NJ v. Christopher Gregor: Treadmill Abuse Murder Case

TOMS RIVER, NJ (Court TV) – Trial is underway in the case of a New Jersey father who allegedly forced his six-year-old son to run on a treadmill because he thought the boy was “too fat.” The child later died from injuries believed to have been 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 several times as he tries to catch up to stay. Gregor is 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 took 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 suffered seizures. Life-saving measures were taken, but Corey could not be saved.

Dr. Dante Ragusa, an Ocean County medical examiner who performed an autopsy on Corey’s body on April 3, issued a finding of cause of death: blunt force trauma with heart and liver contusions with acute inflammation and sepsis. However, he did not judge the manner of death; rather, he regarded it as ‘indeterminate’.

It was not until a consultant 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 to 12 hours before his death. Dr. Andrew found what he described as evidence of chronic abuse, including blunt force trauma to the chest and abdomen with laceration of the heart, contusion of the left lung, laceration and contusion of the liver.

Gregor was initially arrested on July 7 for endangering the welfare of a child over the treadmill incident. Authorities said he was “subsequently released as a result of New Jersey bail reform.” He was arrested on March 9, 2022 for Corey’s murder.

Clarification: Gregor was charged in two separate incidents, each involving different charges. 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 from blunt force trauma; there was no treadmill involved. The charge of causing Corey’s death is described as Gregor “knowingly causing serious bodily harm resulting in the death of another.”

Gregor’s defense also hired a consulting forensic pathologist who determined Corey’s manner of death was “natural.” Attorney Mario Gallucci further clarified 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 more than 100 times, but no one took action. Breanna has since sued the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency for failing to properly protect Corey.

Gregor, who rejected a 30-year plea deal, is currently being held in the Ocean County Jail without bond. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

DAILY TRIAL UPDATES

DAY 2 – 1/5/24

• Breanna Micciolo returned to the stands. During re-cross, the defense tried to attack her credibility by talking about ways she could have spent money raised through a GoFundMe page.
• Juror No. 3 was dismissed after a sidebar, but the judge did not explain why.
• Corey’s first-grade teacher testified that she noticed bruises on Corey and that the child’s behavior at school changed.
  • During cross-examination, the defense tried to say that the bruises did not appear until Corey returned from his mother’s house.
• Pediatrician Dr. Nancy Deacon, who saw Corey Micciolo for an “emergency appointment” in 2021, testified about the child’s injuries and what he told her happened.
• WATCH: Treadmill Abuse Murder Trial: Day 2 Recap

DAY 1 – 4/30/24

• In their opening statement, the prosecution said they would present evidence proving that Corey Micciolo was murdered by his father; specifically, that the six-year-old boy died as a result of physical abuse while in Gregor’s sole care after Breanna Micciolo dropped him off at Gregor’s townhome in Barnegat on April 2, 2021.
• Attorney Mario Gallucci portrayed Gregor as a responsible father who did his best to care for his son amid ongoing hostilities between Gregor and the boy’s mother, Breanna Micciolo
  • Gallucci tried to brace jurors for surveillance footage they would see Tuesday afternoon, which showed Gregor increasing the speed of the treadmill and forcing Corey back onto the treadmill after falling several times.
  • Gallucci told jurors that Corey Micciolo died of natural causes, citing expert witness Michael Baden, MD
  • WATCH: Gregor Defense: Child injuries came from ‘life-saving techniques’
• Breanna Micciolo, Corey Micciolo’s mother, took the stand
• WATCH: Treadmill Abuse Murder Trial: Day 1