January 19, 2016
An anonymous group proclaiming the innocence of accused killer David “DJ” Creato launched a website this week.
The homepage of djcreatoisinnocent.com displays a photo of Creato and his son, Brendan Creato, both smiling, with the words, “It’s a crime when an innocent man is in jail.”
Brendan Creato's body was found in a wooded area of Cooper River Park on Oct. 13.
Creato, 22, of Haddon Township, was arrested Jan 11. He’s charged with killing his son by "homicidal violence of undetermined etiology." The violence might have involved drowning, asphyxiation or manual strangulation, according to charges filed by the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office's homicide division.
The charges followed Creato's indictment by a grand jury investigating the case, and he is imprisoned in the Camden County jail in lieu of posting 10 percent of $750,000 bail.
On djcreatoisinnocent.com, Creato's supporters conclude:
“DJ Creato is 100% innocent. Someone else did this… It means the investigators did a poor job, which means Brendan's death may never be solved (finding any hard evidence at this point will be very difficult if not flat out impossible…
“It means that Brendan's killer is still walking around, which is terrifying… It means the families and (Haddon Township) will never receive the closure they've tried so hard to get.
“These facts make for a depressing, scary, and disappointing conclusion to the story…
“This investigation has yielded nothing, that does not mean an innocent, heartbroken, and grieving father must sit in jail for the death of his own son.”
An email announcing the site's creation said the group of DJ Creato's supporters behind it want to remain anonymous. The URL has been registered anonymously through a Canadian company, further shielding their identities.
The website explains why they are keeping their identities hidden:
“Considering the fact that people want DJ and his girlfriend dead, and some wish bad things on Ms. Denoto (the child’s mother, Samantha Denoto) and the rest of the Creato family, something the writers noted when they scrolled through various social media outlets, there is reason behind their fears for themselves.”
Authorities allege Creato killed his son to carry on a relationship with his 17-year-old, college student girlfriend, Julie Spensky.
The prosecution alleges the couple quarreled about Brendan on the evening of Oct. 9, the child then spent Saturday, Sunday and daytime on Monday at his grandparents’ home, two blocks away.
His father reported Brendan missing at 6 a.m. Oct. 13. The boy was found dead about a half a mile from his father’s apartment about three hours later, clad in pajamas and clean socks, free of debris, indicating he had not walked there.
No cause of death was apparent at the scene. An autopsy and two follow-up reviews also did not immediately answer the cause of death.
A small section of the boy’s brain showed oxygen deprivation. A small bruise on his collarbone was noted in the second examination. A final decision on the cause of death diagnosis eventually was made Dec. 15.
The website includes a timeline of the Creato case labeled “Facts” this is largely based on news accounts.
Another page is labeled “Logic” and sets out why the group believes Creato is wrongly accused.
The site argues that either “DJ really did kill his own son to keep a four-month relationship going,” or someone else did this and essentially framed DJ.
“But since no hard evidence was presented from the start, it's unlikely it will ever be found by now.”
The site sums up: “Because of a lack of hard evidence, the prosecutors are relying very heavily on motive."
Creato's lawyer declined comment. The spokesman for the county prosecutor did not respond to a request for comment.
