'Absurd' to dismiss case against N.J. dad charged in tot's death, cops say

The Camden County Prosecutor's Office has responded to a motion to dismiss the case.

HADDON TWP. -- Oct. 13, 2015 was a very long day for David "D.J." Creato Jr., who has since been charged with murder in the death of his 3-year-old son, Brendan.

After calling 911 at around 6 a.m. that day to report the boy missing, Haddon Township police and Camden County Prosecutor's Office detectives were still speaking with him at around 8 p.m.

Through it all, the prosecutor's office maintains in its response to a motion to dismiss the case against Creato that he cooperated fully and was aware of his Miranda rights.

"Simply put, the defendant's argument is absurd," the Camden County Prosecutor's Office said in its response to motions filed last month by Creato's attorney, Richard J. Fuschino.

Creato, 22, has been in jail since he was indicted in January. 

In a motion to suppress unlawfully obtained evidence, Fuschino argues Creato wasn't read his Miranda rights prior to speaking with investigators.

In a second motion to dismiss his client's indictment, Fuschino -- who did not wish to comment on the filing -- says the grand jury that heard Creato's case received an "unvarnished" cause of death ruling that wasn't cross-examined.

Brendan's lifeless body was found at 8:43 a.m. on Oct. 13 partially submerged in a waterway that feeds into the Cooper River. The prosecutor's office said there was no way the boy, who was afraid of the dark, could have walked the half-mile from Creato's apartment to the scene.

On the 911 call, Creato is heard saying "I don't know if he wandered out or what happened. I don't know where he is. The door was locked. I guess he unlocked it and left."

Website claims D.J. Creato is innocent

What's more, as part of the investigation, the day after Brendan's body was found one investigator walked the most logical route in his socks and they later enlisted  a 3-year-old girl to attempt the path Brendan could have taken. In its response to last month's motion, the prosecutor's office says investigators had a difficult time finding the remote scene off South Park Drive even in "broad daylight."

According to portions of Creato's interview with investigators the day of his son's death, he appeared cooperative and willing to tell authorities "anything."

"No. I have nothing to hide. I am willing to do anything," Creato said on the evening of Oct. 13 after reading a letter from Fuschino -- who had been retained by Creato's parents -- before taking a lie detector test.

"Rather than explain in plain English that his family had hired a lawyer to assist him, [authorities] equivocated, asking him if he wanted his family to get him a lawyer and and reassuring him it was unnecessary because he was not a suspect," Fuschino's motion reads.

Further, the prosecutor's office states Creato allowed investigators to inspect his iPhone. Thousands of text messages exchanged with his girlfriend -- whom authorities say had a dislike for children and eventually spurred Creato to kill his son so the rocky relationship could continue -- were addressed during the January arraignment on murder charges.

Brendan's death was ruled a homicide that could have been caused by drowning, strangulation or blunt neck trauma. Fuschino argued that the county medical examiner "did not promptly take charge" of Brendan's body nor the scene, per state regulations.

In its response filed Tuesday, the prosecutor's office argues that New Jersey's State Medical Examiner Act was not violated and evidence from the scene was collected properly and immediately.

In response to the "expertized" testimony from Camden County Medical Examiner Gerald Feigin that Fuschino said the grand jury received, the prosecutor's office states Feigin's conclusions were based on "personal observations" and "common sense."

Creato, who has been held on $750,000 bail, is set to appear in court again on May 16.