Digital Forensic Team Plays Pivotal Role in David Creato, Jr.’s Murder Trial and Guilty Plea
Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Leveraged Cornerstone Discovery’s Forensic Expertise to Provide Compelling Digital Evidence and Testimony.
Philadelphia, PA, August 30, 2017 – Cornerstone Discovery announced today its role in the David Creato, Jr. murder investigation and trial. The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office leveraged Cornerstone Discovery’s forensic expertise to assist the Prosecution in the examination of cell phone records that included numerous texts messages and phone calls between Creato and his girlfriend as well as various social media accounts including Facebook and Snapchat.
David Creato Jr. was charged back in October of 2015, with the murder of his 3-year-old son, Brendan Creato. Prosecutors have always maintained David Creato committed the crime because the child was an impediment to his relationship with a teenage girlfriend. Creato was also charged with child endangerment and faced a possible life sentence if convicted on the murder charge at trial.
Assistant Camden County Prosecutors, Christine Shah and Kevin Moran sought out Cornerstone Discovery during the course of their investigation with the intent to help their team sift through and analyze the voluminous amount of digital evidence and to provide expert witness testimony at trial regarding Creato’s use of social media. “Camden County Prosecutors called us during the criminal trial planning phase and requested Cornerstone Discovery Digital Forensics services due to our reputation in this highly specialized area,” said Louis Cinquanto, Managing Director and Senior Digital Forensic Examiner at Cornerstone Discovery. “We immediately stepped in and began examining subpoena responses, cell phone records, text messages, digital photos and social media logins to Facebook and Snapchat.”
Digital Forensic services during the investigation and murder trial included:
- Examining and analyzing cell phone records and thousands of text messages
- Analyzing subpoena records from Facebook and Snapchat for David Creato and his girlfriend
- Proving David Creato logged into Facebook and Snapchat including his girlfriend’s accounts
- Creating a timeline of text messages and social media leading up to the murder and immediate days after
- Confirming the location of an image taken by the Copper River where his son’s body was found
- Recommendations on how to present a vast amount of text messages for the jury to comprehend and follow at trial
- Providing Expert Witness Testimony at trial regarding David Creato’s use of cell phone and social media
“Nothing less than a guilty charge was acceptable in this case,” said Brian Stofik, Digital Forensic Examiner, and team member. “We left no stone unturned with data we received and analyzed. I believe we uncovered critical digital evidence that proved David Creato committed the crime because his son was an impediment to his relationship with his girlfriend. We also confirmed the location of a digital photo of the wooded area near the Copper River where his son’s body was found and proved Creato was being untruthful about critical times he said he was sleeping or awake but was accessing his phone around the time of the murder. There is no doubt in my mind that this evidence was weighing on him as he faced another trial.”
While Creato’s previous murder trial ended with a hung jury in late May of 2017, and new trial looming for September, David Creato plead guilty to one count of first degree Aggravated Manslaughter on Wednesday, August 23rd rather than face another trial.
In exchange for pleading guilty, David Creato will serve ten years behind bars. He will be required to serve at least 8 years and 6 months of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. David Creato will be sentenced on September 29, 2017.
To learn more about Cornerstone Discovery’s Digital Forensic services, visit cornerstonediscovery.com or contact Louis Cinquanto at (267) 639-6900 or email, [email protected].
Cornerstone Discovery, headquartered in Philadelphia, PA is an award-winning litigation support firm that provides comprehensive criminal & civil litigation support and consulting services in areas such as digital forensics, e-Discovery, litigation and trial support. Cornerstone Discovery also develops and provides innovative web-based e-Discovery and trial support solutions in Junto and Docfolio. Cornerstone Discovery helps today’s legal professionals revolutionize their cases in and out of the courtroom with direct access to certified technical experts and experienced trial technicians that offer strategic consulting services, dedicated project management and innovative solutions. For more information on Cornerstone Discovery, visit: cornerstonediscovery.com.
