TOMS RIVER, N.J. (Court TV) — Opening statements are expected Tuesday, April 30, in the case of a New Jersey father who allegedly forced his six-year-old son to run on a treadmill because he believed the boy was “too fat.” The child later died of injuries believed to be sustained from chronic abuse.
(L) Christopher Gregor (Orange County Jail, NJ)/(R) Corey Micciolo (Breanna Micciolo)
Christopher Gregor, 31, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and first-degree murder in the death of Corey Micciolo.
In court documents obtained by Court TV, investigators say surveillance footage from the fitness center at Gregor’s apartment complex shows Corey running on a treadmill as his father increases the speed on March 20, 2021. In the video, the boy stumbles and falls multiple times as he attempts to keep up. Gregor can be seen grabbing Corey by the shirt, and at one point, he appears to bite the child’s head.
Two weeks later, on April 2, Gregor said he brought his son to a hospital after the boy woke up from a nap stumbling, slurring his words, and experiencing nausea and shortness of breath. Corey was taken for a CT scan, where he began having seizures. Lifesaving measures were taken, but Corey could not be saved.
Dr. Dante Ragusa, an Ocean County medical examiner who performed an April 3 autopsy on Corey’s body, issued a finding on the cause of death: Blunt force injuries with cardiac and liver contusions with acute inflammation and sepsis. However, he did not rule on the manner of death; rather, he deemed it “undetermined.”
It wasn’t until a consulting forensic pathologist reviewed the case in September 2021 that the manner of death was determined to be homicide. Dr. Thomas Andrew believes Corey suffered an acute traumatic injury to the heart 4-12 hours before his death. Dr. Andrew found what he described as evidence of chronic abuse, including blunt impact injuries of the chest and abdomen with laceration of the heart, left pulmonary contusion, laceration and contusion of the liver.
Gregor was initially arrested for endangering the welfare of a child on July 7 for the treadmill incident. Authorities said he was “subsequently released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform.” He was arrested for Corey’s murder on March 9, 2022.
Clarification: Gregor was charged in two separate incidents, each having different charges associated with them. The treadmill incident, which resulted in a charge of child endangerment (Count 1), occurred on March 20, 2021. On April 2, 2021 (Count 2), Corey died of blunt force trauma; no treadmill was involved. The charge of causing Corey’s death is described as Gregor “knowingly caused serious bodily injury resulting in the death of another.”
Gregor’s defense has also hired a consulting forensic pathologist who determined Corey’s manner of death was “natural.” Defense attorney Mario Gallucci clarified further in a written statement to Court TV that Corey’s death was caused by “complications from pneumonia.”
At the time of his death, the boy’s mother and Gregor shared joint custody. According to reports, Gregor was not present in Corey’s life until he was four. Corey’s mother, Breanna Micciolo, said she reported Gregor for abuse over 100 times, but no one took action. Breanna has since sued the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency for failing to protect Corey properly.
Gregor, who turned down a 30-year plea offer, is currently being held without bond in the Ocean County Jail. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
