Attorneys for family of child killed rests case, state picks up in defense of DCF
The state is defending the Department of Children and Families in a Connecticut civil trial over the death of 7-month-old Aaden Moreno, who was killed in 2015 when his father threw him from the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown.
Tony Moreno is serving a 70-year prison sentence for murder. The civil case, heard in Waterbury, alleges DCF did not do enough to protect Aaden before his death.
Attorneys for Aaden’s family have rested their case, and the state has begun presenting its defense, focusing on the agency’s actions during its investigation more than a decade ago.
The state called Aaden’s paternal grandmother, Denise Moreno, to testify about the relationship between Aaden’s parents.
“They always found things to push each other’s buttons,” she said.
Moreno described the relationship as at times problematic but not violent and said she did not have concerns about Aaden’s safety.
“Did you have any concerns of Moreno or Oyola harming Aaden?” asked Attorney Martin.
“No, they both loved him very much,” she said.
She also testified that she helped draft a custody agreement after a restraining order against Tony Moreno lapsed, again saying she was not concerned for Aaden.
The state also presented expert testimony on child protection investigations.
Victoria Jackson Kelly, an expert in social work and domestic violence, said cases where a parent kills a child are extremely rare and difficult to predict.
“Child protection investigation is a complex process,” she testified.
Her opinion is that DCF did what they could at the time of this tragedy to protect Aaden.
She testified that the DCF investigator was conducting a solid investigation and had no reason to believe Tony Moreno would kill his child.
“A child fatality due to the parent murdering the child, which is extremely rare, is not within the likely categorization that a worker is doing in the very early part of this child protection investigation,” she said.
Attorneys for Aaden’s family argue that even if the investigation began appropriately, DCF should have acted when circumstances changed — specifically when the restraining order lapsed and Tony Moreno regained access to Aaden.
“Based on all the information available to DCF, don’t you agree DCF should have conducted a safety assessment of Aaden in the custody of Mr. Moreno?” asked Attorney Keith McCabe.
“yyes they should have at some point in the investigation,” Jackson Kelly replied.
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