speaker 1: We don't. So yeah, so that is today's case.
Speaker 2: Well, because I was just there is even that the
Speaker 2: like the really recent suicide that's been all over the
Speaker 2: news and stuff, right, I think it to which is
Speaker 2: that how you would say his name?
Speaker 1: I don't think I know what you're talking about.
Speaker 2: So he was Ellen's DJ.
Speaker 1: Oh, okay, that guy is That's how.
Speaker 2: You'd say his name. It's like twitch, I think rich
Speaker 2: t W I T H boss or something. Yeah, so
Speaker 2: and that like yeah, he had left his wife and
Speaker 2: I think they had two two or three children behind, right,
Speaker 2: and left his family behind like yeah, Like I can't
Speaker 2: imagine how that family is going to heal from that.
Speaker 1: So so work on these things. Ask for help. M M. Yeah. So,
Speaker 1: like I said, description is down below. Okay, you need help, reach.
Speaker 2: Out and seven months old that is just like such
Speaker 2: a loss.
Speaker 1: It is, it really is. With that being said, I'm
Speaker 1: not going to do a plug of all our information.
Speaker 1: If you want to find it, it's all in the
Speaker 1: description of the podcast. I really want to highlight that
Speaker 1: that hotline again. If it's there you need it, please
Speaker 1: seek that help. Other than that, until next time, stay wicked.