Connecticut man convicted of murdering 7-month-old son by throwing him off bridge

A Connecticut man has been found guilty of murdering his seven-month-old son by throwing him from a 90-foot bridge into a river. Moments later the baby's father, Tony Moreno, now 23, jumped from the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown himself, but survived.

Moreno claimed at his trial that he had not intended for Aaden to fall, but that the toddler had slipped from his arms. However the jury was shown an exchange of texts between the defendant and Aaden's mother, Adrianne Oyola, in which he wrote: "Enjoy your new life without us. You not a parent anymore ... He's dead and soon I will be too."

Middlesex State Attorney Peter McShane told the State of Connecticut Superior Court that the exchange proved Moreno had planned the murder late on the evening of 15th July 2015. "It was no accident he left that house at 11 o'clock," said McShane.

"It was no accident he took his son out of the bed and put him in a stroller. It was no accident he didn't pack any other things except a knife and a pacifier.

"It was no accident that he left three caregivers in the house that could have looked after his son," McShane continued, according to Fox 61.

"That was no accident and it certainly was not an accident that he had sent those texts to Adrianne: vicious, vile, cruel, pointed texts to the mother of his child. Those texts are more than just hateful. Those texts are indicative of intent."

After a short deliberation the jury agreed and Moreno now faces up to 70 years in prison. Defence attorney Norman Pattis said the guilty verdict was disappointing, the Seattle Times reports.