New Memorial In Honor Of Brendan Creato Established In Haddon Township

Haddon Township, NJ -- There is now a permanent place for friends and family to go to remember Brendan Creato.

On Sunday, a bench and three willow trees at Cooper River Park were dedicated in memory of the 3-year-old boy whose body was found in the area a little over a year ago, the Courier Post reports.

The bench and trees were dedicated as a permanent spot after the Camden County Parks Department came across complaints that a memorial on a tree along South Park Drive was being dismantled, according to the report.

Maggie McCann, environmental educator for the Camden County Parks Department, told the newspaper the department wanted the family to know this wasn’t being done by the county, according to the report. Families sometimes ask for benches to be dedicated in memory of their loved ones, but this one was dedicated by the county and the family together.

The bench is on a cement slab with a plaque in the slab that reads: “Captain Hook you are my perfect storybook, Neverland I love you so, you are now my home sweet home,” according to the Philly Voice.

Brendan Creato’s mother, Samantha Denoto, and his paternal grandfather, Dave Creato, were both in attendance, according to njpen.com.

Dave Creato’s son and Brendan's father, David Creato, is charged with first-degree murder and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child in the death of his son. He was indicted on Jan. 12, 2016.

Brendan Creato was last seen at 8:15 p.m. on Oct. 12, 2015, when his grandmother dropped him off at his father’s house.

The following morning, David Creato reported his son missing, calling 911 and telling authorities, “I just woke up and my 3-year-old’s missing.”

A K-9 unit from the Delaware River Port Authority Police Department tracked the child to a wooded area off South Park Drive in Haddon Township, where he was found deceased shortly before 9 a.m., three hours after he was reported missing.

The prosecution says David Creato killed his son because his girlfriend, a college student, didn’t like children.

The trial is set to begin on Jan. 9.

Sunday’s event wasn’t about the tragedy or the ensuing trial. It was about remembering Brendan Creato’s life and the good times that went with it.

“This will be a lasting memorial to young Brendan here in Cooper River Park,” Camden County Freeholder Jeffrey Nash, liaison to the Camden County Parks Department, said in a prepared statement. “Visitors to the park can stop at this bench to reflect on this young life."