Creato asks court to drop charges, faults medical examiner
The attorney for David "D.J." Creato Jr., the Haddon Township father charged with killing his 3-year-old son, Brendan, filed motions in court Thursday to prevent prosecutors from using Creato's statement to investigators as evidence, and to have the indictment against his client dismissed.
The attorney for David "D.J." Creato Jr., the Haddon Township father charged with killing his 3-year-old son, Brendan, filed motions in court Thursday to prevent prosecutors from using Creato's statement to investigators as evidence, and to have the indictment against his client dismissed.
The motions suggest Creato, 22, who was indicted by a grand jury on charges of murder and endangering the welfare of a child, was not read his rights or told he was a suspect when he willingly spoke to investigators in the days after Brendan's body was found.
A K9 unit discovered Brendan's body in a wooded area three-quarters of a mile from his father's apartment on Oct. 13, three hours after Creato had called 911 to report his son missing.
The second motion alleges that Camden County Medical Examiner Gerald Feigin did not inspect the area where Brendan's body was found until days after the discovery.
Feigin called in the state medical examiner and another colleague to review the examination on the boy's body in the weeks after the incident.
They concluded that Brendan died of "homicidal violence," and prosecutors said an examination of Brendan's brain showed an abnormality consistent with oxygen deprivation that can be caused by asphyxiation, drowning, or strangulation.
An exact cause of death was not determined.
Feigin hung up when reached by phone Thursday evening.
Creato's attorney, Richard J. Fuschino Jr., said: "We're working hard to get through all the evidence. The court had required us to file motions, and we've done them.
"They speak for themselves," he added. "And I anticipate that there will be a hearing scheduled on them, and I anticipate that there will be testimony where the prosecution will have the opportunity to respond."
The Camden County Prosecutor's Office did not return a request for comment Thursday evening.
Prosecutors allege that Creato killed Brendan to stop his 17-year-old girlfriend, who disliked children, from leaving him. Prior to Brendan's death, Creato and his girlfriend had visited the spot where the boy's body was found about 30 times, authorities said.
In his statement to investigators, Creato called the area a "favorite place . . . and he referred to it as spiritual to him," Assistant Prosecutor Christine Shah said during Creato's arraignment in January.
Creato remains in the Camden County Jail on $750,000 bail. Another hearing is scheduled for April 18.
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