Mother Testifies That She Told David Creato To Call 9-1-1 To Report Son Missing

HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ — On the first day of testimony in the murder trial of David “DJ” Creato last week, jurors learned that the man accused of killing his 3-year-old son first called the boy’s mother before calling 9-1-1 the morning he learned the boy was missing. On Tuesday, it was revealed that the 9-1-1 call didn’t come until his mother showed up at the house in the early morning hours of Oct. 13, 2015.

Lisa Creato, David Creato’s mother and grandmother to the late Brendan Creato, testified took the stand on Day 2 of the murder trial on Tuesday. She said she ran to her son’s apartment as soon as he told her Brendan was missing. She described him as “upset” and “panicked,” according to the Courier Post. She also said she told her son to call 9-1-1 after reaching his apartment.

Brendan Creato’s body was found three hours later on a rock at a stream near the Cooper River. The toddler was last seen when Lisa Creato dropped him off at David Creato’s apartment at 8:15 p.m. on Oct. 12, 2015.
She testified that her son’s exterior apartment door could be unlocked using a screwdriver, and that the interior door was often unlocked, according to the report.

She recalled the minutes before she dropped Brendan off at David Creato's apartment. She said she and Brendan's aunt Sarah got Brendan ready for bed, dressing him in pajama pants that had basketballs on them and a shirt that read "Sleep All Night," according to philly.com. Sarah Creato then gave Brendan a piggyback ride, and they pulled him in a wagon to his father's home.

Lisa Creato's testimony reinforced Assistant Prosecutor Christine Shah’s contention that the boy was afraid of the dark. She said Brendan Creato never left the house by himself, but admitted under cross-examination that he did wander into the backyard at times, according to CBS 3. However, she also said this never happened at night. The jury was also given a video tour of David Creato’s second-floor apartment, according to the report.

Delaware River Port Authority Officer Constance Nicholson, the officer who found Brendan Creato, also testified.

"I had a jacket on because it was chilly that morning," she said, according to 6 ABC. "I thought that I would maybe wear it because if I found the child, I could put it on him."

She broke down in tears when she recalled finding Brendan Creato’s body.

David Creato was indicted on Jan. 12, 2016, on charges of first-degree murder and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

The prosecution accuses David Creato of killing his son because his girlfriend, a college student, didn’t like children.

During the first day of testimony, Brendan’s mother, Samantha Denoto, testified that David told her he believed the the “spirit of the lake,” summoned Brendan to that spot, which Denoto described as very important and spiritual to David Creato.

Shah contends that Brendan Creato was killed first and carried to the spot where he was found, using the fact that he was found with clean socks on to support her theory.

Judge John T. Kelley previously approved Shah’s motion to have the jury visit the alleged murder scene, but has banned the media from visiting the scene with the jury.

The trial will continue on Wednesday, and is expected to last through May.