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Jury Unable To Reach Verdict In David Creato Murder Trial

CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- The jury came back deadlocked in the murder trial of a Camden County father accused of killing his 3-year-old son.

Jurors could not come up with a unanimous verdict in David Creato's murder trial after several days of deliberations.

The Camden County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement that they intend to retry the case.

Judge John Kelley gave the nine woman and three man panel an hour in the morning, then got a note indicating there was still a deadlock among them as to whether Creato killed his 3-year-old son, Brendan.

"Accordingly, at this point in time, I am going to dismiss you and thank you for your services," Kelley told them, before scheduling a status hearing in the case for July 5.

Jurors At Creato Trial Listen, Again, To Defendant

Creato himself showed no emotion as Kelley announced his decision. Defense attorney Richard Fuschino had argued reasonable doubt from the start.

"These were such sensitive facts and I understand," Fuschino told KYW Newsradio. "I wouldn't say that I'm surprised, but I'm certainly not shocked. These things happen. It's a tough case and they gave it their all."

Much of this case was circumstantial evidence knowing that Creato was the only known person to be with his son on the morning he was found dead. Prosecutors brought up a long series of text messages of Creato having trouble with his teenage girlfriend who didn't like being around his son.

Defendant's Cellphone Examined At Creato Murder Trial

However, there was no evidence presented that linked Creato to the crime scene where Brendan was found along the Cooper River in 2015.

Fuschino thinks the lack of evidence is what led to a hung jury.

"I have the advantage now of getting to see the way that they put their case on. I think I can change more than they can change to handle this case. We'll review the transcripts, we'll listen to the audio, we'll look at all the evidence again and we'll decide. I think it would be foolish of me to discuss what my strategy would be a second time around and give anybody that advantage," Fuschino said.

David Creato's Mother Testifies In His Murder Trial

Camden County Prosecutor Christine Shah did not offer any comments, neither did Brendan's mother and her family.

A status conference will be held July 5 to see if they will retry the case.

Fuschino is trying to get Creato's bail reduced so he can go home.

"D.J.'s upset he wanted to go home today he wanted to be with his family. He hasn't seen his family other than in the courtroom in a year-and-a-half and it's heartbreaking for all of them," said Fuschino.

CBS3's Cleve Bryan and KYW Newsradio's David Madden contributed to the story.

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