Father charged with killing Haddon Twp. boy

The father of Brendan Creato, the 3-year-old Haddon Township boy whose body was found in woods near his home last October, was charged with first-degree murder Monday.

The arrest of 22-year-old David "D.J." Creato Jr. brought no end to almost three months of speculation about what happened to the boy. The Camden County Prosecutor's Office released no cause of death and declined to answer questions.

Creato, who called 911 to report his son missing the morning the toddler's body was found, was taken into custody in Washington Township about 2:15 p.m. Monday. A grand jury returned an indictment Monday, the Prosecutor's Office said, and Creato also was charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

He is being held at the Camden County Jail and is to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Camden County Hall of Justice.

Richard J. Fuschino Jr., Creato's attorney, said Creato would "vigorously defend this case."

"This is a travesty that not only has he lost his son, but now he's being accused," Fuschino said.

Fuschino suggested that authorities may have targeted Creato because of mounting pressure from the public to identify a suspect. He said he did not know the child's cause of death.

Brendan's mother, Samantha Denoto, lives apart from Creato in Haddon Township. She could not be reached Monday.

From the start, authorities have said little publicly about the case. They had never previously identified Creato as a suspect, nor did they indicate a stranger might be involved or whether residents of the typically quiet neighborhood had anything to fear.

Brendan Creato reportedly spent the last evening of his life at his grandparents' home, until his grandmother returned him to his father's nearby apartment. Fuschino has said Creato and Brendan read three children's books together and ate potato chips before Brendan went to sleep sometime before 10 p.m.

Creato called 911 to report the child missing around 6 a.m. Oct. 13.

"I just woke up, and my 3-year-old's missing," Creato said in a recording of the call released by authorities. Later, he said, "I just woke up, and he wasn't in my apartment. 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."

Authorities and neighbors fanned out across the Westmont neighborhood. As neighbors received automated calls alerting them to the disappearance, they looked in cars, yards, and even inside plastic Halloween pumpkins.

A K-9 unit discovered the child's body about three hours later, clad in his red pajamas, in the woods near South Park Drive and Cooper Street. He was about a half-mile from the apartment, near the banks of the Cooper River. There was no dirt on the bottoms of the child's feet, according to one law enforcement source.

Authorities found no sign of forced entry in the second-floor apartment and said there was no indication Brendan had been sexually assaulted. Toxicology tests turned up no sign of drugs in the boy's body, according to Fuschino.

Camden County Medical Examiner Gerald Feigin, who performed the initial autopsy, has sought assistance from the state medical examiner in determining a cause of death.

Investigators interviewed Creato and his parents, David and Lisa, early in the investigation. Last month, Creato's sister, Sarah, was subpoenaed to testify to a grand jury. D.J. Creato works with his father at the family's home improvement business.

Creato moved out of the apartment and into his parents' home sometime after the death. On Monday, no one answered the door.

William Brennan, an attorney for Creato's parents, said they needed time to digest the news.

"I know they love and support their son," Brennan said Monday. "I'm sure they will continue to love and support their son."

In Haddon Township, where Brendan was often seen playing outside, neighbors said the news brought some closure after months of hearing nothing.

"It's an answer," said Peg Pursglove, 65, who lives on Akron Avenue, near where Brendan's body was discovered. "We didn't have any answers before."

Pete Singer, who lives on Cooper Street, started a memorial under a tree where Brendan was found, placing the first teddy bear months ago. On Monday, a candle burned, surrounded by mounds of stuffed animals, messages, and fresh flowers. Singer was surprised to hear of Creato's arrest. Typically, he said, the area is so safe that he sometimes leaves his doors unlocked.

Tracey Sunkett, 30, who lives around the corner from the family, said she often saw Brendan outside playing, just as her 9-old-son, Jonah, has done many times. When Brendan disappeared, Sunkett said, her son asked whether he had been murdered.

The two were walking together near the Creato family's home on Monday, shortly after the arrest.

"It was kind of a mystery of what happened," said Jonah, a third grader at Strawbridge Elementary School.

"It's been on everyone's mind for quite a while," said his mother, who said she was friendly with the Creato family. "It's just a devastatingly tragic thing to happen."

Sunkett said she left a scripture at the Creato house recently. She had heard that the boy's grandparents, who helped raised Brendan since he was an infant, were so sad they did not decorate the house for the holidays or want to celebrate.

"You see these things on the news and you don't really think of them happening around the corner from you," Sunkett said.

asteele@phillynews.com

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