Family, friends and strangers attended a vigil on Wednesday to remember 7-month-old Aaden Moreno on Wednesday night.
The baby’s body was pulled from the Connecticut River on Tuesday night, two days after his father threw him from the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown, according to police.
Aaden's mom was too overcome with grief and could not read the words she'd written during the vigil, so her sister spoke for her.
Through the statement, she thanked everyone who gathered inside South Congregational Church in Middletown as they remembered her son.
"Until this day I had my faith my baby would come back to me. Today is not reality. I lost my son," Aaden's mom wrote. "Everything I do from now on is for my son."
The emotional gathering left many in tears and Amarissa Lesseck held Aaden's mom close. The two were pregnant at the same time and their children played together.
"Having my own kid, you can only really imagine what that must feel like for her," Lesseck said.
Aaden was reported missing on Sunday and dive teams searched desperately along the Connecticut River.
On Tuesday night, a canoer found Aaden's body more than 15 miles away by the Swing Bridge in East Haddam. Police charged the baby’s 21-year-old father, Tony Moreno, with his son's murder.
Aaden's mom's requested a protective order against Tony Moreno and court records show a judge denied it days before Aaden was killed.
Over the last couple of days, thousands of people have signed an online petition for a law that aims to protect children caught in similar circumstances.
A GoFundMe page set up to raise money for Aaden’s funeral expenses has already raised almost $20,000.
