Medical Examiner Takes The Stand In David Creato Murder Trial

HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ — The county medical examiner that has been highly criticized for his handling of the alleged crime scene where 3-year-old Brendan Creato’s body was found in October 2015 took the stand in the murder trial of David “DJ” Creato on Wednesday. Defense attorney Richard J. Fuschino Jr. has said Camden County Medical Examiner Dr. Gerald Feigin and his staff failed to follow protocols in the investigation into the toddler’s death. Feigin didn’t respond to the scene when Brendan Creato’s body was found, and Fuschino has argued that delay allowed the scene to become contaminated.

He went on to say a thorough investigation wasn’t done by the Medical Examiner’s Office, leading to the conclusion of homicide by undetermined etiology reached by Feigin. The cause of Brendan Creato's death was unclear, but Feigin believes it could have been due to either suffocation or drowning.

Fuschino has used this argument as the grounds for requesting the case be dismissed. However, Judge John Kelley denied that motion in June, saying Feigin not responding to the scene immediately, as required by state law, was not enough to have the case dismissed.

Creato is charged with first-degree murder and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child in the death of his son.

Feigin was one of three pathologists who examined the 3-year-old’s body, and none of them came to a conclusion as to the cause of death. Feigin conducted a second examination of the body one day after his first exam was inconclusive. Other examinations were conducted by Assistant Medical Examiner, Dr. Charles Seibert and New Jersey Medical Examiner Dr. Anthony Falzon, according to the Philly Voice.

On Wednesday, when Fuschino attempted to bring up Feigin’s mistakes in a famous Boston case in which a guilty verdict and mandatory life sentence charge in the death of an 8-month-old child were overturned, Assistant Prosecutor Christine Shah objected and the line of questioning stopped, according to the report.

Fuschino also asked Feigin if he had failed to conduct a heart examination in another Massachusetts case in which Feigin’s ruling of a homicide was overruled by his supervisor. Feigin blamed politics in that case, according to the report.

He said he didn't check for signs of sexual assault because there was no evidence of a physical assault, according to nj.com. He also didn't look for DNA evidence on the child, including under his fingernails, and conducted a limited toxicology test, rather than a comprehensive one. Fuschino also pointed out that the report on the case that Feigin brought to court included a page from a report in another case, which Feigin described as a simple mistake.

Feigin was the medical examiner in a case in which a woman’s hand was left behind at a crash scene in Winslow Township last summer. On Wednesday, Feigin testified his investigator had bad information in that case.

Brendan Creato's pediatrician also testified on Wednesday, saying the child was generally in good health, but was diagnosed with asthma in 2015, according to CBS 3.

The jury also saw the pajamas and multi-colored socks Brendan Creato was wearing when investigators found him near the Cooper River on Oct. 13, 2015, according to the Courier Post.

The socks in this case are known for having been clean when investigators found the child's body. Shah has pointed to the fact as a reason Brendan Creato couldn't have walked through the woods from his father's apartment, where he was last seen the day before. Investigators walking that trail with no shoes on came away with filthy socks.

Investigators put the socks in the river for 12 hours, and took pictures of them every hour to note any changes, according to the report. Det. Bill Rummell said investigators didn't use a magnifying glass to examine the child's clothes.

Attached image: David Creato appears in court during day five of his trial in connection with the death of his 3-year-old son Tuesday, May 2, 2017 in Camden, NJ. Creato is accused of killing his 3-year-old son in October 2015 because he allegedly was an impediment to his relationship with a teenage girlfriend. (Joe Lambert/Camden Courier-Post via AP, Pool)