Mother of missing Conn. baby feared for child's safety

HARTFORD, Conn. - The mother of a 7-month-old boy, whose father is believed to have jumped with him into the Connecticut River, previously sought a restraining order against the father saying she feared for her safety and the baby's.

According to the Hartford Courant, the child - Aaden Moreno - had been the focus of a child custody case between his parents. His mother, Adrienne Oyola, was granted a temporary restraining order against the father, Tony Moreno, and that order had been in effect from June 17 to June 29, when it was denied by a judge, the newspaper reported, citing court records.

Aaden Moreno was reported missing the night of Sunday, July 5, when his father, 22-year-old Tony Moreno, jumped from the Arrigoni Bridge between Middletown and Portland. Police said Monday that Tony Moreno is believed to have jumped off the bridge with the child and that the mission to find the child is now a recovery operation.

Firefighters were able to pull Tony Moreno from the river and took him to Hartford Hospital, where he was initially listed in serious condition. Police later said he was upgraded to stable condition and that he was alert and conscious.

Charges are expected when the investigation is completed, police said.

CBS affiliate WFSB reports that in a petition last month for a restraining order against Tony Moreno, the child's mother, Adrienne Oyola, wrote, "I am afraid he is going to do something to my son. He is angry and probably isn't thinking straight."

According to the Hartford Courant, Oyola wrote in the application that she and Tony Moreno were happy until she became pregnant and he began to verbally abuse, threaten and push her.

"He has told me he could make my son disappear any time of the day," she wrote, according to the paper. "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."

"I feel that he is a danger to my child and me and would like to leave with my child and get full custody," she reportedly continued.

The restraining order was denied just six days before the tragedy, WFSB reports. It is unclear why.