David "DJ" Creato has pleaded not guilty to murder in the 2015 death of Brendan Creato, 3. Watch video
UPDATE: The prosecutor's office announced late Monday that the trial will begin Wednesday afternoon.
CAMDEN -- The trial for a Haddon Township father accused of killing his 3-year-old son to save his relationship with a teenager will begin in Camden County Superior Court this week.
David "DJ" Creato, 23, has pleaded not guilty to murder in the Oct. 13, 2015 death of Brendan Creato. The boy was found lifeless in a stream in Cooper River Park, about a half mile from his home on Cooper Street, hours after his father called 911 saying he woke up to find his son missing.
The elder Creato was indicted three months later. The prosecution has theorized that Creato killed his son because his 17-year-old girlfriend did not like that he had a child and it was creating problems in his relationship.
The trial will begin Tuesday morning with Assistant Prosecutor Christine Shah arguing two motions in front of Judge John T. Kelley. Jury selection will begin when the pre-trial motion hearings are complete. Court officials were not able to provide an estimate for the length of the trial.
Shah's motions ask the court to allow jurors during the trial to visit the place where Brendan was found and to allow into evidence statements Creato made before police read him his rights.
Shah said in the motion that the prosecution's plan is to show jurors that it is highly unlikely a little boy could have found his way to the stream on his own, so seeing the spot for themselves is important.
Will DJ Creato's trial answer these questions?
It's not clear what the defense strategy will be in the trial. Calls to Creato's attorney, Richard Fuschino Jr., were not returned last week.
It's possible it will involve discrediting the forensic evidence, as Fuschino has argued that Camden County Medical Examiner Dr. Gerald "Buck" Feigin did not respond to or take charge of the crime scene per protocol.
Feigin was also unable, after three autopsies, to name a specific cause of death. The prosecutor's office called it "homicidal violence" that could have been caused by drowning, strangulation or blunt neck trauma.
Fuschino also may suggest to the jury that the boy may have walked to the spot on his own and drowned accidentally. Creato made statements during his 911 call that his son could unlock the door and may have wandered off.
The prosecution maintains that the boy must have been carried into the park that night because his socks -- his only footwear at the time -- were clean. The prosecutor's office has also said the boy was not sexually assaulted and there was no sign of forced entry at the apartment.
It's not clear if Creato or his former girlfriend, identified in news reports as Julia "Julie" Stensky, will testify.
The prosecution said it has text messages and Creato's own statements that they believe will back up the theory that the teenager did not like the boy or Creato having contact with the boy's mother. Creato told police in a recording played in court last year that the two had broken up.
The prosecutor's office has said Creato was jealous of a college classmate Stensky was talking to and had looked at Stensky's social media page in the early morning hours before his son disappeared.
Creato has been held on $750,000 bail since his arrest. If convicted, he faces a life sentence.
For live coverage of the trial, follow @rebeccajeverett on Twitter.
Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.