Christopher Gregor trial: Did a NJ dad cause the death of his 6 year old son, Corey Micciolo after demanding the 6 year old run himself to exhaustion a treadmill amid ongoing child abuse and endangerment?
The case of a New Jersey father accused of causing his 6 year old son to die because of ongoing taunting and shaming is heading to trial as the parent faces accusations of child endangerment and murder for the April, 2021 death of his son, Corey Micciolo.
The ‘treadmill trial’ – which saw Christopher Gregor forcing his ‘fat’ 6 year old son to run to exhaustion and the boy’s eventual death, will focus on two key dates; March 20 – the day Gregor allegedly injured his son by placing him on a treadmill – and April 2 – the day the boy died.
Corey, who was just a few weeks shy of his seventh birthday, was determined to have died as the result from, ‘blunt force injuries with cardiac and liver contusions with acute inflammation and sepsis,’ according to an April, 2021 autopsy report.
Prosecutors present damning treadmill video
Nevertheless, a forensic pathologist in September, 2021, concluded that Corey’s death was a homicide, attributing the 6 year old’s death the result of enduring chronic abuse. This included blunt force injuries to his chest and abdomen, along with a laceration on his heart, a left pulmonary contusion, and liver lacerations and contusions.
As the trial kicked off on Tuesday, 16 jurors were shown video of the alleged treadmill abuse captured by building surveillance which showed Corey Micciolo exerting himself to exhaustion, while his father looked on, demanding the son go on … despite the boy being physically spent and repeatedly falling off the contraption.
The surveillance footage, taken on March 20, 2021, at Atlantic Heights Clubhouse Fitness Center, showed Gregor demanding Corey to run on the treadmill, even increasing the speed, despite the child falling repeatedly off.
Video captured Gregor allegedly placing the 6 year old on a treadmill over and over again as the boy struggled to maintain his footing. The gym was located inside the Atlantic Heights apartment complex in Barnegat where Gregor lived. Corey is seen falling off the treadmill half a dozen times as the dad continued to (as opposed to turn down, turn off) increase the speed setting. Prosecutors say this led to bruising on the boy’s body.
to die?
A 6 year old boy torn between two parents in a bitter child custody case
Extolled, Assistant Prosecutor Jamie Schron in front of the jury on the day the boy died: ‘This defendant had carried Corey’s nearly limp body into Southern Ocean Medical Center. He reported that Corey was sleepy and throwing up. Corey was admitted quickly and he was brought to Room 6 in the emergency department. He was intubated, he coded again. He lost his pulse and by 5:03 p.m. Corey was pronounced dead.’
Mario Gallucci, the father’s defense attorney countered, arguing that the 6 year old boy did not die from injuries sustained running on the treadmill, rather he died of a sepsis infection. The lawyer also warned the jury about the treadmill incident, News12 reported.
‘You’re not gonna like him. And I don’t care that you don’t like him. You’ll be horrified and mortified – evidence you will see of Corey’s death had nothing to do with that treadmill,’ Gallucci implored.
Corey’s mother Bre Micciolo took the stand as the first witness called by the prosecution and described custody issues. She testified that she noticed bruises on Corey’s body days before her son dying, allegedly from the treadmill incident. Under direct examination, she said she worried Corey would die.
The mom said she felt the Department of Protection and Permanency (child social services) didn’t do enough to help, despite her making child abuse reports.
Micciolo began taking photos of her son after she suspected something was wrong. She said she tried to get the judge to allow her full custody of her son in April, but it didn’t happen in time.
Gregor has pleaded not guilty.
Testimony is set to resume Wednesday at 9 a.m as the trial is expected to continue for the next 6 weeks as jurors will be asked to decide whether a parent contributed to the physical demise of his own son and ultimate death or at the very least lacking in empathy and regard for the boy’s well-being amid ongoing turmoil between him and the boy’s estranged mother … before it was all too late.
