D.J. Creato was arrested in Jan. 2016. His trial has been moved to April.
CAMDEN -- David "D.J." Creato saw his murder trial -- which was scheduled to begin this week -- delayed for a second time in a minutes-long hearing Monday.
Creato's attorney, Richard J. Fuschino Jr., told Camden County Superior Court Judge John T. Kelley that he was in the process of having a pathologist write a report regarding the Oct. 2015 death of 3-year-old Brendan Creato and that it would take "a few more weeks."
Creato, 23, of Haddon Township, was arrested one year ago this month and has been behind bars ever since. He is charged in the death of his son, Brendan, whose partially clothed body was found draped over a rock in the Cooper River -- a location nearly a mile away from his dad's apartment where he was spending the night.
Fuschino said he expects to have the pathologist's report to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office (CCPO) by the first week of February, at which point the office would be tasked with responding to the document.
Brendan's exact cause of death was never nailed down. An autopsy and toxicology tests failed to find specifics that could have contributed to the toddler's demise, but a medical examiner later ruled it "homicidal violence" that could have been caused by blunt-force trauma or asphyxiation.
Will murder trial answer these unknowns?
Authorities have argued that Creato killed his toddler son to continue a relationship with a girlfriend who disliked children. Brendan's mother, Samantha Denoto, was not seen in the court room Monday. Creato's parents were both present for the brief hearing.
Fuschino -- who did not respond to a request for comment last week regarding the impending case -- failed to get the charges tossed last year. He submitted two motions arguing that Creato wasn't read his rights and attempted to have his client's interview with police that morning suppressed.
Creato rejected a 35-year plea deal in June 2016. In early October of that year, the trial was delayed as Fuschino sought additional testimony from an expert witness.
"We don't want to be hasty. We don't want to rush this ... this is as serious as it gets," Fuschino said at the time.
Kelley expressed concern Monday with this second delay, setting another start date, this time for the week of April 10.
"I don't expect any further delays," Kelley told Fuschino and CCPO Assistant Prosecutor Christine Shah.
Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find NJ.com on Facebook.