David Creato Says Spirit May Have Called Son To Spot Where His Body Was Found

HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ — The trial of a Haddon Township father accused of murdering his 3-year-old son began on Thursday with opening statements from both the prosecution and the defense. The first few witnesses were also questioned in the trial of David “DJ” Creato, who stands accused of killing his son, Brendan Creato, according to published reports. Creato is charged with first-degree murder and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

Brendan’s mother, Samantha Denoto, told Assistant Prosecutor Christine Shah that the spot in which Brendan Creato’s body was found is special to David Creato. She said David told her Brendan may have been called there by “some kind of energy or spirit of the lake,” during a conversation between the two, 6 ABC reports.

“He had told me that maybe the spirits told him to walk down to the woods which is completely odd and unexplainable," Denoto testified, according to the report.

Denoto agreed with Defense Attorney Richard J. Fuschino Jr. on cross-examination that David Creato is a "gentle and soft-spoken" person, and not a devil-worshiper, according to the Courier Post. She also said their conversation was secretly recorded at the request of investigators, but they didn't lead her to believe that he was a suspect.

Shah has contended that Brendan Creato was afraid of the dark, and it was too far a walk for the toddler from his father’s apartment to a stream by the Cooper River, where his body was found slumped over a rock on Oct. 13, 2015.

Further, investigators concluded the boy’s body was placed at the scene because his socks were clean when they found him, and two investigators who walked the trail in just their socks the following day walked away with dirty socks.

Shah has received tentative approval to have the jury walk the trail, although final approval is contingent on certain stipulations. A memorial for the child has been removed and some cleanup has already begun in the area.

Fuschino points out that no DNA evidence — including his client's — was found on cigarette butts found in the area when Brendan Creato’s body was found, according to the Philly Voice. He said the cigarette butts still had fresh ash, indicating that someone else may have recently been in the area.

He also pointed out that the tracking device on David Creato’s cell phone shows it wasn’t taken to the area where Brendan's body was found, according to the report. He says this is important because no flashlight was found in David Creato’s home during the initial investigation, and he would've needed some kind of light to traverse the woods at night.

First responders also testified about the brief search for the toddler, according to CBS 3. They also heard the recording of the 9-1-1 call.

Records also show Creato called Denoto to tell her their son was missing before he called police. Denoto testified that she ran to her car barefoot and wearing what she slept in the night before to head to Creato's apartment and help in the search for their son, according to philly.com.

Denoto began dating Creato when they were 13, and the couple remained together throughout high school, according to the report. She became pregnant shortly after graduation. She said he was a supportive father, but they separated when Brendan was 2 years old. They stayed in touch, shared custody and shared the cost of his preschooling.

The prosecution accuses David Creato of killing his son because his girlfriend, a college student, didn’t like children. Its evidence includes 9,478 text messages exchanged between the two, and legal analysts have said motive is a key part of the prosecution’s case. They also believed David Creato’s state of mind could become a basis for the defense. About 2,500 of those messages were exchanged in the week leading up to Brendan's death, according to multiple reports.

Brendan Creato was last seen at his father’s apartment when his grandmother dropped him off at about 8:15 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12. 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.” His body was discovered by police shortly before 9 a.m. on the morning of Oct. 13.

The trial resumes next Tuesday, April 25, and is expected to run through May.