A New Jersey father has been arraigned on charges of murder after he allegedly killed his son, Creato Brendan, because his teenage girlfriend disliked his kid and threatened to break up with him.
Creato made a call to 911 to report his son’s disappearance around 6am on October 13 and following a frantic search involving K-9 units and volunteers, his body was found in the woods in Cooper River Park about three hours after his father, 22-year-old David Creato, reported him missing from his family’s Haddon Township home on Cooper Street.
Police found no sign of forced entry in Creato’s apartment.
According to Philadelphia News, Brendan split his time between his paranets’ homes who had shared his custody.
The prosecutor, Christine Shah, on Tuesday, said the case against Creato was largely circumstantial and came down to his ‘intense’ relationship with 17-year-old Julia Spensky, who allegedly resented Brendan’s presence in his father’s home.
The prosecutor said, “Spensky allegedly told her boyfriend that she did not like kids and threatened to break up with him because Creato had custody of the toddler every other weekend, which interfered in their love affair, and continued being in contact with the boy’s mother.
“Brendan is a victim of ‘homicidal violence’ and may have been smothered, strangled or drowned, based on the fact that the child had bruising near his collarbone and his brain showed signs of oxygen deprivation before his death.
“Creato, on a 911 call, told authorities he woke up on the morning of his son’s disappearance and realized the toddler was gone. The boy was wearing only his pajamas, neon socks and Mickey Mouse slippers.
“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,” he told the dispatcher on the call.
Reports say Creato was arrested on Monday and facing charges of murder and endangering the welfare of a child in the death of his three-year-old son.
A judge set his bail at $750,000 on Tuesday, after prosecutors argued that he was a potential flight risk.
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